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Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth
“Revelatory . . . one of the most briskly revealing pieces of jazz biography that I’ve read.” —Richard Brody, The New Yorker
When Billie Holiday first stepped into a recording studio in November 1933, it marked the beginning of what is arguably the most remarkable and influential career in twentieth-century popular music. Her voice weathered countless shifts in popular taste, and today new reincarnations of her continue to arrive, most recently in the form of singers like Amy Winehouse and Adele.
Most of the writing on Holiday has focused on the tragic details of her life—her prostitution at the age of fourteen, her heroin addiction and alcoholism, her series of abusive relationships—or tried to correct the many fabrications of her autobiography. But Billie Holiday strips away the myths and puts her music front and center, staying close to her artistry, her performance style, and the self she created and put on record and onstage.
Drawing on a vast amount of new material that has surfaced in the last decade, critically acclaimed jazz writer and musician John Szwed presents not just a biography, but a meditation on Billie Holiday’s art and its relation to her life. Along the way, he illuminates her influences, her uncanny voice and rhythmic genius, her signature songs—including Strange Fruit and God Bless the Child —and her enduring legacy as the greatest jazz singer of all time.
When Billie Holiday first stepped into a recording studio in November 1933, it marked the beginning of what is arguably the most remarkable and influential career in twentieth-century popular music. Her voice weathered countless shifts in popular taste, and today new reincarnations of her continue to arrive, most recently in the form of singers like Amy Winehouse and Adele.
Most of the writing on Holiday has focused on the tragic details of her life—her prostitution at the age of fourteen, her heroin addiction and alcoholism, her series of abusive relationships—or tried to correct the many fabrications of her autobiography. But Billie Holiday strips away the myths and puts her music front and center, staying close to her artistry, her performance style, and the self she created and put on record and onstage.
Drawing on a vast amount of new material that has surfaced in the last decade, critically acclaimed jazz writer and musician John Szwed presents not just a biography, but a meditation on Billie Holiday’s art and its relation to her life. Along the way, he illuminates her influences, her uncanny voice and rhythmic genius, her signature songs—including Strange Fruit and God Bless the Child —and her enduring legacy as the greatest jazz singer of all time.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 26, 2015
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February 26, 2022
Lady Sings the Blues Extended
Review of the Penguin Books paperback (2016) of the original Viking hardcover (2015)
February 2022 became a Billie Holiday discovery month for me, starting from when I first listened to the podcast Billie Was a Black Woman (2021), which was excellent on the present day inspiration and influence of the singer, but had very little biographical content. That led me to read the interview collection Billie Holiday: The Last Interview and Other Conversations (2019), her own autobiography Lady Sings the Blues: The 50th-Anniversay Edition with a Revised Discography (orig. 1956/reissue 2006) and now this combination biography and musical analysis book by John Szwed.
The Musician and the Myth is best read as an addendum to Holiday's autobiography as it is not a complete biography in itself. It does provide some excellent context and clarification about the censored passages in the 1956 book. These were primarily due to Hollywood lawyers and agents who threatened to sue if their client's names and anecdotes were left in the book. There were also passages about Holiday's bisexuality which were deemed to be too revealing for that era. It is actually somewhat surprising that a complete uncensored edition has not appeared in the present day, as Szwed is able to quote entire lengthy passages of the original censored content, so it presumably all exists in the vaults of the original publisher Doubleday (or those of whomever owns that imprint these days).
Szwed divides his material into a front half discussing the "myth" and then a very detailed back half on the "musician". The latter isn't a full sessionography, but it does provide quite a lot of information about which other bands and session musicians Holiday worked with over her career. It breaks this down into what are now the conventionally accepted 3 periods of Holiday's recordings: roughly the early Columbia (& associated labels) years of the 1930s, the middle Commodore & Decca recordings of the 1940s and finally the Verve recordings of the 1950's. Szwed makes a case that the final 2 recordings for Columbia constitute a 4th period in themselves, regardless of how brief. This is especially so for the controversial Lady in Satin (1958) with its mostly non-jazz string arrangements, yet which many listeners still regard as their favourite Holiday album.
Soundtrack
These were the main Billie Holiday albums that I was listening to while reading Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth:
1. Billie Holiday - 5 Original Albums A bargain priced 5 CD box set of 5 original LPs from 1956 to 1958 in mini-LP cardboard sleeves including original liner notes and session musician details.
Box set cover image sourced from Discogs.
2. Lady in Satin: The Centennial Edition (orig 1958/reissue 2015), the second last album in an extended 3 CD edition with previously unreleased takes and tracks. Released t0 commemorate the 100th anniversary of Billie Holiday's birth in 1915.
Disc image sourced from Discogs.
Review of the Penguin Books paperback (2016) of the original Viking hardcover (2015)
February 2022 became a Billie Holiday discovery month for me, starting from when I first listened to the podcast Billie Was a Black Woman (2021), which was excellent on the present day inspiration and influence of the singer, but had very little biographical content. That led me to read the interview collection Billie Holiday: The Last Interview and Other Conversations (2019), her own autobiography Lady Sings the Blues: The 50th-Anniversay Edition with a Revised Discography (orig. 1956/reissue 2006) and now this combination biography and musical analysis book by John Szwed.
The Musician and the Myth is best read as an addendum to Holiday's autobiography as it is not a complete biography in itself. It does provide some excellent context and clarification about the censored passages in the 1956 book. These were primarily due to Hollywood lawyers and agents who threatened to sue if their client's names and anecdotes were left in the book. There were also passages about Holiday's bisexuality which were deemed to be too revealing for that era. It is actually somewhat surprising that a complete uncensored edition has not appeared in the present day, as Szwed is able to quote entire lengthy passages of the original censored content, so it presumably all exists in the vaults of the original publisher Doubleday (or those of whomever owns that imprint these days).
