Billie Holiday, seen here with her beloved dog, Mister, in a photo by Carl Van Vechten, was born on this day in 1915. Little did Eleanora Fagan know that she would be remembered forever.
Billie Holiday in New York, 1943 - Photographed by Gjon Mili
(Source: stevens-cat, via billiesbluesday)
Billie Holiday singing “Fine and Mellow” with the with the Mal Waldron All Stars: Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Doc Cheatham, Vic Dickinson, Ben Webster, Gerry Mulligan, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson and Mal Waldron on “The Sound of Jazz,” a CBS television special that aired on December 8, 1957.
Billie Holiday in 1949 by Carl Van Vechten. From Farah Jasmine Griffin’s If You Can’t Be Free, Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday:
The photographer remembers photographing her for two hours, and while she was initially despondent, she returned from a brief sojourn “on a different plane, all energy, sympathy, cooperation and interest.”
Billie Holiday, photographed by Carl Van Vecthen, with her boxer Mister. She loved Mister!
Billie Holiday in New York City, 1953. Another gem from Herman Leonard, whose work is now housed at the Smithsonian.
Billie Holiday in New York, 1955. She died 52 years ago today. Photo by Herman Leonard.
Billie Holiday and her boxer Mister in her dressing room, 1946.
THIS is Billie Holiday in 1946. Does she look anything like this woman to you?
Billie Holiday cooking a steak for her beloved boxer Mister in her Harlem apartment in 1949.
Billie Holiday with her boxer Mister. She loved Mister!
Billie Holiday in 1949 by Carl Van Vechten. From Farah Jasmine Griffin’s If You Can’t Be Free, Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday:
The photographer remembers photographing her for two hours, and while she was initially despondent, she returned from a brief sojourn “on a different plane, all energy, sympathy, cooperation and interest.”
Public Service Announcement: This is NOT Billie Holiday! This is also NOT Valaida Snow! The woman in the photo, taken in 1960 by William Claxton, is the wife of blues trumpeter, Donald Byrd.
