Billie Holiday is my favorite!!!! Lady Day!! I was inspired by her. I began singing jazz at age 12 after growing up listening to this amazing woman. She once said that she never sang the same song the same way twice.. She was just iconic. She poured her whole soul into everything she sang.
History has a way of doing that. Truth resonates. I am so glad Beth touched upon this iconic song and it roots. We Americans, actually all people, need to listen and hear this truth.
Beth, thank you for your “roar” of Billie Holiday! She is truly one of the greatest singers ever.. I first learned about Billie back in the 80s when I heard Siouxsie and the Banshees perform Strange Fruit. She remained one of my favorites throughout the years. Then in 2013, I saw videos of a little girl singing Gloomy Sunday and I’m a Fool to Want You (that little girl was of course Angelina Jordan) which amazed me and made me smile because someone was keeping Billie’s music alive for another generation. Thank you, for keeping the music of the greats alive!
I'm glad Billie came out when she did. If she came out today, modern producers and engineers would ruin her originality and all that made her great. Her music needed that raw sound, and she needed the creative autonomy that was given to her at the time.
Watched your video on Gary Brooker and some other people with absolutely "natural" and seemingly effortless voices came to mind. Have you done something on for instance Cass Elliot and Ella?
One of my favorite singers ever. I heard her first as a middle schooler and that was the end. She’s genuinely Billie, and that’s what makes her special for me. Nina Simone gives me that feeling too. Great review!
Ditto. When Lester Young comes in and plays his sax to sound exactly like Billie's voice you can hear the closeness of their relationship. I know you'll think it odd my replying to you after 2 years but I just watched this reaction for the first time and couldn't help but express my pleasure at somene else shouting out my favourite rendition of this song. So much talent and soul in one performance and great to be able to see them as well. The arrangement of the soloists is inspired, slowly building up to that incredible trumpet solo.
Beautiful words at the end, love your comments on singers, as a guitar player I love your point of view on music and I've learn a lot watching your videos.
What a great reaction vid! I have listen to Billie my whole long life, but your analysis helps me understand why I have always enjoyed her singing... She is literally "the Lady that sings the blues"!
Great job Beth! I'm a huge fan of Billie Holiday and you really gave me a great perspective as a vocal coach on Billie's voice. ...,No voice has ever melted my heart the way Billie's has right from the first time I heard her sing.. I feel every emotion so fluidly and intensely when I hear her voice and my heart instantly softens. I can often feel the height of bliss and the depths of despair in a single Billie phrase. No voice has ever effected me like that and I listen to a lot of different genres of music. I know my life has been greatly enriched in knowing and listening to the voice and music of Billie Holiday and your description of what made her great was fascinating! ...,Thank you!
Nice job on this video. Now I know two well informed authorities on Billie Holiday. Stuart Nicholson shared that Billie's occasional use of rasp or distortion in her voice was the result of her experiences and love of her friend, Louis Armstrong. Louis was a huge star and his voice was gritty and he was very popular. They sang duets together on occasion as they toured together. Great job 👏 on this vocal dissection. I have not heard a more comprehensive autopsy of Lady Day.
Thank you for this. I am glad you focused on 'Strange Fruit' at the end. Her original recording for Commodore Records when her voice was not damaged is also mesmerising. Milt Gabler was the owner of Commodore Records (a tiny label with a studio in the back of his record store) and agreed to record Billie as she was unable to get her own record company to let her record it. Milt Gabler is also a very interesting man. Although jazz was his first love, he went on to produce Bill Haley's records, including 'Rock Around The Clock'.
Wow, wow, my mother introduced me to this artist when I was a young boy. Billie had moved my soul ever since. Thanks 🙏 so much for heartfelt vid. You’re wonderful!
Thank you for this. Her phrasing of course was all about SWING - keeping it going while not being on the beat (nearly all the jazz greats do that). On the emotional side, whatever she sang you always BELIEVED her, and she never lost that.
I also find singer's speaking voice interesting, especially when their speaking voice sounds nothing like their singing! Sinatra was also someone that had the same speaking voice when he sang.
Billie is a great singer to learn from, even for non-singers. One thing I think would be interesting, continuing in the vein of looking at singers from other eras, is to include more info about recording technology. This very clearly affects singing technique, as singers have to adapt to the tools available and be able to sing quiet with a very sensitive, directional mic - or to really belt out loudly when a sound system just doesn't cut it, like Billie and all singers of her era would have had to deal with. Plus, the different balance with various types of orchestras these changes in technology lead to. Singing with a classic big band is *very* different from singing with a modern rock band.
