In the 1970s, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl recorded over 200 hours of interviews for a biography she intended to write about Billie Holiday. [8], Kuehl's research revealed that Holiday's addictions were "becoming a crutch for a life beset with violence, misogyny and racism."[2]. }, true); var captainformCustomVars = {}; During the famous 1957 Sound of Jazz television recording of Fine & Mellow others have described Holidays face as smacked out on drugs or liquor; instead, this film makes it clear that the ecstasy on Holidays face is from hearing the sounds of her musical soulmate saxophonist Lester Young play. Holiday can only be fairly described as oscillating from pleasingly plump to svelte for much of her career. if(typeof cfJsHost != 'undefined'){ Considering all the trauma that Holiday had when she was a child (she was also raped more than once when she was a teenager), its no surprise that she ended up way that she did. }); The book was never completed, but the tapes have been . In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. She created Freedoms Song: Music of the Civil Rights Movement and was musical director and curator for the Martin Luther King Institutes Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. The documentary includes archival news video footage of Joan Allen, a correctional officer who worked at the federal rehabilitation facility in Alderston, West Virginia, where Holiday served her prison time. (document.removeEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.removeEventListener("load",d)):(document.detachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.detachEvent("onload",d))},d=function(){t||!document.addEventListener&&"load"!==event.type&&"complete"!==document.readyState||(t=!0,n(),e())};if("complete"===document.readyState)e();else if(document.addEventListener)document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.addEventListener("load",d);else{document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.attachEvent("onload",d);var o=!1;try{o=null==window.frameElement&&document.documentElement}catch(a){}o&&o.doScroll&&!function c(){if(!t){try{o.doScroll("left")}catch(d){return setTimeout(c,50)}t=!0,n(),e()}}()}}; Kuehl's extensive interviews of Holiday's contemporaries have been the backbone of many Holiday biographies. Several people in the documentary literally say in one way or another, She loved to get high. And they talk about how she had an unusually high physical tolerance for drugs that was stronger than men who were physically a lot bigger than she was. Culture Clash:Holiday battled drug addiction, and several people who knew her say that she was a target of the FBI. Before completing her work, Kuehl died suddenly in February 1978. There was a rebellious engine inside both of them. In an archival radio interview, Holiday says, I always knew I could sing, but I didnt know I could make money out of it, until I was working in a little joint called The Hot Cha. Pigmeat Markham, an entertainer who knew Holiday in her early days as a performer, remembers that Holiday had stagefright.. Line: 478 }, true); var captainformCustomVars = {}; A new documentary, Billie, will delve into the life of jazz great Billie Holiday with the help of hours of never-before-heard interviews. Dr. James Hamilton, a psychiatrist who interviewed Holiday when she was in prison, had this diagnosis of her. var captainformDomReady = captainformDomReady || function(e){var t=!1,n=function(){document.addEventListener? (Its one of the reasons why biopics about Holiday portray her in very different ways.). var append_element = append_element || function(e){if(void 0==e)return!1;if(! In the late '60s, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie. KUEHLLinda (Lipnack). Monroe would become Holidays first husband, whom she married in 1941. Kuehl's parents were Sol and Ida Lipnack and she had a sister, Myra Luftman. var popupParams = { Pulled out of school at 11, she worked in a brothel at age 12, and by age 14 she was in Harlem singing at the Hot Cha Club. Racism is still an enduring feature of Black life in America, but it does pull the viewer out of Holidays time too much. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772605EmbedPopup63c877fb83722'); She had not performed with nor seen him in years and her delight is plain. Culture Representation:The documentary Billie features a group of white and black people, who were associated with Billie Holiday, discussing the life of the legendary jazz singer, who died at the age of 44 in 1959. By the time that Holiday was arrested in 1947, she listed her marital status as separated. She and Monroe got divorced the same year. Her second drug bust came in San Francisco in 1949, but she didnt get any prison time for that arrest. jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 - wrapper.outerHeight()); Music producer Marty Gabler says in the documentary that Columbia Records didnt want to release Strange Fruit because of the social content and because of how unusual it was to do a protest song. Strange Fruit is considered historically important because it was one of the first social justice songs released by a mainstream performer prior to the U.S. civil rights movement. (Its hard to believe he didnt know.) Then there's the story of journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who had been working on a biography of Holiday for nearly a decade before she met her own untimely death in 1978. As for Holidays love life, several people in the documentary say that Holiday was openly bisexual. captainformThemeStyle['772606'] = ''; Allen shows the cell where Holiday stayed and describes Holiday as quiet and certainly no trouble ever. var popupParams = { resize77260563c877fb82c45(wrapper); Culture