• Music

Billie Holiday

b. 1915- d. 1959

Billie Holiday (1915 – 1959), nicknamed Lady Day, was actually born with the name Eleanora Fagan (though some sources report her birth name was Elinore Harris). She was born in Philadelphia in 1915, and raised in Baltimore under difficult circumstances. To this day she is one of the best known singers of American jazz and blues, recording numerous songs including “God Bless the Child” and “Strange Fruit.” She spent the early part of her career in Harlem, singing in speakeasies and small clubs. It was after recording “Strange Fruit,” in 1939 that Holiday became well-known to a larger audience. The song, written as a poem by teacher Abel Meeropol, was about lynchings of African Americans and American racism. This song and many others illustrates the power of Holiday’s voice. The ability to portray emotion through her voice. She honed this ability by modeling her singing, phrasing, and rhythm on her musical influences including Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong.

Image Source (Top): William Gottlieb - www.jazzphotos.com - 1947

1950s

Billie Holiday stayed at Georgette’s Tea Room

Billie Holiday, nicknamed Lady Day, was a frequent visitor to Miami. She even maintained a room at this Brownsville location, which was then a boarding house called, Georgette's Tea Room. Built in 1940 by Georgia Scott Campbell, Georgette's Tea Room housed many celebrities of the day who were prohibited from staying in Miami Beach due to segregation laws. They would spend the nights here after performing in Miami Beach and then Miami for "late late shows."

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