I agree, and this is another interesting dimension of her singing. I once read somewhere that Billie's art would not have been possible without the advent of the microphone. Whereas Bessie Smith belted out songs in theatres and tent shows (without amplification), Billie, started by singing in illicit speakeasies during prohibition when no sound could escape out onto to the street. And so she sang softly at tables in a very intimate way. Also, the constraints of fitting early records on to the 3 and a half minutes allowed by 78rpm records must've presented their own challenges.
Wow Beth. I always find your videos entertaining and informative, but this was something else altogether, especially the section on Strange Fruit. Thank you for this.
Beth, this is without a doubt one of the best videos you have made. Your analysis was so loving and touching, and so articulate. I love listening to Billie Holiday. I feel transported to another place when she sings.
I love this in depth analysis of one of the all time greats, well done! Her timing is indeed something to study for any singer and the version of Strange Fruit you recommended gives me goose bumps. Stormy Weather is one of my personal favourites by her. And for those that want to know more about Billie Holiday's life story i recommend the Stuart Nicholson biography from 1995.
I enjoyed hearing your heartfelt sincerity at the end of this video. Your empathy and loving kindness really melted my heart as a man of color in America.
WOW, Beth! What a beautiful and perfectly explained video. A great review about one of the most delicated and precious female voices of all times. I was very young when I watch the film '9 and Half Weeks '(1986,Adrian Lyne),it was a forbidden film then. In a scene, Mickey Rourke put a record and the voice it was there! And he says: "Billie Holiday". That was the first time I listened that magic voice. Imagine my deception when I get the sountrack,and she wasn't there! Anyway, since then,I fell in love with the voice of the wonderful Billie Holiday. Thanks for your amazing work. A big hug from Spain 😺
This was as fantastic as I'd hoped. I love your insights, and always obvious you do your research.! I'd love to see you do a video on how singing styles have changed over the years. I must admit my appreciation of vocal talent stalled some time in the 80s or so (exception of Amy Winehouse) but your videos on younger artists, like Billie and Arianna, have been bringing me around to appreciating what they do, and got me wondering if the breathy tones of today serve a similar emotional function to the husky tones of the past.
What I always notice about Billie is that she often sings a note you don't expect. I don't know what this is called or if it's an exclusively Billie thing, but it's what sticks out most to me.
I'd like to suggest a male jazz singer from the '40s through the '60s. Mel Torme may have had the smoothest voice ever. Anyone called the Velvet Fog deserves a listen.
Great job on this vid. Liked it a lot. Again proven that music is one of the greatest assets that human kind has to offer to this world. Agreeing that love in the end is the only thing that will conquer all the BS in this world and the one thing that is worth remembering about human kind when the last light has died in this universe! Thanks again and make it count
Very nice video, thank you. It is impossible to over-estimate her influence on popular music. Pretty much every singer since has learnt something from Billie. She ‘invented’ Soul.
I find it very insightful that you pointed out that she had a much wider vocal range than she chose to use and her timing was a long way off what is "mechanically" correct. I'm really interested in pre-war pop music (basically, before amplifiers came in), and this is the reason. The gaps are at least as important as the notes in music like this - she takes you on more of a journey when she sings to you - there is emptiness when you're not expecting it and notes that modern singers would not use that again, you don't expect. The thing is, because it's not so in-your-face and all encompassing you lean in to listen. The modern amplified way is to play LOUD, and the music has lots of things going on to keep your attention. When someone like Billie Holiday sings quietly, you lean in to hear the nuance and the humanity of it all. It's difference between shouting "look at me!" and calling someone to you so you can give them a hug. I'd really like to hear you analysing Fats Waller next. Another style, but really the master of this kind of syncopated rhythm. The joy he gets into his playing and singing! What makes him so interesting?
Wow such thoughtful analysis, love it! A lot of people think Angelina Jordan copied her style from Amy Winehouse, when really they both model their style from Billie and also Elvis!
