Essay On Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday is one of the greatest jazz singers of her time. Although her legacy shines bright, her life was often plagued by the adversity of drugs, men, and alcohol. Critics do not give enough credit to the struggle of Billie Holiday, whose highs and lows were commonly expressed through her strong vocals and combination of blues, jazz, and swing. She, unlike any other artist, came from nothing in Baltimore and found different avenues to rise through jazz history. Similar to her immediate family, she ends up in the entertainment industry, of singing, dancing, and police custody. Different sources argue that she was a victim of her childhood and others explain that the era in which she became popular is the reason why she came to an untimely
Modern history likens her death to those of the other musical greats such as Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Miles Davis. In part to Holiday’s weak personality and self-esteem drugs were said to be referred by other artist that seemed to find a new power in them. Unlike other drugs that artist were using, heroine gave Billie the high that was needed to make it through performances. Another article emphasizes the stressful life that jazz artist live. Most artist including Billie Holiday struggled with complications of cirrhosis of the liver. It was something that just came with the lifestyle. Fortunately for history the full consequences had not arrived. Three years later she delivered “God Bless the Child,” still played today. It seems that after being arrested for heroin her career began its decent. In an article by The Guardian the light that had shone so brightly seemed to dim for Billie. Consequences and stress had taken their toll on her voice. She had begun to represent the songs she had published. The performance of “Billie Blues” at Carnegie Hall after her incarceration was considered agonizingly repetitive. It was one of her least like songs but ironically it also was one of her most