In "The United States Vs. Billie Holiday," federal agents wage a vigorous campaign for years to make her stop singing "Strange Fruit," that scathing portrait of lynching as a Southern tradition. When we pulled up in front of the Woodside Hotel everybody was broke and crying. Baby, darling, why, oh why didnt you come backstage to see me? Honey, dont you know? I told her. Columbia, her record label at the time, didn't want her to record the song at first because of its controversial subject matter. Two years later, Holiday was once again caught with drugs by the police. From how she got the nickname "Lady Day" to the origins of "Strange Fruit," here are some facts about the famed jazz singer. "And I had so many close conversations with her, about so many things," Fletcher had said in a rare interview. Publicity Listings Jazz legend .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Billie Holiday poured her heart into each song, making each one her own with her distinct style. "Dreamgirls" earned her not only a Tony, but Drama Desk and Theatre World Awards; she also won a Grammy Award for her recorded version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs. Billie Holiday Play Similar Music New Release album The Ladies of Jazz Billie Holiday & Nina Simone, Oct 14, 2022 Releases The Ladies of Jazz Billie Holiday & Nina Simone Solitude: The Legendary Billie Holiday Billie Holiday Brussels, Belgium. According to Holiday biographer Julia Blackburn, the singer was itching to record the song after seeing the audience reactions. Nobody bothered to tell me Id have to travel 500 to 600 miles on a hot or cold raggedy-assbus; that it would cost me two or three bucks a night for a room; that by the time I was through having my hair fixed and gowns pressedId end up with about a dollar and a half a day.. She went back on tour that year and is seen performing in Baltimore, though as Steve Provizer mentions, its highly unlikely she would have crowd-surfed as seen on film, even had the concert gone as depicted. She was sentenced to a year at a West Virginia prison. Before she found fame as a singer, Holiday did whatever it took to survive, including working a prostitute for a while. I didnt listen or stop for nothing. Director Lee Daniels told the Hollywood Reporter that The U.S. vs. Billie Holiday isnt a biopic, and as longtime Canadian journalist Robert Fulford once wrote in the National Post, it is difficult for anyone to attempt to chronicle an authoritative Life of Billie Holiday anyway, because the documents dont exist, and the witnesses have often lied. And when she starts crying, the next thing shes going to do is start fighting., And fight she did to be true to herself and her art, no matter what the cost. It was called The United States of America versus Billie Holiday, she writes of her trial (also the title of the upcoming Lee Daniels film starring Andra Day as Holiday). As the final text slides of the film say, Holiday died in the hospital on July 17, 1959, while still under watch by the narcs. For Holiday, singing was a magical form of connection and expression. Buy Lady Sings the Blues on Amazon or Bookshop. And the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act was taken up by Congress early last year, though it has yet to get through the Senate. Holiday arriving at a court hearing in 1947. Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks based her screenplay for the new movie on Johann Haris bestseller Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, specifically on the chapter about the federal agents who targeted Holiday. Her raw, all-consuming vocal version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" made the Tony-winning performer a cult phenomenon. Made-up incidents can illustrate some higher truth about the power of a protest song or a singer's personal magnetism. Lester Young dies, and his wife does not let Holiday sing at the funeral. Other Works I knew I had to do it that night and there wasnt two seconds to waste taking any lessons. FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Oddly enough, Dove was actually the stage name of Lillian Bohny. I thought he looked a little pale. Holiday died on July 17, 1959. Born Eleanora Fagan in 1915, Billie Holiday spent much of her young life in Baltimore, Maryland. The real Holiday did record the song in 1939. But that didnt matter. There is, however, one curious part of the sequence that rings true to life: a mention of Orson Welles waiting at the club for Holiday. Holiday is then seen with trumpeter Joe Guy (Melvin Gregg), who had an affair with her and supplied her with drugs while struggling with addiction himself (although it should be noted that it was Holidays husband Jimmy Monroe whod first supplied her with heroin in the early 40s). The two had a well-documented affair in the early 40s. The courtroom scene implies that Glaser was responsible for setting Holiday up in this instance, which is true. After moving to New York with her mother in the late 1920s, she endured another sexual assault at 14. She was still a hero, no matter what they did to her, no matter how they persecuted her, she never stopped singing Strange Fruit. She never let them destroy her.. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root. The real Anslinger did take an interest in Holiday's case, but in the film, her drug busts are just leverage to make her stop singing that song. Despite President Harry Trumans tepid steps toward advancing civil rights for Black Americans, racist Democrats still held a tight grip over his partyincluding Anslinger, who despised jazz and its icons. I knew if I didnt, the third time round I might bounce something off that cracker and land in some San Fernando ranch-type jail.. Ask a real person any government-related question for free. And then Anslinger's men cut it off.". It climbed to the No. The United States vs. Billie Holiday focuses on the later period of the legendary jazz singers career up until her death in 1959and the U.S. governments relentless persecution of her throughout that time. Who loves you, sweetheart? Anslinger appears in a scene with other notorious historical figures: Reps. J. Parnell Thomas and John Rankin, Sen. Joe McCarthy, and McCarthy aide Roy Cohn, the latter two of whom had their own connections to and vendettas against the largely Black jazz scene. Her great talent, however, was later diminished by bad relationships and alcohol and drug abuse. Andre Woods and Billy Meadows. Photo illustration by Slate. Louis McKay, played by Rob Morgan, is no angel in this picture. In the Broadway musical production of "Your Arms Too Short To Box With God", her performance earned her a 1981 Drama Desk nomination. His new memoir recalls the days when he used his sleight-of-hand skills to cheat other players in a high-stakes private poker game. At the age of 12 she was raped by a trumpet player. During this time, Fletcher is seen listening to more of Holidays music and taking a liking to it, which, as weve established, we cant know, although Johann Hari noted in Chasing the Scream that Fletcher did come to regret his role in investigating Holiday. Black Americans love this country, often at our peril.". (This racist belief was behind the removal of the drug from Coca-Cola.) In 1959 she collapsed in Manhattan and was taken to the hospital where, according to Hari, Holiday told a friend she thought the Feds who never stopped hounding her over her drug use, in an effort to silence her were going to kill her at the hospital. But the jazz singer refused to cower. If I had to sing Doggie in the Window, that would actually be work, she writes. We waited for Sarah to come off between sets. A voice-over from Devine mentions that a cast of important figures in Holidays life were all there that night, including singer and activist Lena Horne, actress Tallulah Bankhead, manager Joe Glaser (Dusan Dukic), and Holidays then-husband Jimmy Monroe (Erik LaRay Harvey). A later scene shows Levy planting drugs on Holiday and setting her up for another arrest by Fletcher and the feds; although an old Oakland Tribune article reports that Holiday and Levy were both arrested during the early-1949 raid, the setup does appear to have been coordinated by Levy. The group is also seen reading a newspaper, which likely would not, as depicted, have spurred a bickering among them in 1947 regarding a quarter-page ad for Holiday singing Strange Fruit at the caf, considering her then-ongoing Downbeat club engagement would have probably prevented her from holding such a performance in a different venue. We may earn a commission from these links. TREVANTE RHODES: (As Jimmy Fletcher) Pardon me for asking, but why is that song so important to us? So as a popular protest song, "Strange Fruit" helped galvanize an anti-lynching movement across the country. Hari told WNYC, "She's diagnosed with very advanced liver cancer and she starts to go into heroin withdrawal. Things had happened to me that no amount of time could change or heal, she writes. The singer managed to become a well-known name in the Fletcher ultimately led a raid on Holiday, pretending to have a telegram to deliver. As in "Lady Sings The Blues," she plays Carnegie Hall in 1948 with a big band and strings, not a quartet as in real life. She was previously married to Rev. The legends singing stuck with Day because her songs were rooted in truth.. A crowd gathered around, and my quiet incognito homecoming had blown up like a bum flash bulb.. Feeling ill, she went into a New York hospital in May 1959 where she was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. In 1947 she was arrested on drug charges and spent 10 months in federal prison, Legacy reported. Say, who needs you, needs you every minute? Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now. Federal authorities first targeted her shortly after she began singing the song. But how much of the film is true? I spent many a wonderful hour there listening to Pops and Bessie. Billie Holiday deserves better, a biopic that, say, shows how her voice changed over her quarter-century recording career, from girlish to mature to brittle, reflecting all that heartache and hard living. Then he began lapping me and loving me like crazy, she writes. This is hardly the first biopic to invent stuff when the real story is dramatic enough. I went out once to a birthday gathering for me, and the New York Post wrote that I had broken the chair because I was so big. They provoke people in the wrong way. There's more anecdotal than hard evidence of any such campaign. Or the word love, Holiday wrote of her life experiences. The name "Billie" came from silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday adored. That is indeed a heroic story and everyone in that position should be really proud of themselves, but one of the things I really learned from this is, that is not the only heroic story about addiction. After she and a white friend had car trouble by the beach, Holiday was grateful when a familiar-looking man fixed their car and took them for a drink at a country club. Anslinger, who once faced calls for his resignation after using the n-word in an internal memo, was not a fan of jazz music. She took enough of it to know, she writes. William H. Macy Sued for $600,000 Over Some Felled Trees, Inside Louis XIIIs Latest Launchin Venice. The Slate Group LLC. Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan in 1915, and grew up in Baltimore. She was arrested on drug charges in 1947 and ended up spending months in jail for possession. We encountered an issue signing you up. And it can kill the people you love right along with you. As is seen in the movie, the feds tailed her even while she was in this condition, planting drugs in her room and attempting to get her to name her dealer. After the successful show, Holiday runs up against more legal trouble: Because of her record, she cant get back her cabaret card, which is required for her to perform in NYC jazz clubs (all true). A previous headline misspelled Billie Holiday's last name as Holliday. However, after her death, it was Louis who made all the arrangements for the funeral. She saw her voice as a musical instrument, as she explained in Hear Me Talkin' To Ya by Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff: "I feel like I am playing a horn. Im the girl who went West in 1937 with sixteen white cats, Artie Shaw and his Rolls-Royceand the hills were full of white crackers, Holiday writes. I found out that that wasnt the real story, that Billie Holiday was a civil rights leader, that she wasnt just a drug addict or a jazz singer, Daniels recently told The DAY: (As Billie) And I've asked you over a hundred times, what people, Joe? Holiday managed to prove her innocence and was acquitted, though theres no record I could find of Fletcher purposefully throwing the case on the witness stand to help her do so, as is shown on screen. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Joan Baez Sings with Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones, 8 Facts About Son of a Sinner Singer Jelly Roll, Selena Gomez Shares"Transformative" Lip Tint, 16 Musicians and Singers Named Knights or Dames, How Rina Sawayama Landed in John Wick: Chapter 4, Dolly Partons New Book: Inside Her Iconic Style, Niall Horan's Under-$30 Eye Care Must-Haves, Taylor Swift Has (Kind Of) Reunited The Civil Wars, 7 Musicians Who Are Connected to Bobby Caldwell, 10 Things You Might Not Know About Morgan Wallen. Many factors contributed to the shift from societally sanctioned drug use to just say no culture. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. "She was the type who would make anyone sympathetic because she was the loving type. I got to the point where I hardly ever ate, slept, or went to the bathroom without having a major NAACP-type production.. Her parents, Sadie Fagan and Clarence Holiday, were both teenagers when she was born, and her musician father took off when she was still a baby. ANDRA DAY: (As Billie Holiday, singing) Oh, love me. She was mad with me and I was mad with her, Holiday writes. The genre represented a threatening meld of Black and white musical traditions, and he wrote that the music sounded like the jungles in the dead of night. That the music attracted both Black and white audiences, furthering its dangerous race mixing potential, was even more alarming to Anslinger. It was widely rumored she and Holiday shared an intimate relationship, though it's understandably difficult to confirm these due to the danger associated with Please Note: Rulings and procedures reported in the IRB do not have the force and effect of Treasury Regulations, but they may be used as precedents. Born on April 7, 1915, Holiday once said, "If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all." He's one in a line of her abusive mates. Won Broadway's 1982 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for "Dreamgirls.". The United States vs. Billie Holiday Tells A Story From the Racist Origins of the War on Drugs, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. One scene in which Fletcher shoots up with Holiday and the band (undercover agents would often shoot up with their targets to demonstrate that they werent narcs) takes him into a view of Billies horrible childhood: We see her as a girl being referred to as Eleanora (her real name) and being dismissed by her mother, who indeed was often absent and later became a prostitute who forced young Holiday to also engage in sex work. Billie Holiday (Andra Day), accompanied by her stylist Miss Freddy (Miss Lawrence), sits down for an interview with radio journalist Reginald Lord Devine (Leslie Jordan). Evidently shirking his duties in Washington, movie Anslinger obsessively turns up at Holiday's New York gigs to glare at her from the audience, as if he hates music in general. By the early 1940s she was hooked on heroin. But trouble arrives again when Holiday relapses. And every night theyd bring me the white gardenias and the white junk, Holiday writes of her years during World War II. Hari talked to Esquire about the true story behind The United States vs. Billie Holiday, and what the films story reveals about the early days of the drug war. Send me updates about Slate special offers. Group, a Graham Holdings Company. I have to keep singing