Published in celebration of Holidayrsquos centenary the first biography to focus on the singerrsquos extraordinary musical talentWhen Billie Holiday stepped into Columbiarsquos studios in November it marked the beginning of what is arguably the most remarkable and influential career in twentieth-century popular music Her voice weathered countless shifts in public taste and new reincarnations of her continue to arrive most recently in the form of singers like Amy Winehouse and AdeleMost of the writing on Holiday has focused on the tragic details of her lifemdashher prostitution at the age of fourteen her heroin addiction and alcoholism her series of abusive relationshipsmdashor tried to correct the many fabrications of her autobiography But now Billie Holiday stays close to the music to her performance style and to the self she created and put into print on record and on stageDrawing on a vast amount of new material that has surfaced in the last decade critically acclaimed jazz writer John Szwed considers how her life inflected her art her influences her uncanny voice and rhythmic genius a number of her signature songs and her legacy.
