Lady Sings the Blues (English)

Billie Holiday's autobiography LADY SINGS THE BLUES may be largely the stuff of invention, but the major points she covers here ring true, from the racism she encountered on her grueling road trips with Count Basie's band to the venal attitudes of club promoters and agents. Brought up for part of her adolescence in a Catholic reform school, Holiday moved to Brooklyn upon her release and, after a short stint as a prostitute, started singing in New York clubs in the early 1930s. Her rise to prominence came slowly, first with stints with Count Basie's Orchestra, then with Artie Shaw, from whose band she resigned after she was reportedly forced to take the service elevator to the stage. Though she recorded many of her most popular songs, like "God Bless the Child," "Strange Fruit," and the immortal "Lover Man," during the '40s, she also developed a heroin addiction around this time that would remain with her until she died. Holiday's subtle, candid reflections on the harrowing events of her tough life carry the ring of truth, and serve to humanize the myth that has grown around this iconic legend in the years since her death. minimize