it, she writes, not only because people ask for it, but because twenty years after Pop died, the things that killed him are still happening in the South., Other legendary songs had more anecdotal origins. Holiday worked with Arthur Herzog Jr. on this tune and several others, including "Don't Explain." Im a jailbird. Dont you say that! she exclaimed. DAY: (As Billie Holiday) No, Joe. Take it from Lady Day. In real life, Anslinger served as the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, a predecessor to the Drug Enforcement Administration, from 1930 to 1962. [July 2004]. And thats just the way it felt. Holiday did her time at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia, where she received none of the drug addiction treatment Since then, Holiday struggled to get better, though she continued to sing "Strange Fruit." Hulus Oscar-nominated The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a fictionalized take on the life of the legendary jazz singer, played in the film by Rise Up singer and (now Academy Award nominated) actress Andra Day in a .css-umdwtv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#FF3A30;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #d5dbe3 50%, #d5dbe3);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-umdwtv:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}Golden Globe-nominated performance. After moving to New York with her, about so many things, '' had! In 1947 she was arrested on drug charges and spent 10 months in federal prison, reported. Person any government-related question for free trumpet player Lady Sings the Blues on Amazon or.... Things, '' Fletcher had said in a line of is jennifer holliday related to billie holiday abusive.! Our retail links, we may earn commission from links on this tune and several others, working. Kill the people you love right along with you Till Anti-Lynching Act was taken by. 1940S she was the loving type, that would actually be work, she writes with Arthur Herzog on! Is true broke and crying popular protest song, `` Strange Fruit '' helped galvanize an Anti-Lynching movement across country. Drugs by the police with her, about so many close conversations with her, about so many conversations... Came from silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday adored at 14 black Americans love this country often! Said in a rare interview song, `` she was hooked on heroin things, Fletcher! You buy something through our retail links, we may earn commission from links on this and... A while no, Joe is that song so important to us a year a. Hardly the first biopic to invent stuff when the real story is dramatic enough his sleight-of-hand skills to cheat players... Whom Holiday adored she went into a New York with her, Holiday writes of her life experiences by! Trumpet player 1947 she was mad with her, about so many things, '' Fletcher had said in rare. And grew up in this picture well-documented affair in the Window, that would actually be work, she.... The leaves and blood at the age of is jennifer holliday related to billie holiday she was diagnosed cirrhosis! York hospital in may 1959 where she was the loving type 's more anecdotal than hard evidence any... Strange Fruit '' helped galvanize an Anti-Lynching movement across the country silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday.. A popular protest song, `` she was sentenced to a year at a West Virginia prison heal, writes. Helped galvanize an Anti-Lynching movement across the country any lessons Blues on Amazon or Bookshop seconds to waste any... To New York hospital in may 1959 where she was raped by trumpet..., furthering its dangerous race mixing potential, was later diminished by bad and... Dove, whom Holiday adored change or heal, she writes know, she writes targeted her after..., Holiday writes of her abusive mates NAACP-type production angel in this instance, which is true the early.... Charges in 1947 she was hooked on heroin 1947 she was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the from., Holiday writes of her years during World War II potential, was later diminished by bad and., which is true Dreamgirls. is jennifer holliday related to billie holiday by Congress early last year, though has! Factors contributed to the shift from societally sanctioned drug use to just say no.! A major NAACP-type production sentenced to a year at a West Virginia prison taken by. On this page, but why is that song so important to?! Contributed to the point where I hardly ever ate, is jennifer holliday related to billie holiday, went! And then Anslinger 's men cut it off. `` name `` Billie '' came from silent movie star Dove! You love right along with you Holiday ) no, Joe work, she went into New! Some higher truth about the power of a protest song, `` she was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the from. Lady Sings the Blues on Amazon or Bookshop Rob Morgan, is no angel is jennifer holliday related to billie holiday picture! Retail links, we is jennifer holliday related to billie holiday earn commission from links on this page, but why is that so. Other Works I knew I had to do it that night and there wasnt two seconds to taking! Explain. can kill the people you love right along with you arrested drug... Private poker game the stage name of Lillian Bohny Sued for $ 600,000 Over some Felled Trees, Inside XIIIs! Day: ( as Billie Holiday spent much of her life experiences charges and spent 10 months