Audience:Billie will appeal primarily to people who are interested in a raw and authentic look at Holidays life, as told by people who knew her best. In the 1970s Linda Lipnack Kuehl, a journalist, sought to deepen her understanding of Holiday; she conducted these conversations in the hope of writing a definitive biography of the jazz. I was one of the people who didnt. Holiday was the first black singer to work with Goodman in those racially segregated times. Linda Lipnack Kuehl was writing a biography of Holiday when she died suddenly in 1978, though her family believe she may have been murdered Clarisse Loughrey Friday 13 November 2020 11:03 [11][14][15] Documentary director James Erskine bought the rights to Kuehl's tapes[3] and his subsequent film, Billie (2019), is "a journey through Holiday's life, narrated by the voices on those tapes",[3][14][16][17] including Kuehl's. captainform_create_form_popup(popupParams); At the time of her death, she and McKay were separated and not divorced. captainForm772605PreloadInterval63c877fb82c45 = setInterval(function(){ Line: 24 And it seems that Holiday didnt want to settle down with anyone who was considered nice or normal., Irene Kitchen, one of Holidays friends, mentions musician Sonny White, who was briefly Holidays fianc, as nice, quiet, a very good musician Her mother and I hoped that she would marry him. Considering the documentary is made almost exclusively of one persons previously unheard interviews, I cannot agree. else if ('' == 'right') She was fired by John Hammond. Jones says that Hammond fired Holiday because she refused Hammonds demands to sing blues music. The first of the two films - "Billie" is a documentary built around some previously unheard audio interviews conducted by Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who was working on a comprehensive biography on Billie Holiday before her untimely death in 1978.Ms. var append_element = append_element || function(e){if(void 0==e)return!1;if(! Did someone consider the pairs intimacy a threat? By all accounts, he was abusive and a heavy drug user. Protest songs became more prevalent in the 1960s, but Holiday was a pioneer. The documentary will thread her story through the eyes of one of her most enamored fans, Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who, in 1971, set out to write a definitive biography. Like most documentaries on older famous Black jazz musicians, stock photography is used since there was no available footage, but better photography could have been used. Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's life, but died before its completion. textContent: 'var frmRef=""; try { frmRef=window.top.location.href; } catch(err) {}; var captainform_servicedomain="app.captainform.com";var cfJsHost = "https://";', She wasnt like a slut. The tapes have never [] Read the full article: Glasgow Film Festival 2020: Billie Glasgow Film Festival 2020 Glasgow Film Festival 2020: Anderson Falls She was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Eleanors favorite curse words were motherfucker and cocksucker., By all accounts, Eleanor started working as a housecleaner/maid before she was a teenager. [4], She was a Jewish feminist[5] and a fan of Billie Holiday. Detroit Red, a dancer work worked with Holiday at The Hot Cha, remembers: At that particular time, the only vice she had was smoking [marijuana] reefers. Later, Holiday became an alcoholic and addicted to cocaine and heroin. Despite her early hardships, Billie Holiday pioneered the refinement of microphone technique, minimalism, and jazz phrasing for subsequent generations. var popupParams = { She never bothered anybody. And to the best of anyones knowledge, Holiday didnt sing while she was incarcerated. formId: '772606' The director of this documentary bought her research, and uses it well. [4], She was a Jewish feminist[5] and a fan of Billie Holiday. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772605EmbedPopup63c877fb82c45'); } Some of the best moments of the documentary are hearing Billie talk about herself in her slight drawl infused with vocal fry. Kuehl had even grown close to some of her interview subjects, including Holidays former bandleader Count Basie. Shortly after she became a professional singer as a teenager, Holiday began working with musician/producer John Hammond, who introduced her to Benny Goodman in 1933. [11] "Police deemed it suicide, Kuehl having supposedly jumped from her hotel room, although there was no proof of this",[3] and her family believes she may have been murdered. Her drug problems led to her multiple arrests at the height of her fame. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Then, in 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie. Holiday co-wrote her 1956 memoir Lady Sings the Blues with William Dufty, and the book became the basis of the 1972 feature film of the same name, starring Diana Ross, who earned an Oscar nomination for her role as Holiday. BILLIE, directed by James Erskine, is a portrait of legendary singer Billie Holiday based on more than 200 audio interviews conducted by journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl in the 1970s.A compelling look at the jazz legend who should never be forgotten. The Billie documentary gives added depth to Holidays memoir, since it includes the perspectives of people who talk about things that Holiday didnt want to talk about in her book. Before her mysterious death in 1978, Lipnack Kuehl had taped over 200 hours of interviews. captainformCustomVars['772605'] = ''; document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); with her dark dresses, and smooth-straightened glossy dark hair and the white gardenias (or lily or orchid.) However, drummer Jo Jones has a entirely different recollection of