📖 Get your signed copy of my album Fable here: www.bethroars.com/shop ☀ Pre-save my first single "Power Of The Wolf" 🐺 on Spotify (it really helps me out!): distrokid.com/hyperfollow/bethroars/power-of-the-wolf 🥁 Become a Patreon Supporter: www.patreon.com/bethroars
Hi off topic can you also make a reaction for the opera singer "Maria Callas" especially song like Vissi' d arte, la mama morta, and her hamburg concert Il pirata.... Would love to see you reaction
Damn you! It takes about one second of hearing Strange Fruit for the lump in my throat to show up. It is probably the most powerful song I have ever heard. It is horrible to realise that she performed it more than 60 years ago and it is still relevant. On a side-note, the British rapper Dave did a version of his Black at the Brits 2020 that has a modern take on the same subject. It's worth giving it a listen even if you're not in to that kind of music.
August 5, 2023 - I haven't listened yet, but I will! I know it will be good! Billie Holiday is legendary and I do listen to hear and other greats like her. Wouldn't it be something if we had a "Billie does Billie Holiday" EP or album - WOW. Nina Schofield reacted to/reviewed Bille's cover of FEVER on her channel [Nina Schofield, August 3, 2022] and imagined Billie doing jazz - I could see it even before she did "FEVER" with "Xanny" and even "idontwannabeyouanymore" [almost my favorite Billie song].
Awesome...again, it's great to see the younger musical generations appreciating the greats from years past... excellent video, Beth 🔥PS - check out John Martyn's version of Strange Fruit from his Church With One Bell album - it's phenomenal.
I remember being a teenager running away from my abusive parents traveling while listening to song I downloaded onto my MP3 player when Billie Holidays god bless the child came on and I burst out crying her and her music will always hold a special place in my heart And now when I hear her music it actually makes me happy
Beth is cute! I've started to follow her recently. Good, professional reactions have helped me also in my singing, and all the details in videos are cool and funny. Thanks Beth!
Very good video. I would appreciate much more exemples (at least three) for each vocal point you've stressed. There are obviously many things that can be said about Billie and her vocal style. I would add two to your video. At the beginning, the main wind instruments in jazz was the trumpet and the clarinet, the jazz style was coming from them (Armstrong, Bix Beiderbeck...). Bessy Smith sounded like a trombone. Billie has the feeling that the saxophones were the new creative instruments (with the piano for harmony of course), and she tended to sound closely to the saxophone of her friend Lester Young, when Lester could imitate Billie with his instrument. For rythm: Billie was able to make people dance as mad in the 30', she mastered the first dance rythm style. Alongside with her friend Lester, she created what will become the modern jazz style, they were far ahead their time. Miles Davies said that Billie was "the essence of cool". That "cool" is a kind of sophisticated blues with jazz harmony and a modern, perhaps urban feeling. That's why Billie is a giant in jazz history.
Dear Lady, thanks a lot for your very interesting point of view. To be honest, I did not learn anything new for myself, but I was very pleased with the sincere respect and sympathy with which you stated this. If you asked me what record of the only singer I would like to take with me to a desert island, it would be Billie Holiday. It is close to me because, in Dostoevsky's metaphor: "In this face... there is a lot of suffering". And it is unlikely that anyone will be able to remake this emotional bouquet in her unique manner of being half a beat behind, with all due respect to the work of Madeleine Peyroux. Thank You and keep it up.
Sister: Like O..M...G. Bless you for this entire moment. Cant even muster the correct words to explain just how phenomenal your spirit, talent, experience, and intellect captivated me. It's as if you not only have a genuine love for music but a RESPECT for it as well. Plus, I learned something NEW💗💪🤗
Was really interesting learning so much on her , hope you make a serie like this on other singers like Chris Cornell, Freddy mercury, Eric Clapton, Prince , Nina Simone and Janis Joplin pls
You should listen to Love in Vain by The Rolling Stones live from Texas, 1972. In my opinion, it's one of Mick's best performances, in regards with his voice.
I was always a bit ambivalent about Mick's voice but he sure could sing when he really wanted to... But why are we talking about the Rolling Stones on this thread, LOL - did I miss something? 😁
Many performers including Billie Holliday smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol. Plus the trauma of Segregation weighed heavily. Great story to tell. Billie spoke for Millions. Great job researching this Beth.
Thank you Beth, for this outstanding, emphatic introduction of the immortal Lady Day, Billy Holiday. It should be a duty for every white person, to listen to strange fruit. Exactly the version from 1959.
Great analysis. Billie is my all-time favourite singer from any genre.
Can't sing a lick and she's singing for me decades after her death
ME TOO👍👍
Billie Holiday is my favorite!!!! Lady Day!! I was inspired by her. I began singing jazz at age 12 after growing up listening to this amazing woman.