Szwed divides his material into a front half discussing the "myth" and then a very detailed back half on the "musician". The latter isn't a full sessionography, but it does provide quite a lot of information about which other bands and session musicians Holiday worked with over her career. It breaks this down into what are now the conventionally accepted 3 periods of Holiday's recordings: roughly the early Columbia (& associated labels) years of the 1930s, the middle Commodore & Decca recordings of the 1940s and finally the Verve recordings of the 1950's. Szwed makes a case that the final 2 recordings for Columbia constitute a 4th period in themselves, regardless of how brief. This is especially so for the controversial Lady in Satin (1958) with its mostly non-jazz string arrangements, yet which many listeners still regard as their favourite Holiday album.
Soundtrack
These were the main Billie Holiday albums that I was listening to while reading Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth:
1. Billie Holiday - 5 Original Albums A bargain priced 5 CD box set of 5 original LPs from 1956 to 1958 in mini-LP cardboard sleeves including original liner notes and session musician details.
Box set cover image sourced from Discogs.
2. Lady in Satin: The Centennial Edition (orig 1958/reissue 2015), the second last album in an extended 3 CD edition with previously unreleased takes and tracks. Released t0 commemorate the 100th anniversary of Billie Holiday's birth in 1915.
Disc image sourced from Discogs.
Read
January 24, 2019oops. It was actually the paperback version I read, but that's okay.
When my brain clears from flu fog, I'll be back to write more about this book, but for now, I really, really enjoyed reading it. It offers a number of insights not only into Holiday as an individual but also into her somewhat controversial Lady Sings the Blues, into her music, and into the history of those who came before her musically. At the same time, the author is savvy enough to note that "some secrets still linger" about her life, so anyone looking for a tell-all sort of thing won't get it here. I have loved Holiday's music forever, so for me this was definitely a must read.
more soon.
When my brain clears from flu fog, I'll be back to write more about this book, but for now, I really, really enjoyed reading it. It offers a number of insights not only into Holiday as an individual but also into her somewhat controversial Lady Sings the Blues, into her music, and into the history of those who came before her musically. At the same time, the author is savvy enough to note that "some secrets still linger" about her life, so anyone looking for a tell-all sort of thing won't get it here. I have loved Holiday's music forever, so for me this was definitely a must read.
more soon.
April 3, 2016
The concept of "The Musician and the Myth" was very intriguing, as most bios take a rather conventional approach. In the average book focusing on a performer you get a chronological look at their private lives with a a dutiful glance at his or her career, and almost always they use the career as a way to further understand the print self. But what about the public self? What about the persona she created, her unique approach to music? That was something I wanted to read. Unfortunately, some of the challenges inherent to this approach stunted my full appreciation of the concept, and I finished it thinking I would have enjoyed it much more if I was not the mere "appreciator" of Holiday's work that I was, but more of a true fan who already knew the basics of her life and had a comprehensive knowledge of her recording career.
Granted, it is very difficult to communicate fully the impact a singer can have on an audience, and the "how" of their achieving that. It almost demands a poetic, emotional approach, the style of a fiction writer. Szwed's writing, while objective and honest, is overtly scholastic and dispassionate at times. When you are trying to communicate the feel of a song without actually being able to play it for someone, you've got to pull out all the stops. You have to bring the senses into it as if you were tempting someone with a meal they'd never see, let alone taste. Barring that, a guide for the reader on where to access the available recordings of the performances being covered, would have been a great addition.
Also, the structure of the book doesn't allow for a strong sense of a narrative arc. Perhaps if Szwed had bookended the career focused parts with small sections on the beginning and end of her life it might have had a stronger sense of story, which even non-fiction needs to contain. The time-line does get very confusing, and it was difficult for this reader to understand exactly where I was in the story, and in Holiday's career at times.
The introduction, and the chapters on the myth of Billie Holiday, which explore the writing of her memoir, are where this book excels. And it's very illuminating to read later about the world of female singers, black and white, before Holiday arrived on the scene. It allowed me to understand how she was influenced, how she differed from those before her, and how she altered forever, the expectations and understanding of, not just female performers, but of jazz itself.
Granted, it is very difficult to communicate fully the impact a singer can have on an audience, and the "how" of their achieving that. It almost demands a poetic, emotional approach, the style of a fiction writer. Szwed's writing, while objective and honest, is overtly scholastic and dispassionate at times. When you are trying to communicate the feel of a song without actually being able to play it for someone, you've got to pull out all the stops. You have to bring the senses into it as if you were tempting someone with a meal they'd never see, let alone taste. Barring that, a guide for the reader on where to access the available recordings of the performances being covered, would have been a great addition.
Also, the structure of the book doesn't allow for a strong sense of a narrative arc. Perhaps if Szwed had bookended the career focused parts with small sections on the beginning and end of her life it might have had a stronger sense of story, which even non-fiction needs to contain. The time-line does get very confusing, and it was difficult for this reader to understand exactly where I was in the story, and in Holiday's career at times.
The introduction, and the chapters on the myth of Billie Holiday, which explore the writing of her memoir, are where this book excels. And it's very illuminating to read later about the world of female singers, black and white, before Holiday arrived on the scene. It allowed me to understand how she was influenced, how she differed from those before her, and how she altered forever, the expectations and understanding of, not just female performers, but of jazz itself.
October 9, 2022
Libro non facile da leggere per chi come me è ignorante di cultura jazz. Non è la classica ricostruzione biografica, piuttosto una riflessione psico-sociale sulle difficoltà incontrate da una cantante talentuosa come Billie Holiday e strettamente connesse alla società, quella americana degli anni '30-'40, epoca della segregazione razziale, e più precisamente ad Harlem, dove la vita per una ragazza di colore difficilmente può essere appetibile e in cui l'incontro con la droga sembra quasi inevitabile.
Quello che mi ha colpito prepotentemente è il bigottismo del pubblico americano che non riusciva ad accettare che un talento così raro potesse celare allo stesso tempo una vita privata schiava della tossicodipendenza.
E seppur in modo diverso, mi sembra che anche le case discografiche abbiano peccato di ipocrisia, tentando talvolta di costringerla in confini commerciali nettamente in contrasto con la sua natura musicale basata sull'improvvisazione, per la quale veniva proprio apprezzata.
Ma il libro è soprattutto un tributo al suo talento, al suo modo unico di cantare in ritardo e con un'espressività che probabilmente scaturiva proprio da quel privato turbolento che la società non riusciva a perdonarle.
