Originally released by Doubleday in 1956; Harlem Moon Classics celebrates the publication with the fiftieth-anniversary edition of Billie Holidayrsquo;s unforgettable and timeless memoir; updated with an insightful introduction and a revised discography; both written by celebrated music writer David Ritz.Lady Sings the Blues is the fiercely honest; no-holds-barred autobiography of Billie Holiday; the legendary jazz; swing; and standards singing sensation. Taking the reader on a fast-moving journey from Holidayrsquo;s rough-and-tumble Baltimore childhood (where she ran errands at a whorehouse in exchange for the chance to listen to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith albums); to her emergence on Harlemrsquo;s club scene; to sold-out performances with the Count Basie Orchestra and with Artie Shaw and his band; this revelatory memoir is notable for its trenchant observations on the racism that darkened Billiersquo;s life and the heroin addiction that ended it too soon. We are with her during the mesmerizing debut of ldquo;Strange Fruitrdquo;; with her as she rubs shoulders with the biggest movie stars and musicians of the day (Bob Hope; Lana Turner; Clark Gable; Benny Goodman; Lester Young; Coleman Hawkins; and more); and with her through the scrapes with Jim Crow; spats with Sarah Vaughan; ignominious jailings; and tragic decline. All of this is told in Holidayrsquo;s tart; streetwise style and hip patois that makes it read as if it were written yesterday.
#3820620 in eBooks 2011-01-17 2011-01-17File Name: B004JHZ4X8
Review
