On This Day In Black History...

On this day in history, April 7th, 1915, Eleanora Fagin was born in Philadelphia, PA. She was a beautiful young woman, who unfortunately died much too soon. While she came to prominence during her short life, it was only after her death in 1959 that she became truly recognized and honored as the great talent that she was.

She was an inductee of several halls of fame; the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame in 1997, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and in 2004 the Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame. Four times her work was awarded Grammy Awards for Best Historical Album; the first, in 1980, was for "Giants of Jazz". The second came in 1992 with "The Complete Decca Recordings". The last two were in 1994 and 2002 for albums which bore her name. She herself was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, and the United States Postal Service produced a stamp with her likeness in 1994. Five of her songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1978, 1989, 2000, 2005, and 2010. One of her songs became known as the song which changed the history of American music; it was called Strange Fruit, and was a haunting protest against the inhumanity of racism. Strange Fruit was also honored by the Library of Congress as one of the 50 songs that year to be added to the National Recording Registry.

In 1937 a sax player gave her a nickname which was to stay with her throughout her life. Please say Happy 99th Birthday to the legendary "Lady Day"; Miss Billie Holliday!!

Information gathered from:

Wikipedia
The Official Billie Holiday website
Strange Fruit by David Margolick
NPR Music


 Strange Fruit 
              by Abel Meeropol

Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
And the sudden smell of burning flesh!

             Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,
             For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
             For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop,
             Here is a strange and bitter crop.