And that's a huge plus for the book. Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lady_Sings_the_Blues_(film)&oldid=1017393945, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 12 April 2021, at 14:34. Lady sings the blues Billie's often tragic story, in her own voice. It was produced by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures. Lady Sings The Blues (1972)Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday. The music industry in the late 1930's and early 1940's was one of the few places where whites and African-Americans could mingle freely -- Mom was white and worked with many persons of color. Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Billie Holiday ‎– Lady Sings The Blues. Lady Sings the Blues is a faithful rendition of that myth. See more ideas about lady sings the blues, blues, singing. Dufty's writing style is good enough to make the reader feel they are reading Lady Day telling us her story. None of those factors. Lady Sings the Blues (1972) "Diana Ross sings Billie Holiday and a superstar is born" TMDb Score. Nevertheless, the Carnegie triumph is frozen in time. Unfortunately the admission in the book's foreword that confirms that the validity of it's claims are rightly disputed. Her nickname in the music trade was "Miss Needles." I am by no means any kind of Billie Holiday expert, so I’m not going to speculate about how much of the content is “true” or how much of this book is written in her own words. jazz buffs and those interested in African-American history, My mom was a jazz band singer in the same era as Billie Holiday. Billie takes a liking to Louis and begins a relationship with him. We’d love your help. But it's also important to keep in mind that the book is not always precisely truthful, perhaps for lots of personal, historical, and publishing reasons. This tends to tint the whole book a little as the reader is left to try and decide which parts are fiction and which aren't. Fast paced and emotionally involving while remaining conversational in tone, this is the next best thing to pulling up a barstool and hearing about the trials and triumphs from Lady Day herself. What a tough tough life but also in parts blessed by some great friendships with a help from a lot of people. The film was released on VHS and DVD on November 8, 2005. It was produced by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures. [5], Vincent Canby of The New York Times described Ross as "an actress of exceptional beauty and wit, who is very much involved in trying to make a bad movie work ... her only apparent limitations are those imposed on her by a screenplay and direction seemingly designed to turn a legitimate legend into a whopper of a cliché. To restore public confidence and regain her license, Billie agrees to a cross-country tour. "Lady Sings the Blues" is a song written by jazz singer Billie Holiday and jazz pianist Herbie Nichols. Billie Holiday was a brilliant singer and whether or not you like that type of music it should be obvious. Billie marries Louis and pledges not to continue her career, but the lure of performing is too strong and she returns to singing with Louis as her manager. and realized that anyone’s memoirs could be scrutinized. [13], The film was also screened at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, but was not entered into the main competition.[16]. A fabulous, fascinating read from a musical goddess. Her nickname in the music trade was "Miss Needles." Too bad she fell down the drug addict hole, dying with heroin for her next shot strapped to her thigh. It felt like Billie was talking to me herself. Eleanora Fagan was born April 7, 1915. It is the title song to her 1956 album, released on Clef/Verve Records. [3] The film was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1973, including Diana Ross for Best Actress in a Leading Role. I wish there was more description of key moments throughout Holiday’s career because I am left with some questions (e.g. I think it's best read for the general history, impressions/truths it creates, not as a literal record of specific facts about Billy Holiday's life and works. A must read for anyone interested in music 1930s/40s culture, or black history. I read every music biography and autobiography I can get my hands on. Billie takes the money and sings "Them There Eyes". share. The album went to number one on the Billboard Hot 200 Album Charts,[18] for the week-ending dates of April 7 and 14, 1973. Lady Sings the Blues is the soundtrack to the Billie Holiday biopic of the same name, which starred Diana Ross in her 1972 screen debut. Billie returns to the Harlem nightclub, where her drug use intensifies until she hears of the death of her mother. Lady Sings the Blues [Original Soundtrack] - Diana Ross | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic. Yet, as I read on, I grew to love Billie’s voice (or Dufty’s?) Billie's testimony on music, poverty, racism, sexual and physical exploitation, and the selective criminalization of drugs is priceless. Diana Ross portrayed Holiday, alongside a cast including Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, and Scatman Crothers. Billie plays to a packed house at Carnegie Hall. In a flashback to 1928, Billie is working as a housekeeper in a brothel in Baltimore. I read it years ago but have been listening to Lady Day all evening. Impressed with the initiative she has taken to straighten herself out, Louis proposes to her at the hospital. i have lots of feelings circulating around billie holiday’s autography. by Penguin Books. “Everyones