Eleanora Fagan, aka Lady Day, aka Billy Holiday was born in Philadelphia, PA, on April 7, 1915, to thirteen-year-old Sadie Fagan and fifteen-year-old Clarence Holiday, a jazz guitarist for Fletcher Henderson’s band. She had a troubled childhood spent in the Fellis Point section of Baltimore, Maryland, almost all of which is clouded by conjecture and legend propagated even by herself in her autobiography, which was published in 1956. Her parents married when she was three years of age, but soon divorced, and her mother and other relatives raised her. Although Clarence Holliday accepted paternity, he was not a responsible father, and when she did see him, she would demand money, threatening to reveal to his then-girlfriend that he had a daughter. She was an angry child and dropped out of school at a very early age to work as a prostitute with her mother. Sometime in the 1930s, she and her mother moved to New York for a fresh start.
She settled in Harlem, and in 1932 was discovered by record producer, John Hammond at a club called “Monette’s.” He arranged for her very first recording session with none other than Benny Goodman, and the result was “Her Mother’s Son-In-Law.” (1933). On November 4, 1934, she had her first success as a dancer, appearing at the Apollo Theater with pianist and lover, Bobby Henderson, to glowing reviews. Billie performed regularly at numerous clubs on 52nd Street in Manhattan. Her voice was a unique blend of pain and torment suffused with softness and vulnerability. While on stage, she was Lady Day, singer extraordinaire, with a white gardenia pressed against her hair.
Her personal life was as turbulent as the songs she sang, and her success was marred by abusive relationships with men and a growing drug and alcohol dependency. She married trombonist, James Monroe, on August 25, 1941 and while still married, became the common law wife of trumpeter, Joe Guy. She divorced Monroe and later married Louis McKay who was also abusive, but did try to get her off drugs. She never found the happiness and peace of mind she sought so desperately.
Billie Holiday died at the age of 44 from cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959. In the final years of her life, she had been swindled out of her earnings and died with 70 cents in the bank and $750 dollars on her person. It was a terrible end for a talented but tormented Lady Day whose music lives and will live forever more in the hearts of her many adoring fans (this author included).