Full Description
Eleanora "Lady Day" Fagan, better known as Billie Holiday, played a primary role in the development of American jazz culture and in African American history. Devoted to the enduring jazz icon, covering many aspects of her career, image and legacy, these fresh essays range from musical and vocal analyses, to critical assessments of film depictions of the singer, to analysis of the social movements and protests addressed by her signature songs, including her impact on contemporary movements such as #BlackLivesMatter. More than a century after her birth, Billie Holiday's abiding relevance and impact is a testament to the power of musical protest. This collection pays tribute to her creativity, bravery and lasting legacy.
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction (Jessica McKee and Michael V. Perez)
In Stereotragic Hi-Fidelity: Performing Billie Holiday (Michael V. Perez)
Billie Reverberates Her Blues: Advertising Love for Sale
That Costs More Than You Know (Tammie Jenkins)
Lady Sings the Blues? Tragedy, Autobiography and Reassessment
(Anna Maria Barry)
Merging Artists: The Legacy of Motown's Lady Sings the Blues (Claudius Stemmler)
"Owning" Billie Holiday in Several Representative Jazz Poems (William Levine)
Brigitte Loves Billie: Channeling Holiday in Domino (1988) (Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns)
Seeing Is Believing? Reading Billie Holiday Through Photography
(Matthew Duffus)
Shouting Back: Cohering Lady Day Through Kevin Young's Jazz Poem Anthology (Taylor Joy Mitchell)
Reevaluating Lady Sings the Blues and What's Love Got to Do with It: Ambivalent Representations of Black Female Artistry (Jesse Schlotterbeck)
Easy to Love: Representations of Billie Holiday in Contemporary American Poetry (Tara Betts)
The Fruit Is on the Ground: The Impact of "Strange Fruit"
on Black Lives Matter (Devona Mallory)
About the Contributors
Index