She once said that she never sang the same song the same way twice.. She was just iconic. She poured her whole soul into everything she sang.
Strange Fruit. It can't stop resonating across time.
Unfortunately it probably never will
@@jaebird3077 yes, sadly so.
History has a way of doing that. Truth resonates. I am so glad Beth touched upon this iconic song and it roots. We Americans, actually all people, need to listen and hear this truth.
Beth, thank you for your “roar” of Billie Holiday! She is truly one of the greatest singers ever.. I first learned about Billie back in the 80s when I heard Siouxsie and the Banshees perform Strange Fruit. She remained one of my favorites throughout the years. Then in 2013, I saw videos of a little girl singing Gloomy Sunday and I’m a Fool to Want You (that little girl was of course Angelina Jordan) which amazed me and made me smile because someone was keeping Billie’s music alive for another generation. Thank you, for keeping the music of the greats alive!
Now I have to look up Siouxsie's version of Strange Fruit. What a brave choice, bravo.....er, ah, BRAVA.
I'm glad Billie came out when she did. If she came out today, modern producers and engineers would ruin her originality and all that made her great. Her music needed that raw sound, and she needed the creative autonomy that was given to her at the time.
She would have also had a culture that was more empathetic to substance abuse problems.
Her sense of time was amazing!
Watched your video on Gary Brooker and some other people with absolutely "natural" and seemingly effortless voices came to mind. Have you done something on for instance Cass Elliot and Ella?
One of my favorite singers ever. I heard her first as a middle schooler and that was the end. She’s genuinely Billie, and that’s what makes her special for me. Nina Simone gives me that feeling too. Great review!
Couldn't agree more!
I think that you talk about Billie with respect and love. And boy, does she deserve it!
The gem of my vinyl collection is a 1957 original press of Billie
That video of her singing “Fine & Mellow” with the all-star band may be the best thing about the internet. Nice vid
Yes, it is lovely!
Ditto. When Lester Young comes in and plays his sax to sound exactly like Billie's voice you can hear the closeness of their relationship.
I know you'll think it odd my replying to you after 2 years but I just watched this reaction for the first time and couldn't help but express my pleasure at somene else shouting out my favourite rendition of this song. So much talent and soul in one performance and great to be able to see them as well. The arrangement of the soloists is inspired, slowly building up to that incredible trumpet solo.
The way she whips around at the end of "Willow" just tears into my heart every time.
Her Gloomy Sunday is soo good. I love Lady Day.
Beautiful words at the end, love your comments on singers, as a guitar player I love your point of view on music and I've learn a lot watching your videos.
Thanks so much!
This is so interesting, and you speak of Billie with such warmth and sensitivity . Thank you so much for sharing .
Glad you enjoyed it!
What a great reaction vid! I have listen to Billie my whole long life, but your analysis helps me understand why I have always enjoyed her singing... She is literally "the Lady that sings the blues"!
Great job Beth! I'm a huge fan of Billie Holiday and you really gave me a great perspective as a vocal coach on Billie's voice. ...,No voice has ever melted my heart the way Billie's has right from the first time I heard her sing.. I feel every emotion so fluidly and intensely when I hear her voice and my heart instantly softens. I can often feel the height of bliss and the depths of despair in a single Billie phrase. No voice has ever effected me like that and I listen to a lot of different genres of music. I know my life has been greatly enriched in knowing and listening to the voice and music of Billie Holiday and your description of what made her great was fascinating! ...,Thank you!
Nice job on this video. Now I know two well informed authorities on Billie Holiday. Stuart Nicholson shared that Billie's occasional use of rasp or distortion in her voice was the result of her experiences and love of her friend, Louis Armstrong. Louis was a huge star and his voice was gritty and he was very popular. They sang duets together on occasion as they toured together. Great job 👏 on this vocal dissection. I have not heard a more comprehensive autopsy of Lady Day.
Thank you for this. I am glad you focused on 'Strange Fruit' at the end. Her original recording for Commodore Records when her voice was not damaged is also mesmerising. Milt Gabler was the owner of Commodore Records (a tiny label with a studio in the back of his record store) and agreed to record Billie as she was unable to get her own record company to let her record it. Milt Gabler is also a very interesting man. Although jazz was his first love, he went on to produce Bill Haley's records, including 'Rock Around The Clock'.