Ciò nonostante, Billie è rimasta fedele a sé stessa fino all'ultimo. Nel bene e nel male.
Per chi non la conoscesse vi invito a gustarvi questa performance, una delle ultime esibizioni live poco prima della sua morte. La canzone è "Strange fruit", forse il brano che più la rappresenta. Una denuncia contro i linciaggi dei neri nonché una delle prime espressioni del movimento per i diritti civili, tema per cui la Holiday si è sempre battuta proprio attraverso la sua arte.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DGY9...
Quello che mi ha colpito prepotentemente è il bigottismo del pubblico americano che non riusciva ad accettare che un talento così raro potesse celare allo stesso tempo una vita privata schiava della tossicodipendenza.
E seppur in modo diverso, mi sembra che anche le case discografiche abbiano peccato di ipocrisia, tentando talvolta di costringerla in confini commerciali nettamente in contrasto con la sua natura musicale basata sull'improvvisazione, per la quale veniva proprio apprezzata.
Ma il libro è soprattutto un tributo al suo talento, al suo modo unico di cantare in ritardo e con un'espressività che probabilmente scaturiva proprio da quel privato turbolento che la società non riusciva a perdonarle.
Ciò nonostante, Billie è rimasta fedele a sé stessa fino all'ultimo. Nel bene e nel male.
Per chi non la conoscesse vi invito a gustarvi questa performance, una delle ultime esibizioni live poco prima della sua morte. La canzone è "Strange fruit", forse il brano che più la rappresenta. Una denuncia contro i linciaggi dei neri nonché una delle prime espressioni del movimento per i diritti civili, tema per cui la Holiday si è sempre battuta proprio attraverso la sua arte.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DGY9...
March 30, 2015
A must-read not only for Billie Holiday fans, but for anyone with even a passing interest in musical history. Well-written and meticulously researched, the author, John Szwed––director of the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University––knows his stuff, and disabuses the oft-mistaken notion that Holiday was primarily a blues singer and not the masterful jazz singer that she actually was.
He presents Holiday as an artist continually evolving, manipulating her voice and the musical notes she performed in a way that has rarely, if ever, been seen by any singer before or since. Rather than focusing on her tragic history, which by now is well-known, Szwed showcases her music instead, her raw talent, and the history of many of the songs she is best known for: 'Body and Soul', 'God Bless the Child', and 'Strange Fruit', among others. The story of 'Strange Fruit' in particular, a song about lynching during the Jim Crow era, is a fascinating read in its own right, particularly because Holiday first sang it publicly in 1939, decades before the Civil Rights movement.
Published in conjunction with Miss Holiday's 100th birthday, this book deserves a wide readership, if only to correct some of the misunderstandings surrounding one of our national treasures. Highly recommended.
He presents Holiday as an artist continually evolving, manipulating her voice and the musical notes she performed in a way that has rarely, if ever, been seen by any singer before or since. Rather than focusing on her tragic history, which by now is well-known, Szwed showcases her music instead, her raw talent, and the history of many of the songs she is best known for: 'Body and Soul', 'God Bless the Child', and 'Strange Fruit', among others. The story of 'Strange Fruit' in particular, a song about lynching during the Jim Crow era, is a fascinating read in its own right, particularly because Holiday first sang it publicly in 1939, decades before the Civil Rights movement.
Published in conjunction with Miss Holiday's 100th birthday, this book deserves a wide readership, if only to correct some of the misunderstandings surrounding one of our national treasures. Highly recommended.
April 17, 2015
Probably the best book I've read about Billie Holiday and the genius of her musical talent. Szwed takes the long view on Holiday, focusing his sights on what made her vocalizations so unique and so enduring, examining the music she made and the genres that surrounded that music.
Szwed deals with Holiday's personal story, tragically self-destructive as it was, only in terms of how it affected her music. Most heartbreaking were his descriptions of the last two albums she recorded. While critics and biographers pan or ignore them, Szwed is able to see them in a different light.
The next to last album that Holiday recorded, "Lady in Satin," was less than a year before the damage from years of alcohol and drug abuse prematurely ended the singer's life. She was already in declining health and her voice reflected that. Yet, Szwed points out that in spite of all the obstacles besetting Holiday, she retained her vocalization abilities and, in this one area of her life, she retained an incredible discipline that is hard to imagine given the physical shape she was in.
Even more incredulous is Holiday's last recorded album, "Last Recordings," released posthumously after her death in 1959. She was so sick by then, with her liver and heart failing rapidly, that she had to be held sitting upright in a chair by her secretary in short sessions - which are reflected on the album, as many of the songs are faded by the studio engineers at the end because Holiday ran out of energy so quickly - while recording the album. Again, the irony of the fortitude and discipline that Holiday had for music is juxtaposed with her inability to shake the addictions that caused the organ failures that led to her death.
For a music lover, the bulk of the discussion of this book on the story behind the music is a goldmine of information, not just about Holiday, but about the bigger picture of jazz, the blues, bebop, swing, and the pop music of the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's.
It's technical, but not inaccessible - the technical sheds light on what it was that made Holiday unique in an illustrious group that included the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Ethel Waters, Sarah Vaughn, Lena Horne, and Eartha Kitt.
Szwed deals with Holiday's personal story, tragically self-destructive as it was, only in terms of how it affected her music. Most heartbreaking were his descriptions of the last two albums she recorded. While critics and biographers pan or ignore them, Szwed is able to see them in a different light.
The next to last album that Holiday recorded, "Lady in Satin," was less than a year before the damage from years of alcohol and drug abuse prematurely ended the singer's life. She was already in declining health and her voice reflected that. Yet, Szwed points out that in spite of all the obstacles besetting Holiday, she retained her vocalization abilities and, in this one area of her life, she retained an incredible discipline that is hard to imagine given the physical shape she was in.
Even more incredulous is Holiday's last recorded album, "Last Recordings," released posthumously after her death in 1959. She was so sick by then, with her liver and heart failing rapidly, that she had to be held sitting upright in a chair by her secretary in short sessions - which are reflected on the album, as many of the songs are faded by the studio engineers at the end because Holiday ran out of energy so quickly - while recording the album. Again, the irony of the fortitude and discipline that Holiday had for music is juxtaposed with her inability to shake the addictions that caused the organ failures that led to her death.
