Although she was a heavy user of marijuana, alcohol and cocaine, Holiday was most associated with her use of heroin and other opiates. Those now-deceased jazz voices include Count Basie, Charles Mingus, John Hammond, Jo Jones and Sylvia Syms. Nalleys Ballads for Billie is now available on CD or as a digital album. This documentary offers viewers the rare opportunity to see Billie Holiday through the eyes of those who knew her best. }); Greenwich Entertainment released Billie in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on December 4, 2020. var captainformCustomVars = {}; Kuehl spend eight years interviewing the artist's friends, relatives, peers, business associates, even an FBI narcotics agent and a prison corrections officer, accruing 200 hours of . To find your favorite venue check here. The documentary Billie, now showing, does not start at Billies birth or death, but rather the date of Linda Kuehls death. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? At the time of her death, she and McKay were separated and not divorced. Not everyone wanted to share their memories with her. On 6 February 1978, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl fell from the balcony of a Washington DC hotel. This was one of the principal reasons why she left the band. Hammond estimates that Holidays salary with Basie was $125 a week, at the most. The book was left unfinished, Kuehls tapes buried away until now. Billie Holiday is the subject of the documentary, and theres expected archival footage of her in her film. The insightful documentary Billie (directed by James Erskine) is a highly unusual non-fiction film because most of it is based on previously unreleased audio interviews that were conducted in the 1970s. The documentary will thread her story through the eyes of one of her most enamored fans, Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who, in 1971, set out to write a definitive biography. The biopic will follow Holiday's life through the eyes of Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who as a fan and literary journalist in 1970 began a biography of Holiday. But the interviews are by numerous people who knew her best who wouldnt be able to be interviewed today, because almost everyone is now deceased. Kuehls only objective was to understand Holiday better, which she does better than any other biographer of Billie Holiday. Kim Nalley is on faculty at the California Jazz Conservatory and is writing her Doctoral dissertation on the Globalization of Jazz and Black Cultural Politics.. Her family, however, believed otherwise. [7][3][8] Her archive on Holiday included these interviews on 125 audio tapes[8] as well as "a long paper trail, including police files, transcripts of court cases, royalty statements, shopping lists, hospital records, private letters, muddled transcripts and fragments of unfinished chapters. } The images of her are legion. She said of Young, who would become her constant companion: I returned the compliment and called him the President., In a 1972 interview, pianist Jimmy Rowles had this to say about Holiday and Youngs relationship: They had the funniest way of loving each other. }; See was a rugged, powerfully built man; handsome, athletic and. FamousFix profile for Linda Lipnack Kuehl including biography information, wikipedia facts, photos, galleries, news, youtube videos, quotes . Linda Lipnack Kuehl was an American high-school teacher and arts journalist, based in Washington. append_element({ It was a different kind of poor We were happy with what we had. Mary Pony Kane, a childhood friend of Holidays, remembers that Eleanor was foul-mouthed, even as a child. Kuehl was an experienced arts journalist who wrote for The Paris Review and The New York Times Sunday magazine. Her archive passed to a private collector and was later used in other writers' biographies of Holiday. captainForm772606PreloadInterval63c877fb829bf = setInterval(function(){ Born in Philadelphia in 1915, Billie Holiday was raised in poverty in Baltimore, where she ran errands in a brothel as a child, before moving to New York in 1928. The most important takeaway from Jo Jones is that anyone who believes music has no color negates the experiences of African American musicians who lived with racism dictating almost every aspect of their lives. He was 18, she was 16, and I was three" - but was also full of inaccuracies. [3] In 1978 she was found dead on a Washington, D.C. sidewalk,[3][8][10] after attending a Count Basie concert. }, true); var captainformCustomVars = {}; There are great archival photos of East Baltimore and of the reform school and the jail she was sent to. popupTrigger.click(function(){ window.addEventListener('resize', function(){ The woman responsible for those interviews was the journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who took it upon herself in 1971 to begin the years-long process of researching a biography. Bassist and famous Jazz photographer Milt Hilton said her voice was that of a woman who had suffered ultimate heartbreak. var popupParams = { Monroe would become Holidays first husband, whom she married in 1941. Then, in 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie. Review: Billie (2020), an oral history of Billie Holidays life. var captainformDomReady = captainformDomReady || function(e){var t=!1,n=function(){document.addEventListener? Beloved daughter of Sol and Ida Llpnack and loving sister of Myra Luttman died February 6th, 1978. The description of Holiday as fast would no longer be an appropriate description of a prepubescent girl who had been raped at age 10 and sent to reform school because of it. Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's life, but died before its completion. Billie is playing in selected cinemas and various streaming services. Enjoy our special Billie Holiday Gallery of photos, posters, record covers, surprises and film clips with lots of great music. type: "text/javascript", The documentary is also organized around approximately 200 hours of interviews conducted over the course of a decade by Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who, as the film notes, didn't like seeing Holiday . captainform_preload_form_popup(popupParams); Can an author ever truly separate themselves from their subject? She never bothered anybody. And to the best of anyones knowledge, Holiday didnt sing while she was incarcerated. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772605EmbedPopup63c877fb83722'); As much as Holiday was the first master of microphone singing, she is also a master of the camera. Her second drug bust came in San Francisco in 1949, but she didnt get any prison time for that arrest. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Documentary Billie squanders its incendiary premise, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Extra 20% off sale using this QVC discount code, Up to 20% off and extra perks with Booking.com Genius membership, $5 off a $20+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 15% off selected items using this eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK January 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this January, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. var popupTrigger = jQuery("#captainformForm772605EmbedPopup63c877fb82c45"); Kuehl died by suicide in 1978, though her sister appears in the documentary and asserts that she believes her sister was murdered. Function: view, "Billie documentary review an oral history of Billie Holiday", "Singer, activist, sex machine, addict: the troubled brilliance of Billie Holiday", "Billie is a fanatical yet fascinating portrait of an immortal talent", "Billie a powerful documentary about the life of the singer", "Documentary Billie squanders its incendiary premise review", "Biography covers range of a vocalist (Published 2005)", "Billie review a double tragedy of destruction and obsession", "One Scats, the Other Doesn't (Published 1994)", "Observer review: With Billie by Julia Blackburn", "Billie review a truer, historical spin on the great Billie Holiday", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linda_Lipnack_Kuehl&oldid=1111802271. Elle fut la premire icne de la protestation contre le racisme ce qui lui a valu de puissants ennemis. function resize77260563c877fb83722(wrapper){ Keuhl is also remarkable for not trying to angle the information in a Procrustean manner to fit her argument. Billie feels typical, even if its attention to detail gives it an obvious appeal. Her family, however, believed otherwise. captainform_create_form_popup(popupParams); if (document.getElementById('captainform_js_global_vars') == null) { Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's read more. function resize77260563c877fb82c45(wrapper){ [13] Some of Kuehl's material was used in Donald Clarke's 1994 biography, Wishing on the Moon[14] and her interviews were used in Julia Blackburn's 2005 biography With Billie: a New Look at the Unforgettable Lady Day. A 1947 shootout with cops in Philadelphia led to Holidays first arrest for narcotics possession. Line: 479 captainformCustomVars['772605'] = ''; Using the countless hours of recorded interviews Kuehl left behind, Erskine has crafted a film around the jazz singer's life and the journalist's attempt to capture it. } As a woman, Kuehl seems to instinctively know that Holidays last husband, Louis McKay (Holiday filed for divorce but it was not completed before she died), who owned the rights to Billies estate after her death was an unreliable hustler who was prone to say anything to interviewers as long as he was paid for the interview. It seems amazing that most writers have speculated on the reason Billie Holiday left both the Basie Band and the Shaw Band without getting the testimony of Basie and Shaw themselves. As for Holidays love life, several people in the documentary say that Holiday was openly bisexual. [3] She worked as a high school teacher and free lance writer. By all accounts, he was abusive and a heavy drug user. The film highlights a review that scathingly derides Billie for being heavy reminding us that draconian female standards of beauty have been around for a long time. [1], Last edited on 23 September 2022, at 00:47, "Billie documentary review an oral history of Billie Holiday", "Singer, activist, sex machine, addict: the troubled brilliance of Billie Holiday", "Billie is a fanatical yet fascinating portrait of an immortal talent", "Billie a powerful documentary about the life of the singer", "Documentary Billie squanders its incendiary premise review", "Biography covers range of a vocalist (Published 2005)", "Billie review a double tragedy of destruction and obsession", "One Scats, the Other Doesn't (Published 1994)", "Observer review: With Billie by Julia Blackburn", "Billie review a truer, historical spin on the great Billie Holiday", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linda_Lipnack_Kuehl&oldid=1111802271, This page was last edited on 23 September 2022, at 00:47. Shortly after she became a professional singer as a teenager, Holiday began working with musician/producer John Hammond, who introduced her to Benny Goodman in 1933. }, 10); She changed her last name to Holiday to capitalize on her fathers connection as a guitarist with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, one of the most respected Black Big Bands of its day. Billie stands in magnificent glory in a dark long-sleeved dress with a portrait collar that shows off her face. Her death was ruled as a suicide. She sang and recorded till the end of her life. Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's life, but died before its completion. window.addEventListener('resize', function(){ var captainformDomReady = captainformDomReady || function(e){var t=!1,n=function(){document.addEventListener? She sang in clubs in Harlem and. That face! Kuehl is heard in the interview going back and forth with Jones and Hammond to get their reactions to these conflicting allegations. clearInterval(captainForm772606PreloadInterval63c877fb829bf); setTimeout(function () { Funeral services Friday February 10th, 11 A.M. Parkside Chapel, 170th St . Elle recueille 200 heures de tmoignages incroyables : Charles . [3] She interviewed almost 200 peoplefriends, family members, band members, peers from 1930s Harlem, piano players, psychiatrists and a pimpand was still finding people in 1978. Kuehl's parents were Sol and Ida Lipnack and she had a sister, Myra Luftman. Be the first to contribute! I avsikt att skriva en biografi om Billie Holiday intervjuade hon vnner, andra artister och nyckelpersoner i Holiday's liv, men dog innan den slutfrdes. They loved it. Several people in the documentary describe Holiday as a masochist who never knew what it was like to have a healthy love relationship when she was adult. (document.removeEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.removeEventListener("load",d)):(document.detachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.detachEvent("onload",d))},d=function(){t||!document.addEventListener&&"load"!==event.type&&"complete"!==document.readyState||(t=!0,n(),e())};if("complete"===document.readyState)e();else if(document.addEventListener)document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.addEventListener("load",d);else{document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.attachEvent("onload",d);var o=!1;try{o=null==window.frameElement&&document.documentElement}catch(a){}o&&o.doScroll&&!function c(){if(!t){try{o.doScroll("left")}catch(d){return setTimeout(c,50)}t=!0,n(),e()}}()}}; var readyStateOverflowInterval; Detroit Red, a dancer work worked with Holiday at The Hot Cha, remembers: At that particular time, the only vice she had was smoking [marijuana] reefers. Later, Holiday became an alcoholic and addicted to cocaine and heroin. [8], Kuehl's research revealed that Holiday's addictions were "becoming a crutch for a life beset with violence, misogyny and racism."[2]. id: "captainform_js_global_vars", Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's life, but died before its completion. Her mother Sadie transported her to New York City to be a prostitute at age 13. She tells us of her hopes and dreams in her own voice. We dont call this entertainment. Jazz musician Charles Mingus says Strange Fruit was very impactful because it shows that Holiday was fighting for equality before Martin Luther King. She did not see [Billie Holiday] as the victim, which is the way she had been portrayed.. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772605EmbedPopup63c877fb82c45'); However, Linda's book was never finished and the tapes never heard . clearInterval(captainForm772605PreloadInterval63c877fb83722); She had not performed with nor seen him in years and her delight is plain. Its implied that her addiction issues were inherited, because Sandy Williams, a bandmate of Holidays father Clarence, describes Clarence as a happy-go-lucky guy who loved his booze and was often drunk. The documentary includes stories of people witnessing McKay (whos been described as a mafia enforcer) being physically abusive to Holiday. The chief suspect in Lipnack Kuehl's killing was Billie's manager and husband, Louis McKay. During the famous 1957 Sound of Jazz television recording of Fine & Mellow others have described Holidays face as smacked out on drugs or liquor; instead, this film makes it clear that the ecstasy on Holidays face is from hearing the sounds of her musical soulmate saxophonist Lester Young play. Read the latest opinions on key events by our acclaimed critics today jQuery(wrapper).find('a').removeAttr('href'); else if ('' == 'right') Pulled out of school at 11, she worked in a brothel at age 12, and by age 14 she was in Harlem singing at the Hot Cha Club. } Shaw, bassist Sid Weiss, guitarist Al Arola, guitarist Les Robinson and friend Mae Weiss all mention in their documentary interviews that many racist people back then refused to accept a black female singer performing with a group of white musicians. I do not see the same attention given to Miles Daviss or Charlie Parkers drug use or their abusive relationships. Like most documentaries on older famous Black jazz musicians, stock photography is used since there was no available footage, but better photography could have been used. Linda Lipnack Kuehl (24. tammikuuta 1940 - 6. helmikuuta 1978) oli yhdysvaltalainen taidetoimittaja New Yorkissa. captainform_preload_form_popup(popupParams); It is maintained is rich with photos, videos, book information, quotes, and, of course, music.Plan to spend some time there. setTimeout(function () { She was a generous person, Id say, in thought anyway. [3] She worked as a high school teacher and free lance writer. "[9] However, Kuehl did not complete the book. (document.removeEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.removeEventListener("load",d)):(document.detachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.detachEvent("onload",d))},d=function(){t||!document.addEventListener&&"load"!==event.type&&"complete"!==document.readyState||(t=!0,n(),e())};if("complete"===document.readyState)e();else if(document.addEventListener)document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.addEventListener("load",d);else{document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.attachEvent("onload",d);var o=!1;try{o=null==window.frameElement&&document.documentElement}catch(a){}o&&o.doScroll&&!function c(){if(!t){try{o.doScroll("left")}catch(d){return setTimeout(c,50)}t=!0,n(),e()}}()}}; : Billie ( 2020 ), an oral history of Billie life, several people in interview... Of Holidays, remembers that Eleanor was foul-mouthed, even as a digital album in Washington Holiday is subject! 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