Wow, wow, my mother introduced me to this artist when I was a young boy. Billie had moved my soul ever since. Thanks 🙏 so much for heartfelt vid. You’re wonderful!
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this. Her phrasing of course was all about SWING - keeping it going while not being on the beat (nearly all the jazz greats do that). On the emotional side, whatever she sang you always BELIEVED her, and she never lost that.
Love this, Beth. This is so good! You are getting so good at this, it's astonishing. You nailed this one.
Thank you!
I also find singer's speaking voice interesting, especially when their speaking voice sounds nothing like their singing! Sinatra was also someone that had the same speaking voice when he sang.
She has no speaking voice, it's a SINGING voice!
Billie is a great singer to learn from, even for non-singers. One thing I think would be interesting, continuing in the vein of looking at singers from other eras, is to include more info about recording technology. This very clearly affects singing technique, as singers have to adapt to the tools available and be able to sing quiet with a very sensitive, directional mic - or to really belt out loudly when a sound system just doesn't cut it, like Billie and all singers of her era would have had to deal with. Plus, the different balance with various types of orchestras these changes in technology lead to. Singing with a classic big band is *very* different from singing with a modern rock band.
I agree, and this is another interesting dimension of her singing. I once read somewhere that Billie's art would not have been possible without the advent of the microphone. Whereas Bessie Smith belted out songs in theatres and tent shows (without amplification), Billie, started by singing in illicit speakeasies during prohibition when no sound could escape out onto to the street. And so she sang softly at tables in a very intimate way. Also, the constraints of fitting early records on to the 3 and a half minutes allowed by 78rpm records must've presented their own challenges.
Wow Beth. I always find your videos entertaining and informative, but this was something else altogether, especially the section on Strange Fruit. Thank you for this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Billie holiday is never late. She always arrives exactly on time.
You deserve any light that life may bring you, just because you made a video about the great Lady Day, thank you so much! 💖
What a fantastic analysis ! Knowledgeable and sympathetic.
Her rendition of Strange Fruit still gives me chills.
Thank you for this, especially for your analysis of Strange Fruit.
Beth, this is without a doubt one of the best videos you have made.
Your analysis was so loving and touching, and so articulate.
I love listening to Billie Holiday. I feel transported to another place when she sings.
Wow, thank you!
She was a legend, and will continue to be as long as we keep talking about her. Good on ya for keeping the legend alive.
Billie Holiday is one of the most influential people in music history…. She changed the course of popular music vocals forever
I haven't seen a better video on TH-cam, this was fantastic 🙏
Thank you!
I love this in depth analysis of one of the all time greats, well done!
Her timing is indeed something to study for any singer and the version of Strange Fruit you recommended gives me goose bumps.
Stormy Weather is one of my personal favourites by her.
And for those that want to know more about Billie Holiday's life story i recommend the Stuart Nicholson biography from 1995.
Thank you very much!
I enjoyed hearing your heartfelt sincerity at the end of this video. Your empathy and loving kindness really melted my heart as a man of color in America.
Thank you so much!
WOW, Beth! What a beautiful and perfectly explained video. A great review about one of the most delicated and precious female voices of all times. I was very young when I watch the film '9 and Half Weeks '(1986,Adrian Lyne),it was a forbidden film then. In a scene, Mickey Rourke put a record and the voice it was there! And he says: "Billie Holiday". That was the first time I listened that magic voice. Imagine my deception when I get the sountrack,and she wasn't there!
Anyway, since then,I fell in love with the voice of the wonderful Billie Holiday. Thanks for your amazing work. A big hug from Spain 😺
Thank you!
This was a great review!
Thank you!
This was as fantastic as I'd hoped. I love your insights, and always obvious you do your research.! I'd love to see you do a video on how singing styles have changed over the years. I must admit my appreciation of vocal talent stalled some time in the 80s or so (exception of Amy Winehouse) but your videos on younger artists, like Billie and Arianna, have been bringing me around to appreciating what they do, and got me wondering if the breathy tones of today serve a similar emotional function to the husky tones of the past.
Absolutely. It is also interesting because singing styles are directly influenced by the technology of each era.
What I always notice about Billie is that she often sings a note you don't expect. I don't know what this is called or if it's an exclusively Billie thing, but it's what sticks out most to me.
I have everything ever recorded by Billie Holliday on a 10 cd box set it’s so good to just sit back and let her voice wash over you
Thank you for these videos! Sometimes an analysis like this is better than all the lessons in the world.