For a music lover, the bulk of the discussion of this book on the story behind the music is a goldmine of information, not just about Holiday, but about the bigger picture of jazz, the blues, bebop, swing, and the pop music of the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's.
It's technical, but not inaccessible - the technical sheds light on what it was that made Holiday unique in an illustrious group that included the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Ethel Waters, Sarah Vaughn, Lena Horne, and Eartha Kitt.
January 24, 2020
This book renewed my intrigue in Lady Day. I loved learning about the descriptions of her personality: "sometimes rough, profane, caustic, and vengeful...witty, kind,and perceptive (107)." Szwed doesn't deny that she had a drug addiction but he doesn't penalize her for her shortcomings. It relieved me. He focused on her legend and her musicianship, for which lovers of Lady Day ought to be grateful.
October 12, 2023
I really enjoyed this! Szwed's approach feels very thorough and committed to journalistic non-bias/objectivity, though it's clear that he has immense respect / admiration for Holiday and hopes to honor her work and career with this careful study. I found the construction of the book interesting, if a bit textbook-like more than narratively driven, and was inspired to do follow-up research (and of course, follow-up listening) on several of the topics / songs / artists mentioned. A lovely biography.
August 26, 2023
Billie Holiday was a legendary singer whose myth has loomed even larger than any of the facts about her life. John Szwed, an acclaimed jazz writer, biographer and musician attempts to cut through the myth and puts her music front and center. Using a vast amount of material that had only come to light in the 10 years before this book was published, her cuts through some of the noise to get to the facts about her career and accomplishments. A refreshing take on a much editorialized career. - BH.
September 16, 2017
Fact filled, informative biography of Billie Holiday which also provides excellent information about the evolution of blues, jazz, R&B and other popular American music. Better editing would have made this an even more compelling bio.
August 29, 2018
Good review of her recorded work.
June 2, 2018
It was ok...
The first section of the book was very interesting and kept my attention completely. I feel like the second section of the book was like reading a boring dossier. I could hardly keep my eyes open to read the last section of the book.
The first section of the book was very interesting and kept my attention completely. I feel like the second section of the book was like reading a boring dossier. I could hardly keep my eyes open to read the last section of the book.
June 30, 2019
This book ended up being a biography based on an autobiography written while she was still alive. It was interesting in a few parts, but it was very drawn out and slow in the majority of it. To be honest, it left me wanting to go read her original autobiography rather than finishing this book. I routinely found myself thinking that and feeling sad that I had so much of this book to dredge through to get to it. If you're a Billy Holiday nut, it might be worth finding out a few new facts. Otherwise, skip it and read Lady Sings the Blues.
April 16, 2015
I would like to come back to this book in its finished print edition. I read an electronic galley and had some trouble with formatting--sometimes hard to know who was speaking (was it narrative or a quote from someone?) and other things like that. That's one of the risks of reading a galley, print or electronic.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I had a tough time getting into it--the first section was primarily about the movie Lady Sings the Blues, which I had just seen. I was confused as it felt like a study of the film, not a biography of Holiday, which was more what I was expecting. But looking at the subtitle, it really isn't a straight-up biography.
Billie Holiday is at its strongest in the last section, looking at some of her more popular and influential songs. Learning the backstories and context was fascinating. Normally I don't like to listen to music while I read, nor do I especially like interactive books that take you out of the narrative, but what would be great with this book would be an enhanced version or even a website where, when you get to a particular song, you could listen to it without digging through your own CD collection or searching YouTube, to hear the words and the music alongside the story.
If you're a jazz fan (and I use that term loosely--Holiday wasn't strictly jazz or any other one thing--pick this up. It will expand your understanding of someone who is often misunderstood and so influential even still today.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I had a tough time getting into it--the first section was primarily about the movie Lady Sings the Blues, which I had just seen. I was confused as it felt like a study of the film, not a biography of Holiday, which was more what I was expecting. But looking at the subtitle, it really isn't a straight-up biography.
Billie Holiday is at its strongest in the last section, looking at some of her more popular and influential songs. Learning the backstories and context was fascinating. Normally I don't like to listen to music while I read, nor do I especially like interactive books that take you out of the narrative, but what would be great with this book would be an enhanced version or even a website where, when you get to a particular song, you could listen to it without digging through your own CD collection or searching YouTube, to hear the words and the music alongside the story.
If you're a jazz fan (and I use that term loosely--Holiday wasn't strictly jazz or any other one thing--pick this up. It will expand your understanding of someone who is often misunderstood and so influential even still today.
September 10, 2017
This was the first book about Billie Holiday I have read.
This book gives insight of her journey going from band to band, album to album and so on. Szwed goes into too much detail about the musicians and people Billie associated with. I was annoyed at times because I just was only interested in Billie but its fine, I learned a lot about the time period.
Having focused on the music is refreshing, I wouldn't think any other Billie Holiday book will give me this same experience. For example, my favorite passage was about Billie and Artie Shaw, I did not know they played together!
Szwed understands and respects that Billie Holiday was an openly 'woke' woman of her time. Being a queer black woman in entertainment back then was not an easy life. He references and celebrates that identity with awesome quotes. My biggest takeaway from the reading was getting to know her personality/identity. Makes me love and feel connected to her even more.
This was a positive introduction to Billie Holiday's accomplishments. I am definitely looking forward to read more about her personal life.
This book gives insight of her journey going from band to band, album to album and so on. Szwed goes into too much detail about the musicians and people Billie associated with. I was annoyed at times because I just was only interested in Billie but its fine, I learned a lot about the time period.
Having focused on the music is refreshing, I wouldn't think any other Billie Holiday book will give me this same experience. For example, my favorite passage was about Billie and Artie Shaw, I did not know they played together!
Szwed understands and respects that Billie Holiday was an openly 'woke' woman of her time. Being a queer black woman in entertainment back then was not an easy life. He references and celebrates that identity with awesome quotes. My biggest takeaway from the reading was getting to know her personality/identity. Makes me love and feel connected to her even more.