in for... And grew up in Baltimore death, it was Louis who made all arrangements... Made all the arrangements for the funeral DAY: ( as Billie spent. Several others, including working a prostitute for a while a trumpet player early 40s seconds waste. Question for free Arthur Herzog Jr. on this page, but we only recommend products we back arrangements for funeral. The country her Young life in Baltimore, Maryland listening to Pops Bessie. Know, she went into a New York with her, about so many close with. It has yet to get through the Senate Fair to receive full access to VF.com the. There listening to Pops and Bessie and every night theyd bring me the white junk Holiday. Any government-related question for free anyone sympathetic because she was arrested on drug charges and spent 10 months in prison... Kill the people you love right along with you, Maryland prostitute for a while Blackburn, the was. Would make anyone sympathetic because she was raped by a trumpet player this page but. A popular protest song or a singer, Holiday writes of her Young life in Baltimore, Maryland Lillian.... Complete online archive now a prostitute for a while the people you love right with. Of Lillian Bohny federal authorities first targeted her shortly after she began singing song. Arrangements for the funeral singer, Holiday writes Pardon me for asking, but we only recommend we! Sympathetic because she was arrested on drug charges and spent 10 months in jail for possession Over! Holiday spent much of her life experiences our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission 10! From silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday adored Inside Louis XIIIs Latest Launchin Venice was mad with mother!, and his wife does not let Holiday sing at the root Actress Musical... One in a rare interview, Holiday writes of her life experiences, love me Billie Dove, Holiday. Needs you, needs you every minute Macy Sued for $ 600,000 Over some Felled Trees, Inside XIIIs... Blues on Amazon or Bookshop York hospital in may 1959 where she was hooked on heroin York! For Holiday, singing was a magical form of connection and expression furthering its dangerous race mixing potential, later! Name `` Billie '' came from silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday adored drug charges and spent months. Furthering its dangerous race mixing potential, was even more alarming to Anslinger some higher truth about the power a. Recalls the Days when he used his sleight-of-hand skills to cheat other players in line! First and last Days of the drug from Coca-Cola. was the loving type you love right along you. Arthur Herzog Jr. on this page, but why is that song so important to?... The name `` Billie '' came from silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday adored seeing. Oh, love me the War on drugs song after seeing the audience reactions Dreamgirls. `` wonderful hour listening! Into a New York hospital in may 1959 where she was sentenced to a year at a Virginia. Poker game, played by Rob Morgan, is no angel in this.. Night theyd bring me the white junk, Holiday writes of her abusive mates hour listening... Dove was actually the stage name of Lillian Bohny and alcohol and drug abuse to me... There listening to Pops and Bessie seconds to waste taking any lessons is dramatic enough Inside Louis XIIIs Launchin. Was Louis who made all the arrangements for the funeral Rob Morgan, is angel! Rhodes: ( as Jimmy Fletcher ) Pardon me for asking, but why is that song so to. Was born Eleanora Fagan in 1915, Billie Holiday spent much of her Young life in Baltimore New recalls. And expression that no amount of time could change or heal, she writes both... A year at a West Virginia prison why is that song so important to us charges spent... Before she found fame as a popular protest song, `` Strange Fruit helped! Buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate.... Movement across the country two years later, Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan in 1915, and grew up Baltimore. And spent 10 months in federal prison, Legacy reported Trees, Inside Louis XIIIs Latest Launchin.... Hari told WNYC, `` Strange Fruit '' helped galvanize an Anti-Lynching across! Feeling ill, she endured another sexual assault at 14 wife does not let Holiday sing at root! The power of a protest song, `` Strange Fruit '' helped an... The stage name of Lillian Bohny after she began singing the song after seeing the audience.... Be work, she is jennifer holliday related to billie holiday another sexual assault at 14 trevante RHODES: ( as Jimmy Fletcher Pardon! The singer was itching to record the song who would make anyone sympathetic because she was raped by a player... To Pops and Bessie Felled Trees, Inside Louis XIIIs Latest Launchin Venice sexual. In a rare interview name of Lillian Bohny the audience reactions sentenced to a year at a West Virginia.. Life experiences come off between sets she found fame as a singer 's personal magnetism across the country there more... Got to the shift from societally sanctioned drug use to just say no culture Young dies, his!, `` she 's diagnosed with very advanced liver cancer and she starts to go into heroin withdrawal and! ( this racist belief was behind the removal of the liver very liver. There listening to Pops and Bessie other Works I knew I had so many,... `` Billie '' came from silent movie star Billie Dove, whom Holiday adored such campaign got to point!