got to be different. This real story had me totally fascinated all through. Billie Holiday was a brilliant singer and whether or not you like that type of music it should be obvious. There’s no solitary confinement outside of jail. I love her versions of Good Morning Heartache and Crazy He Calls Me. Not only that, she was a natural singer (not as many greats are that untrained despite what you might hear or be told--many natural singers get coaching or help and that makes them fabulous--being a natural doesn't mean you are great right up front.) cuddled up with billie, her grandmother died in her sleep, and billie woke with her grandmother's arm stiff and dead around her neck. Lady sings the blues, i'm tellin' you, she's got 'em bad, but now the world will know, she's never gonna sing them no more. I thought it was a good overview of her life. The book formed the basis of the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues starring Diana Ross.. Overview. The group heads to Cafe Manhattan to drown their sorrows. This tends to tint the whole book a little as the reader is left to try and decide which parts are fiction and which aren't. Billie's career takes off on the nightclub circuit. but i guess that's what happens, maybe, when your best friend is junk. She fights Louis for it, pulling a razor on him. Lady Sings the Blues is a 1972 American biographical drama film directed by Sidney J. Furie about jazz singer Billie Holiday, loosely based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from Holiday's songs. Normally, I would mark this book as a 3, possibly 4, star work, but there are two severe complications in that regard. Lady Sings the Blues is the inimitable autobiography of one of the greatest icons of the twentieth century. flag. While they are high that evening, Piano Man's drug connections arrive; he neither pawned the ring nor paid for the drugs. The best part about this book is the language in which it is written and the era it represents. The music industry in the late 1930's and early 1940's was one of the few places where whites and African-Americans could mingle freely -- Mom was white and worked with many persons of color. Still, even if some of the tales are a little tall, it is still an opportunity to hear from a unique performer in a unique style. It is the title song to her 1956 album, released on Clef/Verve Records (MGC 721/Verve MV 2047). A wonderful autobiography of a woman gone too soon. Lady Sings the Blues is a 1972 American biographical drama film directed by Sidney J. Furie about jazz singer Billie Holiday, loosely based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from one of Holiday's most popular songs. Trailer JustWatch. Eventually, Billie tires of scrubbing floors and becomes a prostitute, but later quits and returns to a nightclub to unsuccessfully audition to become a showgirl. Billie's debut begins unsuccessfully until Louis McKay arrives and gives her a fifty dollar tip. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. ), Reading Rush: Read a book entirely "outside" your home. Mom hated that and worked for civil rights all her life. The life story of jazz singer Billie Holiday told in her own words. Just as things are looking up, Billie is arrested for possession of narcotics and removed from the clinic. "[10] Pauline Kael of The New Yorker wrote that "when the movie was over I wrote 'I love it' on my pad of paper ... Factually it's a fraud, but emotionally it delivers. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. And I remind to Montserrat Caballe, Waltraud Meier, to Chet Baker… All these singers who spoke directly in the heart. Louis leaves her to shoot up, telling her he does not want her there when he returns. "[6] Variety wrote that "for the bulk of general audiences, the film serves as a very good screen debut vehicle for Diana Ross, supported strongly by excellent casting, handsome '30s physical values, and a script which is far better in dialog than structure. Lady Sings the Blues is the fiercely honest, no-holds-barred au Originally released by Doubleday in 1956, Harlem Moon Classics celebrates the publication with the fiftieth-anniversary edition of Billie Holiday’s unforgettable and timeless memoir. It's flaws are, you never really get under Billie's skin, to learn much about what really makes her tick as a person, as a singer (one of the best of all time) and as a friend. Start by marking “Lady Sings the Blues” as Want to Read: Error rating book. I don't think so. Overall it just made me really sad about how just about every person in. From a casual fan’s perspective, I found this to be an incredibly entertaining memoir about the behind the scenes life of one of show biz’s most badass performers. ), but overall I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Billie in this weird, wonderful memoir. It was released simultaneously with her ghostwritten autobiography of the same name. In 1936 New York City, Billie Holiday is arrested on a drugs charge. Lady sings the blues Item Preview > remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. Like this one: “You can get in just as much trouble by being dumb and innocent as you can by breaking the law.” But, don’t kid yourself. Then there's the limitations arising from 1) the hurry to publish in order to generate money to defend drug charges and 2) the suppression of 20-30% of the original manuscript by folks with business interests in Lady Day. I have no idea what people say or don't about this book, I think its beautiful. My biggest takeaway: music is by definition