This was a positive introduction to Billie Holiday's accomplishments. I am definitely looking forward to read more about her personal life.
February 29, 2016
Not a complete or always straightforward biography but an insightful and perceptive study of the artist.
June 15, 2015
Stuffy pedantic writing of facts vs myths of Billei Holiday's Lady Sings the Blues. I love Billie Holiday but this book was horrible!
November 11, 2015
Excellent biography! I really appreciate the historical, musical, and social context provided.
March 8, 2018
It was okay. Thought the author focused too much on his opinions & the accuracy of other books about Holiday.
July 9, 2024
Pages: 230
Author: John Szwed
Authors story:
John F. Szwed is the John M. Musser Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, African American Studies and Film Studies at Yale University and an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar in the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University, where he previously served as the Center's Director and Professor of Music and Jazz Studies. John Szewd has always had an interest in Billie Holiday. John decided to write a book about her. He wrote this book because he wanted to debunk the Myths and lies told about Billie Holiday's life. Which means, exposing her biography she made, and her drug addictions. The author's voice is very elegant, he knows how to write a great book.
Why this book is world changing/ why it is life changing for me:
I believe this book is life changing not only for the world, but for me as well. It helps create an understanding of what a bad example of choices a person can make. Enough bad choices can lead you to destruction. I believe everyone should know that. This book is also life changing for me because I would like to be a jazz singer someday, and this book focuses on jazz and shows Billie Holiday's mistakes she made as a human being and how fame brought her to ruin.
Plot:
Billie Holiday was a world renowned Jazz singer. Billie Holiday was an important woman in History because she was the first black woman to sing with an all white person band. But because she was a world renowned jazz singer, she had some baggage, but does she elaborate that baggage through her interviews and stories? A part of that baggage would be using meth and taking drugs(which so many famous artists struggle with). Billie was caught taking drugs, and then a reporter wrote in the newspaper”Billie Holiday the drug addict”. Because Bille was caught taking drugs, she was not allowed to sing in her Jazz club anymore and was taken away her license to serve alcohol. Billie Holiday decided she needed to get out of this pickle by writing about herself and somehow persuade the public that she wasn't taking drugs anymore.
She recruited a man called Mr. Duff to write her biography. Mr. Duff, Billie's biography writer, was under the impression that she was being dishonest in all that she did. She would ask to write different parts about her story to seem more like a hurt lamb so she could get back into her Jazz club. Especially the parts about her parents. She told Mr. Duff to write that her mom was 14 when she got married to a 25 year old man”her father”. Bille told Mr. Duff to make her seem like the victim. She also made it known that her parents were drug addicts and that she was brought up in a family of drugs, but she stated “I am no longer taking drugs; they have proved to hinder more than feel good at the moment.”
Bille and Mr.Duff published her biography, they sold lots of copies and they both got a good amount of money,but people started to realize that it seemed a bit fake. In the end, her lie of a biography was easily seen through. No one believed that she was off of drugs. Of course there were some truths to her stories like she grew up in a brothel and that her father was never around and that they grew up in extreme poverty as well as that she had abusive husbands. Billie saw that no one believed her so she asked Mr. Duff to edit some of the biography. Even though it was more truthful, no one trusted her anymore. And after her license was taken away, that was a turning point in her career. For the next seven years, Holiday would slip deeper into alcoholism and begin to lose control of her once perfect voice. In 1959, after the death of her good friend Lester Young and with almost nothing to her name, Billie Holiday died at the age of forty-four by Alcohol Abuse and drugs.
“I guess I’m not the only one who heard their first good jazz in a whorehouse. But I never tried to make anything of it. If I’d heard Louis and Bessie at a Girl Scout jamboree, I’d have loved it just the same.”
― Billie Holiday, Lady Sings the Blues
“In this country, don't forget, a habit is no damn private hell. There's no solitary confinement outside of jail. A habit is hell for those you love. And in this country it's the worst kind of hell for those who love you.” - Billie Holiday
“I'll Be Seeing You"
I'll be seeing you
In all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day and through
In that small cafe
The park across the way
The children's carousel
The chestnut trees, the wishing well
I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way
I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you
I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way
I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you”
― Billie Holiday
Author: John Szwed
Authors story:
John F. Szwed is the John M. Musser Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, African American Studies and Film Studies at Yale University and an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar in the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University, where he previously served as the Center's Director and Professor of Music and Jazz Studies. John Szewd has always had an interest in Billie Holiday. John decided to write a book about her. He wrote this book because he wanted to debunk the Myths and lies told about Billie Holiday's life. Which means, exposing her biography she made, and her drug addictions. The author's voice is very elegant, he knows how to write a great book.
Why this book is world changing/ why it is life changing for me:
I believe this book is life changing not only for the world, but for me as well. It helps create an understanding of what a bad example of choices a person can make. Enough bad choices can lead you to destruction. I believe everyone should know that. This book is also life changing for me because I would like to be a jazz singer someday, and this book focuses on jazz and shows Billie Holiday's mistakes she made as a human being and how fame brought her to ruin.
Plot:
Billie Holiday was a world renowned Jazz singer. Billie Holiday was an important woman in History because she was the first black woman to sing with an all white person band. But because she was a world renowned jazz singer, she had some baggage, but does she elaborate that baggage through her interviews and stories? A part of that baggage would be using meth and taking drugs(which so many famous artists struggle with). Billie was caught taking drugs, and then a reporter wrote in the newspaper”Billie Holiday the drug addict”. Because Bille was caught taking drugs, she was not allowed to sing in her Jazz club anymore and was taken away her license to serve alcohol. Billie Holiday decided she needed to get out of this pickle by writing about herself and somehow persuade the public that she wasn't taking drugs anymore.
She recruited a man called Mr. Duff to write her biography. Mr. Duff, Billie's biography writer, was under the impression that she was being dishonest in all that she did. She would ask to write different parts about her story to seem more like a hurt lamb so she could get back into her Jazz club. Especially the parts about her parents. She told Mr. Duff to write that her mom was 14 when she got married to a 25 year old man”her father”. Bille told Mr. Duff to make her seem like the victim. She also made it known that her parents were drug addicts and that she was brought up in a family of drugs, but she stated “I am no longer taking drugs; they have proved to hinder more than feel good at the moment.”
