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Billie Holiday
Inspired by Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday (1915–1959) made her first records as a teenager before she toured with Count Basie and Artie Shaw and recorded with Benny Goodman. Her sessions with Teddy Wilson and Lester Young set a high standard for all jazz singers who followed her, and her recording of "Strange Fruit" is considered an anthem for civil rights. These photographs show Holiday with her devoted boxer, Mister, and in performance at the Downbeat Club in New York City. |