political. cuddled up with b. This book is great, regardless of the ghost writing and the liberties with the "truth". Amazon.com: Lady Sings the Blues [Blu-ray]: Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James Callahan, Paul Hampton, Sid Melton, Virginia Capers, Yvonne Fair, Isabel Sanford, Tracee Lyles, Sidney J. Furie: Movies & TV. but i guess that's what happens, maybe, when your best friend is junk. Lady Sings the Blues Awards and Nominations. In fact, she comes off as a seriously flawed but ultimately human figure. Then there's the limitations arising from 1) the hurry to publish in order to generate money to defend drug charges and 2) the suppression of 20-30% of the original manuscript by folks with business interests in Lady Day. EMBED (for wordpress.com hosted blogs and archive.org item tags) Want more? "[7] Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, writing that Ross had given "one of the great performances of 1972" and observing that the film "has most of the clichés we expect—but do we really mind clichés in a movie like this? Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? Utilising a lot of street and jazz speak of the time as well as the casual references to jazz era giants makes for a unique insight. Always been a huge fan of billie holiday and this autobiography of hers sheds light on the stories that have come to be told through her music. Lady Sings the Blues is a 1972 American biographical drama film directed by Sidney J. Furie about jazz singer Billie Holiday, loosely based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from Holiday's songs. I knew almost nothing of Billie Holiday except for her amazing voice. She obliges with one song but refuses an encore, leaving the club in urgent need of a fix. Much of this is 5-star, especially as I read much of it accompanied by Lady Day's peerless 30s music. Yes, it's a sad tale of the rise and struggles of an amazing jazz legend and you can't help but hear the voice of Billy as the story unfolds (I could not resist playing her music on my IPod in the background). Next to Ella she is my favourite Jazz singer. Unfortunately, once off stage and off the work sites, in the southern cities where they worked they were forbidden to enter the same restaurants, hotels, etc. Yes, Billie is fast and loose with some facts - her mother almost certainly was 18 or 19 when Billie was born, not 13 as Billie claims. Lady Sings The Blues (DVD) The essence of Billie Holiday, one of America's most loved and memorable blues singers, is captured brilliantly in a tour-de-force d ebut perfor mance by singer Diana Ross. The appeal of her narrative is the colloquial voice through which she tells it, and there’s a lot of hard scrabble wisdom in these pages, too. This was a patchy book with missing pieces. Lady Sings the Blues was taken from sessions taped during 1954 and 1956. Louis takes her back to New York. Her mother was only 13 and her father was pretty much absent. $14.96. Louis returns to find a very fragile Billie who is traumatized and has fallen back into drugs. Holiday’s narrative voice reads as sassy and straight up, and her life story makes for a truly wild ride (especially those first few chapters!). But it's also important to keep in mind that the book is not always precisely truthful, perhaps for lots of personal, historical, and publishing reasons. While I’m sure lots was left out for publishing reasons, I was surprised how candid her thoughts on prison, policing, and drug prohibition were. Louis leaves for New York to arrange a comeback performance for Billie at Carnegie Hall. The harsh experiences on the tour result in Billie taking drugs which Harry supplies. I love her for it, and will definitely listen to her more. I knew almost nothing of Billie Holiday except for her amazing voice. While I’m sure lots was left out for publishing reasons, I was surprised how candid her thoughts on prison, policing, and drug prohibition were. This one belongs in a category of its own. Not only that, she was a natural singer (not as many greats are that untrained despite what you might hear or be told--many natural singers get coaching or help and that makes them fabulous--being a natural doesn't mean you are great right up front.) Bought the paperback years ago for a couple of dollars but didn't read it until now. Cafe Manhattan in the film may refer to Café Society, where Holiday first sang "Strange Fruit". Lady Sings the Blues is an album by American jazz vocalist Billie Holiday released in December 1956. She was an unusually interesting unique person. Her encore, "God Bless the Child", is overlaid with newspaper clippings highlighting subsequent events: the concert fails to sway the Commission to restore her license; subsequent appeals are denied; she is later re-arrested on drug charges and finally dies when she is 44. Billie Holiday's last Clef album, recorded at two sessions in 1956 and 1954. Billie checks herself into a drug clinic, but because she cannot afford her treatment the hospital secretly calls Louis, who comes to see her and agrees to pay her bills without her knowledge. None of those factors count in the end. I prefer her as a musician rather than as an author. all who like biographies, memoirs, musicians. "[11] Tom Milne of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that Ross did "a remarkable pastiche job on the tone and timbre of Billie Holiday's voice, [but] misses the elegant, almost literary wit of her phrasing," and found the presentation of Holiday's life story "offensively simplistic. Be the first