I'd like to suggest a male jazz singer from the '40s through the '60s. Mel Torme may have had the smoothest voice ever. Anyone called the Velvet Fog deserves a listen.
Nice video, thanks! This is some of the stuff I was raised on. My Dad especially was a big jazz and blues guy.
Thank you!
Beth, this is one of the best written and presented documentaries I've seen. Congratulations and thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for the knowledge.
She's one of my favourite female singers. I love your channel.
That was very educative. And it was wonderful, you Beth are wonderful.
Thanks, Beth. This video was so informative. It's a great tribute to one of the most important vocalists of the twentieth century.
You are so welcome!
You hit the nail on the head with this one!
Thanks. Will admit I hadn't spent enough time with Lady Day. Thank you!
No worries!
Love Billie Holiday, great vid Beth :)
Thanks so much!
I really enjoyed this video. Thank you Beth
thank you for covering her. great video
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love her phrasing.
Great piece, Beth. Thank you.
Glad you like it!
Great job on this vid. Liked it a lot. Again proven that music is one of the greatest assets that human kind has to offer to this world. Agreeing that love in the end is the only thing that will conquer all the BS in this world and the one thing that is worth remembering about human kind when the last light has died in this universe! Thanks again and make it count
Very nice video, thank you. It is impossible to over-estimate her influence on popular music. Pretty much every singer since has learnt something from Billie. She ‘invented’ Soul.
I find it very insightful that you pointed out that she had a much wider vocal range than she chose to use and her timing was a long way off what is "mechanically" correct. I'm really interested in pre-war pop music (basically, before amplifiers came in), and this is the reason. The gaps are at least as important as the notes in music like this - she takes you on more of a journey when she sings to you - there is emptiness when you're not expecting it and notes that modern singers would not use that again, you don't expect.
The thing is, because it's not so in-your-face and all encompassing you lean in to listen. The modern amplified way is to play LOUD, and the music has lots of things going on to keep your attention.
When someone like Billie Holiday sings quietly, you lean in to hear the nuance and the humanity of it all. It's difference between shouting "look at me!" and calling someone to you so you can give them a hug.
I'd really like to hear you analysing Fats Waller next. Another style, but really the master of this kind of syncopated rhythm. The joy he gets into his playing and singing! What makes him so interesting?
Thank you so much for this. Lady Day is my favorite singer and your insight into her voice is utterly fascinating.
Thanks for listening
Always loved Billie Holiday and your analysis was superb.
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks! Love your Angelina Jordan reaction/analysis videos.
Thank you Sean!
Another great review. Learned a great amount.
Glad it was helpful!
Wow such thoughtful analysis, love it! A lot of people think Angelina Jordan copied her style from Amy Winehouse, when really they both model their style from Billie and also Elvis!
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Hi off topic can you also make a reaction for the opera singer "Maria Callas" especially song like Vissi' d arte, la mama morta, and her hamburg concert Il pirata.... Would love to see you reaction
@@typhoon2minerva La mamma morta is better sing by Callas' idol Claudia Muzio.
Vissi d'Arte is not bad by Callas' second idol, Rosa Ponselle.
Really like this analytical approach. I'd like to see more of these.
Fantastic video. Thanks
I love this video and this video series! Bravo dear!
I Love Billie since I was a teen...all of my friends used to listen to modern music...( the 80's) But I was always whith Billie....Great video!!!!👍👏❤
Very informative!! Thank you!!
I listen to Strange fruit as a young man, but it took a long time to realise what the lyrics was about. Thanks for this video, great job.
Damn you! It takes about one second of hearing Strange Fruit for the lump in my throat to show up. It is probably the most powerful song I have ever heard. It is horrible to realise that she performed it more than 60 years ago and it is still relevant. On a side-note, the British rapper Dave did a version of his Black at the Brits 2020 that has a modern take on the same subject. It's worth giving it a listen even if you're not in to that kind of music.
Even though I'm a die-hard Metalhead, my wedding-dance was to Lady Day's "Crazy he calls me". Just love her ....
Thank you. Great analysis of a great singer.
Glad you enjoyed it!
August 5, 2023 - I haven't listened yet, but I will! I know it will be good! Billie Holiday is legendary and I do listen to hear and other greats like her. Wouldn't it be something if we had a "Billie does Billie Holiday" EP or album - WOW. Nina Schofield reacted to/reviewed Bille's cover of FEVER on her channel [Nina Schofield, August 3, 2022] and imagined Billie doing jazz - I could see it even before she did "FEVER" with "Xanny" and even "idontwannabeyouanymore" [almost my favorite Billie song].
