Billie's Blues: The Billie Holiday Story, 1933-1959

by John Chilton, Buck Clayton (Foreword by)

Anyone who has ever heard a Billie Holiday record knows the sound of her voice--sad, sexy, always relaxed but securely aware of the beat. Conveying a poignancy that cut to the heart of a song, she redeemed even trivial material with her impeccable sense of dramatic phrasing and time. The well-known tale of her lifelong battle with drugs has obscured the artistry that has made her one of the most revered singers of the twentieth century. Everyone from Frank Sinatra (who in the 1950s called her "unquestionably the most important influence on American popular singing in the last twenty years") to Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan has recognized the singularity of her interpretations. The racism that Billie found at every turn, whether in Artie Shaw's band or in the heart of the south, immortalized in the chilling song "Strange Fruit," cannot be overlooked in her biography. Jazz historian John Chilton has told the story of her short, tragic, influential career with restraint, correcting many of the more sensational tales she wrote about herself in Lady Sings the Blues . Buck Clayton, who knew Billie in the Basie band during the 1930s, has written a warm and personal foreword to this fascinating biography of a great American artist.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, History

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

John James Chilton (16 July 1932 - 25 February 2016) was a British jazz trumpeter and writer. During the 1960s, he also worked with pop bands, including The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Escorts.

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short book about a short life, and an even shorter period in that life. It is embellished by a number of photographs of Billie Holiday (many that I’ve previously seen), and a few more of her friends and other contemporaries, mainly jazz musicians with whom she performed. It is a good reference and presented as such, with an extensive bibliography of newspaper and trade magazine sources and a comprehensive index.

I learned much about Ms. Holiday’s unique musical styling and her under appreciated genius. However, the book focussed more on the trials she regularly faced: the institutionalized racism, misogyny and other sub-par circumstances she endured, especially while performing on the road. Moreover, unsurprisingly, it suggests that the trials she facd were worse than those inflicted on most of the black performers of her day who were generally male. Apparently, she was also subjected to a great deal more corruption and abuse as a result of the limited rights afforded to women at the time, and the virtually non-existent remedies society allowed them during her lifetime.

It’s a book about a life that is both jubilant and sad, wasted in part because of her own character, her wild appetites and her constant substance misuse. However, the distinct lack of support she contended with, her scant financial discipline (without any guidance or useful contributions from her various agent/ managers) and her poor formal education, also had a most negative impact on her wellbeing and success.

Nevertheless, and perhaps more importantly, the barriers she faced in the music industry at that time were almost insurmountable. Insurmountable, the reader is led to believe, in spite of her spirit, humour, genuine goodness as a person and her refusal to lie down and simply take the crap dished out to her by colleagues, her husband (s), club owners, the authorities and general society. How tragic.

While informative, the book was written with the dry style of most unbiased, historical accounts and was a bit disappointing to me in terms of its emotional impact and entertainment value. Still, it was worth reading about a performer I greatly admire.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preface to this review: I've been listening to jazz for ten years and have a solid collection of jazz books, so have some context for this title.

With that being said, this is a good book on Holiday for a few reasons. The first is that it was published in 1977, and the second is that it attempts a level of objectivity.

The original publish date gives the title some value for the exact reason that it's dated. While the author attempts a level of objectivity, you can sense that he's a little closer to the world Holiday actually lived in than we are now. The book isn't as politically correct as you'd see today, which provides a more unfiltered view of how people actually thought during the time. So in that sense this title has historical value.

On the second point, it's also objective enough that it's a reasonably serviceable account of Holiday's life. If you're a serious jazz fan you'll likely want something more modern as a supplement, but if you've run into this title for a low price it's definitely worth picking up for point one (the historical value).

[Karah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fondness for Billie Holiday exudes from the prose. No dishonesty but Chilton provides loving commentary on her personal and artistic character. I don't tire of reading about Lady Day. Each biographer adds something different. John Chilton served in the position of jazz musician and extends gracious understanding of how her personal life affected her professional standing.

I would buy this book.

[Isabelle Himmelberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading the book while listening to the mentioned songs on Youtube in their original format.

[Lina Anil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to read about famous people. You can learn somehting from their lives. Billie Hiliday was a wonderful singer.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well researched and interesting book, but the writing and organisation of the text were poor enough to take some enjoyment away from the reading of it.

[Kelly M Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book with pictures I read on Ms.Holiday as a junior high school student. I guess it's sadly out of print now. Also so much information has become available since it was written. BUT it is a very well written book. I love how this author writes. It made me seek out another book of his on the great Bessie Snith

[Lisa]

Billie's Blues: The Billie Holiday Story, 1933-1959 (Da Capo Paperback) by John Chilton (1989)

[Kyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was informational, i would of preferred the writing to have a more story telling feel