Bille and Mr.Duff published her biography, they sold lots of copies and they both got a good amount of money,but people started to realize that it seemed a bit fake. In the end, her lie of a biography was easily seen through. No one believed that she was off of drugs. Of course there were some truths to her stories like she grew up in a brothel and that her father was never around and that they grew up in extreme poverty as well as that she had abusive husbands. Billie saw that no one believed her so she asked Mr. Duff to edit some of the biography. Even though it was more truthful, no one trusted her anymore. And after her license was taken away, that was a turning point in her career. For the next seven years, Holiday would slip deeper into alcoholism and begin to lose control of her once perfect voice. In 1959, after the death of her good friend Lester Young and with almost nothing to her name, Billie Holiday died at the age of forty-four by Alcohol Abuse and drugs.
“I guess I’m not the only one who heard their first good jazz in a whorehouse. But I never tried to make anything of it. If I’d heard Louis and Bessie at a Girl Scout jamboree, I’d have loved it just the same.”
― Billie Holiday, Lady Sings the Blues
“In this country, don't forget, a habit is no damn private hell. There's no solitary confinement outside of jail. A habit is hell for those you love. And in this country it's the worst kind of hell for those who love you.” - Billie Holiday
“I'll Be Seeing You"
I'll be seeing you
In all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day and through
In that small cafe
The park across the way
The children's carousel
The chestnut trees, the wishing well
I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way
I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you
I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way
I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you”
― Billie Holiday
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2020
This book is not a biography with a continual narrative, and in point of fact it seems like Szwed's mission is tying a lot of personal objections he has to the discussion around Billie Holiday's legacy into a critical mass of text. All of those little points, corrections, revisions to the record, etc., are sort of amassed into one compendium of marginalia meant to affix a more reparative reading of Holiday's life and her biography to her body of work. Because of this, cohesion of arguments, a sort-of "through-line" to the text, is kind of unclear. Both the introduction and the final passages of the text aren't successful in establishing the outline or the argument of the book.
Having said that, I still enjoyed some of the contextual information and heretofore unknown trivia about the times and the folks she played with. I also enjoyed what was provided with regard to her approach to phrasing, especially when it incorporated use of classical terminology to show just how phenomenal she could be. I love that Thomas Ades, Dawn Powell, James Baldwin, and Leonard Bernstein - all heroes of mine in some capacity - are drawn into the orbit of this book.
I also enjoyed the sympathy he has for her record Lady in Satin. That record is a prized favorite of mine despite understanding loud and clear why it's considered by some to be an indicator of artistic descent. It was a personal favorite of Lady Day's and advocated for by none other than Miles Davis, both factoids something I didn't know prior (also two individuals whose tastes I trust more than the public's). I think people get caught up in the weeds not just with the emotional or the autobiographical detail (this happens of course when evaluating "Tears in Heaven" for Clapton or more recently Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' "Skeleton Tree"), but with the bizarre-adjacent inscrutability of the motivation behind her pivot towards strings and pop. In other words, the fear seems to me "why did she choose to do this thing that's so different from what came before?" and I don't really have the bandwidth to get hung up on that kind of nonsense. I could give a damn; as a singer on this pop record, she's still more capable as a singer in the throes of death than some of the more embarrassing offerings put forward by today's young, healthy, erm, vocal entertainers. To me it's like that record has the whole back catalogue of her awesomeness rolled into it, despite everything, somehow. It's just a great record.
The testimonies to her musicality from the musicians was so refreshing, because sometimes working with singers, you get the impression that reading music and counting beats are not priorities for them. A lot of what this book had to offer to me were bits of supporting evidence to my claim at her awesomeness, evidence I didn't have and now I'm proud to have. I appreciate the book for that even if its disjointedness, and vibe of being a rushed compendium of errata, make it hard to appreciate as a cohesive argument from beginning to end. So be it; overall the takeaway from this collection of Holiday-related marginalia was edifying to me and very solidifying of my instincts about what makes for effective singing philosophically. Another way to phrase it: the brief look "under the hood" underscored and confirmed what my under-informed was scraping at. Not a bad reaction to a book.
Having said that, I still enjoyed some of the contextual information and heretofore unknown trivia about the times and the folks she played with. I also enjoyed what was provided with regard to her approach to phrasing, especially when it incorporated use of classical terminology to show just how phenomenal she could be. I love that Thomas Ades, Dawn Powell, James Baldwin, and Leonard Bernstein - all heroes of mine in some capacity - are drawn into the orbit of this book.
I also enjoyed the sympathy he has for her record Lady in Satin. That record is a prized favorite of mine despite understanding loud and clear why it's considered by some to be an indicator of artistic descent. It was a personal favorite of Lady Day's and advocated for by none other than Miles Davis, both factoids something I didn't know prior (also two individuals whose tastes I trust more than the public's). I think people get caught up in the weeds not just with the emotional or the autobiographical detail (this happens of course when evaluating "Tears in Heaven" for Clapton or more recently Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' "Skeleton Tree"), but with the bizarre-adjacent inscrutability of the motivation behind her pivot towards strings and pop. In other words, the fear seems to me "why did she choose to do this thing that's so different from what came before?" and I don't really have the bandwidth to get hung up on that kind of nonsense. I could give a damn; as a singer on this pop record, she's still more capable as a singer in the throes of death than some of the more embarrassing offerings put forward by today's young, healthy, erm, vocal entertainers. To me it's like that record has the whole back catalogue of her awesomeness rolled into it, despite everything, somehow. It's just a great record.
The testimonies to her musicality from the musicians was so refreshing, because sometimes working with singers, you get the impression that reading music and counting beats are not priorities for them. A lot of what this book had to offer to me were bits of supporting evidence to my claim at her awesomeness, evidence I didn't have and now I'm proud to have. I appreciate the book for that even if its disjointedness, and vibe of being a rushed compendium of errata, make it hard to appreciate as a cohesive argument from beginning to end. So be it; overall the takeaway from this collection of Holiday-related marginalia was edifying to me and very solidifying of my instincts about what makes for effective singing philosophically. Another way to phrase it: the brief look "under the hood" underscored and confirmed what my under-informed was scraping at. Not a bad reaction to a book.