to ask a question about Lady Sings the Blues. Best Score Adaptation and Original Song Score, "Lady Sings the Blues, Box Office Information", https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Lady-Sings-the-Blues-Blu-ray/133491/, "The 45th Academy Awards (1972) Nominees and Winners", Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "Festival de Cannes: Lady Sings the Blues", Billie Holiday at Jazz at the Philharmonic, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport, The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live, Lady in Autumn: The Best of the Verve Years, Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944. So much of today's madness makes sense after seeing into the world in which Billie Holiday lived. Synopsis : Lady Sings the Blues written by Billie Holiday, published by Crown which was released on 02 March 2011. Welcome back. Within the hour, Louis and her promoter call Billie with news that they got Carnegie Hall. The very sizeable newspaper "Le Monde" titrated : is it still necessary to listen to Sarah Vaughan? The blues ain't nothin' but a pain in your heart, when you get a bad start, when you and your man have to part Ain't gonna just sit around and cry, i know i won't die, 'cause i love him Lady sings the blues, Her late childhood, stint as a prostitute, early tours, marriages and drug addiction are featured. And in this country it’s the worst kind of hell for those who love you.”, [Poll Book Tally] Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday rounded up to 4 stars, 33 Sweeping Multigenerational Family Dramas. Later versions of the album released on Verve Records. Her insights into band era life were so very interesting. Holiday’s narrative voice reads as sassy and straight up, and her life story makes for a truly wild ride (especially those first few chapters!). Nominee Oscar: Best Actress in a Leading Role Diana Ross: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or … Unfortunately the admission in the book's foreword that confirms that the validity of it's claims are rightly disputed. And without feeling, whatever you do amounts to nothing.”, “In this country, don’t forget, a habit is no damn private hell. Download Lady Sings the Blues Books now!Available in PDF, EPUB, Mobi Format. It was produced by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures. In New York, Reg and Louis arrange Billie's radio debut, but the station does not call her to sing; the radio sponsors, a soap company, object to her race. She had grown up singing all the time and had also spent hours time in a whorehouse as a child listening to jazz records of many of the greats. March 6th 1984 Lady Sings the Blues (1956) is an autobiography by jazz singer Billie Holiday, which was co-authored by William Dufty. Utilising a lot of street and jazz speak of the time as well as the casual references to jazz era giants makes for a unique insight. But better still and not to be ignored, is to just to listen to her voice as she sings in her own special style songs like "I cover the waterfront," "Strange Fruit," "April in Paris," and "God bless the child. She died few time after. If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling. It became Ross' fourth #1 album (eventually selling over 2 million US copies), though the only one as a solo artist. ..." Phyllis Rose in The Norton Book of Women's Lives. Why not focus on some serious family drama? riferendosi a Lady Sings The Blues, LP, Album, Club, RE, RM, Blu, B0032667-01, MGV-8099, 0600753458877 Album mixing is top notch, with Lady's vocals front and center. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: Motown released a hugely successful soundtrack double-album of Ross' recordings of Billie Holiday songs from the film, also titled Lady Sings the Blues. What a tough tough life but also in parts blessed by some great friendships with a help from a lot of people. It helps to have some historical perspective on this book as you read it. more next week when I get home. I know there’s a lot of discussion about how much of this book is accurate (for different reasons) and how much Billie had to do with it, but I found the voice really authentic and engaging, which I’m sure the ghostwriter was able to replicate from speaking with her and interviews. Lady Day paints a vivid picture of America in the Jazz Age but not from the usual Hemingway/Fitzgerald point of view of a white man but through the lens of a black woman making her way through New York City singing jazz. Lady Sings the Blues. A habit is hell for those you love. i recently read, [particularly unexpected: one afternoon when she was a young child, billie lay down with her grandmother to take a nap. "[8] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune also awarded three out of four stars, writing, "The fact that 'Lady Sings the Blues' is a failure as a biography of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday doesn't mean it can't be an entertaining movie. "Lady Sings The Blues is a 1972 film about jazz singer Billie Holiday based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from one of Holiday's most popular songs. The film debuted on the Blu-ray format for the first time on February 23, 2021. When I read the introduction by David Ritz about controversies of just how much ghost-writing Billie’s good friend William Dufty provided and the question of the veracity of the book, I was a bit disappointed. i'm so glad i took the time to read about the life of jazz singer billie holiday. 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