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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Es una historia muy dura de una diva. Me ha encantado la crudeza con la que muestra el rechazo a los negros y creo que son unas memorias que a los verdaderos amantes les van a encantar
The parts of the story that did not have a lot of name dropping, of folks I did no know, were pretty interesting.
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Lady Day
Review of the Harlem Moon / Broadway Books 50th Anniversary Edition paperback (2006) of the Doubleday hardcover original (1956)
Iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday's autobiography starts off with a gut-punch. 2-sentence & 23-word, introduction, and doesn't stop with her frank discussion about her life and career with all its ups and downs for the rest of its journey.
I'm having a bit of a Billie Holiday month this February 2022 and I've already gone on to read John Szwed's revelatory [b:Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth|23281822|Billie Holiday The Musician and the Myth|John Szwed|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421713085l/23281822._SY75_.jpg|42819748] (2015) which provides further background on the 1956 book and details some of its censored passages. These were primarily about Hollywood characters whose agents and lawyers threatened to sue if Holiday's escapades with actors Charles Laughton, Orson Welles and Tallulah Bankhead had been left in the final edit.
Even without those elements there is plenty of joy and despair to be found in the remaining work, which comes through completely in Holiday's voice even if the hand of ghostwriter William Dufty crafted the final production. Dufty also wrote several articles for the New York Post after Holiday's passing which he had hoped would be included in future printings of Lady Sings the Blues, but no enhanced or uncensored edition has yet appeared.
Front cover of the original first edition hardcover published by Doubleday in 1956. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
This 50th Anniversary edition includes a very enthusiastic introduction and a "fan-friendly" Billie Holiday discography selected by music writer [a:David Ritz|108476|David Ritz|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png].
Soundtrack
These were the main Billie Holiday albums that I was listening to while reading Lady Sings the Blues:
1. Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944) Vol. 1 A collection of the earliest recordings, esp. the first 2 songs (Your Mother's Son-in-Law & Riffin' the Scotch with Benny Goodman, recorded in 1933.
Box set cover image sourced from Discogs.
2. Strange Fruit (1939), original 10" shellac single (listened via YouTube)
Disc image sourced from Discogs.
3. Lady Sings the Blues (1956), an album recorded, titled and released in order to coincide with the publication of the book.
Cover image sourced from Discogs.
4.The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live (1961), a November 10, 1956 live concert to celebrate the release of the book, including readings from the book. Album released posthumously.
Cover image sourced from Discogs.
Trivia and Link
Lady Sings the Blues was adapted as the same-titled film in 1972 directed by Sidney Furie with Diana Ross in the role of Billie Holiday. A trailer for the film can be viewed on YouTube here.
Review of the Harlem Moon / Broadway Books 50th Anniversary Edition paperback (2006) of the Doubleday hardcover original (1956)
Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was 18, she was 16, and I was three.
Iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday's autobiography starts off with a gut-punch. 2-sentence & 23-word, introduction, and doesn't stop with her frank discussion about her life and career with all its ups and downs for the rest of its journey.
I'm having a bit of a Billie Holiday month this February 2022 and I've already gone on to read John Szwed's revelatory [b:Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth|23281822|Billie Holiday The Musician and the Myth|John Szwed|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421713085l/23281822._SY75_.jpg|42819748] (2015) which provides further background on the 1956 book and details some of its censored passages. These were primarily about Hollywood characters whose agents and lawyers threatened to sue if Holiday's escapades with actors Charles Laughton, Orson Welles and Tallulah Bankhead had been left in the final edit.
Even without those elements there is plenty of joy and despair to be found in the remaining work, which comes through completely in Holiday's voice even if the hand of ghostwriter William Dufty crafted the final production. Dufty also wrote several articles for the New York Post after Holiday's passing which he had hoped would be included in future printings of Lady Sings the Blues, but no enhanced or uncensored edition has yet appeared.
Front cover of the original first edition hardcover published by Doubleday in 1956. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
This 50th Anniversary edition includes a very enthusiastic introduction and a "fan-friendly" Billie Holiday discography selected by music writer [a:David Ritz|108476|David Ritz|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png].
Soundtrack
These were the main Billie Holiday albums that I was listening to while reading Lady Sings the Blues:
1. Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944) Vol. 1 A collection of the earliest recordings, esp. the first 2 songs (Your Mother's Son-in-Law & Riffin' the Scotch with Benny Goodman, recorded in 1933.
Box set cover image sourced from Discogs.
2. Strange Fruit (1939), original 10" shellac single (listened via YouTube)
Disc image sourced from Discogs.
3. Lady Sings the Blues (1956), an album recorded, titled and released in order to coincide with the publication of the book.
Cover image sourced from Discogs.
4.The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live (1961), a November 10, 1956 live concert to celebrate the release of the book, including readings from the book. Album released posthumously.
Cover image sourced from Discogs.
Trivia and Link
Lady Sings the Blues was adapted as the same-titled film in 1972 directed by Sidney Furie with Diana Ross in the role of Billie Holiday. A trailer for the film can be viewed on YouTube here.
I read this for the first time back in '75. Much more into Jazz now, and know much more about the people she mentions in the book. Interesting how the last couple chapters turn into her talking about kicking her addiction - none of which was true. OK, not a big fan of his, but LOVE the Bob Hope story! Good autobio of herself, seldom pulling punches (outspoken about drugs, prostitution, her cross dressing friend - and racism......). Much of what she writes is jut throwing names out there, but some good stories too (touring with Artie Shaw - sadly, on different labels, only one recorded song of all the time they were together survives). Watch HBO's "Lady Day", read this - but most of all, go listen to some of her recordings! Well worth a read for any jazz fan.
"I've been told that nobody sings the word 'hunger' like do. Or the word 'love'...All I've learned is wrapped up in those two words. You've got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave. Everything I am and everything I want out of life goes back to that."
It's been 60 years since Holiday published her autobiography, and we still haven't internalized this lesson.
It's been 60 years since Holiday published her autobiography, and we still haven't internalized this lesson.