August 23, 2018
Sort of torn on this one, as I don't think it really achieves what it sets out to do. It's not a biography and that's no problem, Szwed doesn't claim it is, but then he refers to himself as a biographer at the end, so...? Like I said, no problem, I wasn't expecting a biography and may not have read it if it was one.
The book concerns itself not with Holiday the person. The myth and the musician are the focus, like it says on the package. First, the myth. I assumed Szwed would be examining the larger Holiday myth, examining it and debunking with thorough research. Well, not really. He mostly concerns himself with myth generated by the autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, and its attendant movie version and the various scripts and projects that never came to fruition in the years between the two.
Second, the musician. I expected to get lost here as I always do in books that are take a musicological stance. Mostly Szwed just goes through her career, citing her phases and notable records in detail that never really is any more detailed than good CD liner notes. I wasn't lost in musicological detail but neither did I receive much more insight into her musically than I have from listening to her. There are plenty of nice anecdotes and such, but it feels rather skimpy.
I enjoyed the book, and was never bored, but it feels like excerpts from a longer, more detailed tome.
The book concerns itself not with Holiday the person. The myth and the musician are the focus, like it says on the package. First, the myth. I assumed Szwed would be examining the larger Holiday myth, examining it and debunking with thorough research. Well, not really. He mostly concerns himself with myth generated by the autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, and its attendant movie version and the various scripts and projects that never came to fruition in the years between the two.
Second, the musician. I expected to get lost here as I always do in books that are take a musicological stance. Mostly Szwed just goes through her career, citing her phases and notable records in detail that never really is any more detailed than good CD liner notes. I wasn't lost in musicological detail but neither did I receive much more insight into her musically than I have from listening to her. There are plenty of nice anecdotes and such, but it feels rather skimpy.
I enjoyed the book, and was never bored, but it feels like excerpts from a longer, more detailed tome.
November 5, 2019
Judging by the large number of reviews and ratings this is a somewhat surprisingly popular release here on GoodReads. Not sure if its popularity is related to its clearance bin ubiquity though (which is how I came across it), as I'm not sure how much of it is related to word-of-mouth recommendations because of its somewhat confusing concept.
One thing that others have mentioned here as well: this is not much of a biography. Don't expect the usual chronological chain of events from rags to riches. Instead, it's more of an academic compendium, most prominently offering commentary on the many myths spread by Holiday's own (ghostwritten) autobiography and other biographies that tried to make sense of it (or spread even more). The rest of it are treatises on her songs, singing and acting career, plus even a historical context thrown in for good measure that deals with her musical predecessors and peers. It's certainly an interesting read, but as it's front-loaded with its juiciest, myth-related chapter, the chapters after that increasingly feel like afterthoughts.
If you've already read your fair share of Billie Holiday biographies, this relatively cheap purchase is certainly worth your time and trouble as a detailed and well-researched addendum. If you're a casual fan interested in her life this may not be the most ideal one to start with, though.
One thing that others have mentioned here as well: this is not much of a biography. Don't expect the usual chronological chain of events from rags to riches. Instead, it's more of an academic compendium, most prominently offering commentary on the many myths spread by Holiday's own (ghostwritten) autobiography and other biographies that tried to make sense of it (or spread even more). The rest of it are treatises on her songs, singing and acting career, plus even a historical context thrown in for good measure that deals with her musical predecessors and peers. It's certainly an interesting read, but as it's front-loaded with its juiciest, myth-related chapter, the chapters after that increasingly feel like afterthoughts.
If you've already read your fair share of Billie Holiday biographies, this relatively cheap purchase is certainly worth your time and trouble as a detailed and well-researched addendum. If you're a casual fan interested in her life this may not be the most ideal one to start with, though.
May 25, 2020
I expected a biography of Billie Holiday, but the book is almost entirely given over to where and with whom Holiday performed, who composed and arranged the songs she sang, how her vocal styling of different songs varied, the different musical genres she explored, the New York jazz club scene at the time, what recordings were produced and by whom, etc. We're told that her career was interrupted on several occasions when she was arrested on drug charges and served time. We also learn that in Lady Sings the Blues, a book she wrote about her own life, some facts were in error because she either didn't remember accurately or didn't think them important.
I kept hoping that the author would step back and give us a straight-ahead chronological summary of Holiday's life, telling us about her parents and family life, what schooling she may have had, her relationships (it's hinted that she had more than one husband as well as affairs with women), the background of her addiction(s), etc. But no such luck; it's more an extended piece of musical criticism than it is a biography.
The book would be ideal for someone interested in the minute details of how American jazz developed and a catalog of its leading personalities, but that wasn't me.
I kept hoping that the author would step back and give us a straight-ahead chronological summary of Holiday's life, telling us about her parents and family life, what schooling she may have had, her relationships (it's hinted that she had more than one husband as well as affairs with women), the background of her addiction(s), etc. But no such luck; it's more an extended piece of musical criticism than it is a biography.
The book would be ideal for someone interested in the minute details of how American jazz developed and a catalog of its leading personalities, but that wasn't me.
February 9, 2024
Knowing little about Billie Holiday, I intended to read - and assumed this was - a traditional biography. It was not, though the book was still an enjoyable and informative read.
As the author notes at the end, he wanted to shed new light on the "artist who was Billie Holiday" and "to shift the focus to her art." He definitely accomplished both of these. The focus is on Holiday as an artist and Jazz/Blues as an art form of her day. I do wish this note was at the start, rather than the end, of the book. Readers may understand, and therefore, enjoy the book more if they know the general aim of the content.
Furthermore, it's clear that the author does not intend this to be a one-stop biographical book. He assumes that the readers have read other biographies about Holiday, including her autobiography, and that they are familiar with her music, the times, and the context in which she lived. Having said that, I didn't necessarily feel lost or out of my depth as I read. If anything, it's spurred me on to want to read more about her - and has probably provided a good basis for me to analyze the other writings, especially her autobiography with all of its controversy.