Awesome...again, it's great to see the younger musical generations appreciating the greats from years past... excellent video, Beth 🔥PS - check out John Martyn's version of Strange Fruit from his Church With One Bell album - it's phenomenal.
that was very insightful. thank you very much!.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I remember being a teenager running away from my abusive parents traveling while listening to song I downloaded onto my MP3 player when Billie Holidays god bless the child came on and I burst out crying her and her music will always hold a special place in my heart
And now when I hear her music it actually makes me happy
Beth is cute! I've started to follow her recently. Good, professional reactions have helped me also in my singing, and all the details in videos are cool and funny. Thanks Beth!
Thank you!
Very good video.
I would appreciate much more exemples (at least three) for each vocal point you've stressed.
There are obviously many things that can be said about Billie and her vocal style.
I would add two to your video.
At the beginning, the main wind instruments in jazz was the trumpet and the clarinet, the jazz style was coming from them (Armstrong, Bix Beiderbeck...). Bessy Smith sounded like a trombone. Billie has the feeling that the saxophones were the new creative instruments (with the piano for harmony of course), and she tended to sound closely to the saxophone of her friend Lester Young, when Lester could imitate Billie with his instrument.
For rythm: Billie was able to make people dance as mad in the 30', she mastered the first dance rythm style. Alongside with her friend Lester, she created what will become the modern jazz style, they were far ahead their time. Miles Davies said that Billie was "the essence of cool". That "cool" is a kind of sophisticated blues with jazz harmony and a modern, perhaps urban feeling.
That's why Billie is a giant in jazz history.
Dear Lady, thanks a lot for your very interesting point of view. To be honest, I did not learn anything new for myself, but I was very pleased with the sincere respect and sympathy with which you stated this. If you asked me what record of the only singer I would like to take with me to a desert island, it would be Billie Holiday. It is close to me because, in Dostoevsky's metaphor: "In this face... there is a lot of suffering". And it is unlikely that anyone will be able to remake this emotional bouquet in her unique manner of being half a beat behind, with all due respect to the work of Madeleine Peyroux. Thank You and keep it up.
Sister: Like O..M...G. Bless you for this entire moment. Cant even muster the correct words to explain just how phenomenal your spirit, talent, experience, and intellect captivated me. It's as if you not only have a genuine love for music but a RESPECT for it as well. Plus, I learned something NEW💗💪🤗
I love this series :)
Wonderful review and analysis.
11:57 leaf falls. weird that I see things like that sometimes
I typed "Strange Fruit Billie Holiday" into TH-cam, and Beth's video was third on the list.
Sting's cover of Strange Fruit was sadly my first exposure to who Bono later reminded us was "Lady Day."
Porgy and Bess! Also one of my all time favorites
Super video! Thank you. I love this kind of video 🐚🦑
Was really interesting learning so much on her , hope you make a serie like this on other singers like Chris Cornell, Freddy mercury, Eric Clapton, Prince , Nina Simone and Janis Joplin pls
That's the plan!
@@BethRoars Hell yeah xD
All I hear is Billie Holiday
It's all that I play
This Is Fantastic.
Reverent and informative, never falling into mawkishness or sycophancy.
VERY Well Done 👍🏾👊🏾
the unknown version of porgy is 1951 btw:)
Excellent!!!
You should listen to Love in Vain by The Rolling Stones live from Texas, 1972. In my opinion, it's one of Mick's best performances, in regards with his voice.
I was always a bit ambivalent about Mick's voice but he sure could sing when he really wanted to... But why are we talking about the Rolling Stones on this thread, LOL - did I miss something? 😁
@@robertcronin6603 She reacted to Brown Sugar a while back, and Love in Vain is another song where his voice sounded really good.
mashallah war thema meiner klausur digga, danke dir für das video canim
She was unique
Many performers including Billie Holliday smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol. Plus the trauma of Segregation weighed heavily. Great story to tell. Billie spoke for Millions. Great job researching this Beth.
Thank you Beth, for this outstanding, emphatic introduction of the immortal Lady Day, Billy Holiday. It should be a duty for every white person, to listen to strange fruit. Exactly the version from 1959.
Wow! Makes me wonder what you would say makes Annie Haslam great!
Would be cool too see you do Tori Amos... She was inspired by Billie as well.