Eleanora Fagan

I don't care what anybody says, Eleanora Fagan was the greatest blues singer of all time. Who the hell is Eleanora Fagan? Luckily, as a star Eleanora didn't go by her given name. Instead, she went by the name Billie Holiday.

First of all, Billie was a beautiful woman. She was very easy to look at, that's for sure. Generations of young men were smitten with her upon first glance. But, it was her voice! Her voice is what really arrested people. I will never forget the first time I listened to a Billie Holiday song all the way through. I had bought a compilation of old blues tunes and the first song on it was "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)". Seconds after the song finished I listened to it again. It was that good!

This song shows the incredible range of Billie's voice. At times, she is nearly silent and other times she is forcefully direct. The power of this song was exciting to me in ways no other music had ever sounded to me before. I had been listening to punk, hardcore, college rock and my dad's music prior to this initial foray into the world of blues.

The other two songs that Billie sang on the comp were "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" and "God Bless The Child". All the other female blues and jazz singers that I have heard since are good for one sound or another or can be pigeonholed. But, Billie is far and away the most dynamic singer I have ever listened to in ANY genre.

I felt that way after the first note, but it wasn't until I heard the song "Strange Fruit" that I was 100% convinced that she was the unparalleled queen of the mic! This song is undeniably powerful. A stinging indictment of the racism in 1930s US culture, this song is of sincere historical importance. History aside, this song is compelling, commanding and a must for anyone interested in American history, American music or American people. Billie could make a simple word like that or when sound like the heaviest word you ever heard.

Billie Holiday, was much more than a pretty face. She was a force to be reckoned with in the world of music. Unfortunately, it was the other forces in her world that lead to her premature death in 1959 due to liver and heart issues.

Billie Holiday was born on this day in 1915. I have never heard a voice like hers. In one song she can be chilling, haunting, awe-inspiring, saddening, exciting, thrilling, etc, etc, etc. There was never a voice like hers and there hasn't been one like it since. Glad she changed her name to Billie, it suits her much better than Eleanora!