Billie Holiday Short Biography

The light in the world of jazz music became somewhat dimmer because of the unfortunate death of Billie Holiday. Her life was quite rough, and her steps into the music industry were difficult in her life in order for her to reach. From a young age, jazz music was a peak of interest that stuck closely with Holiday until the end of her life. Her experiences in her lifetime left deep emotional scars that she was unable to heal due to a negligent father, and her dealings with drugs, which in time were the cause of her sudden death. Though Billie Holiday’s career may have been short lived, she made a mark on the world of jazz music with the debut of her performance of the song “Strange Fruit” which caused quite the scandal due to its graphic subject matter.

She was raised in what could be considered a single parent household for quite some time by her mother, Sarah Fagan. Her father, Clarence Holiday, was not an active source of support in their lives. He was a jazz musician, whose love for his career could easily outweigh any love he may have had for his family. Living with only her mother was a struggle, putting them into a life of poverty. This led to Billie leaving school when she was only nine years old. After leaving school, “she was then sent to the House of Good Shepherd, a facility for troubled African American girls, in January 1925. Only 9 years old at the time, Holiday was one of the youngest girls there. She was returned to her mother's care in August of that year. According to Donald Clarke's biography, Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon, she returned there in 1926 after she had been sexually assaulted.” (Bio.2015). Life did not get any easier for the young girl, having dropped out of school she began to take small jobs for brothels, and at one point she was arrested on account of prostitution herself. Though she faced such hard times, she was able to find her escape through her love of