Take a photo of a barcode or cover
seano312 's review for:
Lady Sings the Blues
by Billie Holiday
The most coherent and feeling of the Jazz memoirs, and among the more authentic autobiographies I've read. It's only superior is the similarly ghost-written "My Life in France" by Julia Child.
Holiday was a natural storyteller, accustomed to telling stories of heartbreak and hope. William Dufty, her ghostwriter, was a close friend, and he does a good job capturing Holiday's anger and hope.
She has been accused of white-washing her story, but she pulls few punches. She may fudge facts, but she doesn't miss much. She doesn't describe the lurid details of becoming a junkie, but she does talk about her struggle getting clean. She also bemoans the fact that the world couldn't be bothered to help her, someone rich and famous, much less someone really down on their luck.
Holiday has some rather enlightened views on race, homosexuality, transvestism, and addiction. Readers will also be impressed at her ability to depict honor, loyalty, love, and compassion in the 20th century Jazz community. Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Lena Horne come off as heroes. It is interesting how she vilifies few people by name, and none within the "business." I don't know if this is a case of "not wanting to burn bridges" or just being the compassion she desires.
If Holiday had lived, she would have likely been a supporter of the Civil Rights movement. Her thoughts and beliefs would have informed that movement, just as her heart and voice have moved us for the past 80 years. We are all poorer for having lost her, but richer for having known a true master of Jazz singing.
Holiday was a natural storyteller, accustomed to telling stories of heartbreak and hope. William Dufty, her ghostwriter, was a close friend, and he does a good job capturing Holiday's anger and hope.
She has been accused of white-washing her story, but she pulls few punches. She may fudge facts, but she doesn't miss much. She doesn't describe the lurid details of becoming a junkie, but she does talk about her struggle getting clean. She also bemoans the fact that the world couldn't be bothered to help her, someone rich and famous, much less someone really down on their luck.
Holiday has some rather enlightened views on race, homosexuality, transvestism, and addiction. Readers will also be impressed at her ability to depict honor, loyalty, love, and compassion in the 20th century Jazz community. Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Lena Horne come off as heroes. It is interesting how she vilifies few people by name, and none within the "business." I don't know if this is a case of "not wanting to burn bridges" or just being the compassion she desires.
If Holiday had lived, she would have likely been a supporter of the Civil Rights movement. Her thoughts and beliefs would have informed that movement, just as her heart and voice have moved us for the past 80 years. We are all poorer for having lost her, but richer for having known a true master of Jazz singing.