In short, I will absolutely enjoy her music more after having read this book.
As the author notes at the end, he wanted to shed new light on the "artist who was Billie Holiday" and "to shift the focus to her art." He definitely accomplished both of these. The focus is on Holiday as an artist and Jazz/Blues as an art form of her day. I do wish this note was at the start, rather than the end, of the book. Readers may understand, and therefore, enjoy the book more if they know the general aim of the content.
Furthermore, it's clear that the author does not intend this to be a one-stop biographical book. He assumes that the readers have read other biographies about Holiday, including her autobiography, and that they are familiar with her music, the times, and the context in which she lived. Having said that, I didn't necessarily feel lost or out of my depth as I read. If anything, it's spurred me on to want to read more about her - and has probably provided a good basis for me to analyze the other writings, especially her autobiography with all of its controversy.
In short, I will absolutely enjoy her music more after having read this book.
July 28, 2023
Out of a majority of the Billie Holiday biographies that I have read this was one of the good ones.
I liked how there was this good balance between talking about Billie and then talking about people that she was associated with or worked with. I also liked how Szwed went into the musicality and audience responses of Billie's singing style and songs. Finally I really appreciated how Szwed discussed the context of the time period in which Billie was performing and creating.
But there is a but. At times I got a bit lost whilst reading this biography. Whilst it is great to understand the musicality of Billie's singing style and the way in which the songs were created and intended on a musical level, for people who are not part of the musical world or who don't come from a musical background this book will be hard to understand. I understood some of what Szwed was saying but at other times I had no clue what he was saying and found myself getting a bit distracted and bored in those moments
Nonetheless, I do highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the wonderful Billie Holiday or who want to know more about the songs and music style of Lady Day.
I liked how there was this good balance between talking about Billie and then talking about people that she was associated with or worked with. I also liked how Szwed went into the musicality and audience responses of Billie's singing style and songs. Finally I really appreciated how Szwed discussed the context of the time period in which Billie was performing and creating.
But there is a but. At times I got a bit lost whilst reading this biography. Whilst it is great to understand the musicality of Billie's singing style and the way in which the songs were created and intended on a musical level, for people who are not part of the musical world or who don't come from a musical background this book will be hard to understand. I understood some of what Szwed was saying but at other times I had no clue what he was saying and found myself getting a bit distracted and bored in those moments
Nonetheless, I do highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the wonderful Billie Holiday or who want to know more about the songs and music style of Lady Day.
December 19, 2025
There are too many people whose lives are described in the context of their drug use. "They died of a drug overdose," is the short version of their lives. Never mind that they had a family, was a loving parent, an exceptional artist, and part of a community of artists that supported one another. The takeaway is condensed into a sentence regarding death by drugs.
Billie Holiday cannot be dismissed in this way. She lead a complicated life and many stories follow her, true or not. She had collaborators and biographers. There were people who knew her as a person as well as a musician. Individuals would testify to her singing talent, her phrasing and precise diction. She was her own person with her own demons, yet her story might be dismissed under the spell of heroin. Holiday was much more, of course, and put in the context of music that came before, during and after her lifetime, her influence cannot be dismissed.
Billie Holiday cannot be dismissed in this way. She lead a complicated life and many stories follow her, true or not. She had collaborators and biographers. There were people who knew her as a person as well as a musician. Individuals would testify to her singing talent, her phrasing and precise diction. She was her own person with her own demons, yet her story might be dismissed under the spell of heroin. Holiday was much more, of course, and put in the context of music that came before, during and after her lifetime, her influence cannot be dismissed.
December 14, 2020
At this time in 2019, I was reading John Szwed's biography of Alan Lomax. I found it to be ridiculously exhaustive and insightful. That's the context that I brought to reading this semi-bio of Billie Holiday. As such, I was disappointed; that is not what this book is, and not what it was meant to be.
Context is everything, right? The reader puts as much of themselves in a book as does the author, at least when it comes to subjective conclusions. This wasn't the book about Billie Holiday that I wanted to read. It felt stilted, inconclusive, and too dependent upon other texts for its comparisons and conclusions. While it's no longer where I'm at in my reading, I'll keep an eye out for a more comprehensive biography of Holiday in the future. And there's always Lady Sings the Blues, that fictional, mythological, apocryphal autobiography, too, sitting on my table as we speak.
Context is everything, right? The reader puts as much of themselves in a book as does the author, at least when it comes to subjective conclusions. This wasn't the book about Billie Holiday that I wanted to read. It felt stilted, inconclusive, and too dependent upon other texts for its comparisons and conclusions. While it's no longer where I'm at in my reading, I'll keep an eye out for a more comprehensive biography of Holiday in the future. And there's always Lady Sings the Blues, that fictional, mythological, apocryphal autobiography, too, sitting on my table as we speak.
July 21, 2018
Billie Holiday's singing is a thing in and of itself. Her voice is instantly recognizable as is her styling. She did it her way. This book makes that point very clear as well as emphasizing the problems inherent with such a unique and at times headstrong individual. Like so many biographies of performers of this time, it is a virtual who's who of musicians, singers, and impresarios who came together and impacted each other's lives and careers in profound ways. I have to say that I learned a great deal about Lady Day and about the various cross-over artists of the time period. This is a well-researched book and an interesting read. (The beginning is slow, but stick with it...you'll be glad you did.)
January 6, 2021
If you are wanting to read a biography on Billie Holiday, this is not the book for you. Seeing as there is a 2021 movie titled The United States vs. Billie Holiday coming out, I found myself interested and wanted to read a biography on Billie Holiday. But this book, Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth, focused on her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, and her music instead. Many song titles and artists were named throughout the book, and after doing a little extra research I found myself growing to love the music of Billie Holiday and others more than I already had. This book briefly hit on Orson Welles, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and other celebrities, as well as Billie Holiday's hit songs "God Bless This Child", "Them There Eyes", "Strange Fruit", and other songs. Also, a brief history of black face was given in the book, which I found rather interesting after all that happened in 2020. I recommend the book to those who study music and jazz and to those who find an interest in the lives of the celebrities of the '30s, '40s, and '50s.
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