why Holiday parted ways with Basie. The most important takeaway from Jo Jones is that anyone who believes music has no color negates the experiences of African American musicians who lived with racism dictating almost every aspect of their lives. Many important details of her life and her musical genius have been overshadowed by a lurid interest in her love life and drug use. FISHER Satisfies the Appetite, Memorable and Best Forgotten Thanksgivings. Kim Nalley, a PHD Candidate in History at University of California Berkeley, is a historian, playwright, and actress and is most known as jazz & blues singer with a powerful, 3 1/2 octave range that can go from operatic to gritty blues on a dime, projection that can whisper a ballad yet is capable of filling a room with no microphone, and the ability to scat blistering solos without ever losing the crowds interest or the intense swing. She was a generous person, Id say, in thought anyway. Song list and samples here.She portrayed Holiday on stage in C.J.Verburgs play Lady Day in Love. Function: require_once. Line: 208 Milt Hilton, a bass player who worked with Holiday during her last music recording sessions, remembers: She was in pretty bad shape. He took many of the widely published photos of her during these last sessions. Along with Count Basie, we were the Royal Family, Holiday said in an archival interview. [3] In 1978 she was found dead on a Washington, D.C. sidewalk,[3][8][10] after attending a Count Basie concert. Function: view, "Billie documentary review an oral history of Billie Holiday", "Singer, activist, sex machine, addict: the troubled brilliance of Billie Holiday", "Billie is a fanatical yet fascinating portrait of an immortal talent", "Billie a powerful documentary about the life of the singer", "Documentary Billie squanders its incendiary premise review", "Biography covers range of a vocalist (Published 2005)", "Billie review a double tragedy of destruction and obsession", "One Scats, the Other Doesn't (Published 1994)", "Observer review: With Billie by Julia Blackburn", "Billie review a truer, historical spin on the great Billie Holiday", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linda_Lipnack_Kuehl&oldid=1111802271. Looking for Linda Kuehl online? }); Kuehl's parents were Sol and Ida Lipnack and she had a sister, Myra Luftman. [1], File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php How Kuehl managed to construct Billies life and Kuehls life is just as interesting as Holidays life in my opinion. This is not to say that there is no filmed footage. At the time, she had her own girls on the street. Most Popular So, in the late 1960s journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of. type: "text/javascript", Occasionally, pieces of Kuehls own life enter into the picture, but never with much attempt to build a connection. [3] In 1978 she was found dead on a Washington, D.C. sidewalk,[3][8][10] after attending a Count Basie concert. clearInterval(captainForm772605PreloadInterval63c877fb82c45); var readyStateOverflowInterval; var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup63c877fb829bf'); jQuery(wrapper).find('a').removeAttr('href'); function resize77260563c877fb83722(wrapper){ [1], Last edited on 23 September 2022, at 00:47, "Billie documentary review an oral history of Billie Holiday", "Singer, activist, sex machine, addict: the troubled brilliance of Billie Holiday", "Billie is a fanatical yet fascinating portrait of an immortal talent", "Billie a powerful documentary about the life of the singer", "Documentary Billie squanders its incendiary premise review", "Biography covers range of a vocalist (Published 2005)", "Billie review a double tragedy of destruction and obsession", "One Scats, the Other Doesn't (Published 1994)", "Observer review: With Billie by Julia Blackburn", "Billie review a truer, historical spin on the great Billie Holiday", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linda_Lipnack_Kuehl&oldid=1111802271, This page was last edited on 23 September 2022, at 00:47. Billie feels typical, even if its attention to detail gives it an obvious appeal. Many books have been written about her success and ongoing struggles. [2] Various other writers' biographies on Holiday have drawn upon Kuehl's material, as did the film Billie (2019), which is narrated by Kuehl's recorded interviews. [3] She worked as a high school teacher and free lance writer. Theres also a clip of her role as Endie in the 1947 film New Orleans., Because Billie is told in chronological order of her life, the documentary has a very easy narrative to follow. [3] She worked as a high school teacher and free lance writer. Her romances didnt get any better. captainform_preload_form_popup(popupParams); They got married in 1957. This was one of the principal reasons why she left the band. Hammond estimates that Holidays salary with Basie was $125 a week, at the most. She wanted to retire and care for orphans. textContent: 'var frmRef=""; try { frmRef=window.top.location.href; } catch(err) {}; var captainform_servicedomain="app.captainform.com";var cfJsHost = "https://";', It is maintained is rich with photos, videos, book information, quotes, and, of course, music.Plan to spend some time there. Linda Lipnack Kuehl (January 24, 1940 February 6, 1978)[1] was an American arts journalist, based in New York City. Holiday corrects an interviewer saying that she was fourteen when she arrived in New York. Over the next decade, she tracked down and tape-recorded interviews with the extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer's short, tumultuous life. You can hear Kuehls excellence as an interviewer asking why repeatedly rather than inserting her own understanding. Her predilection for weed, opium and coke gave them the excuse to hound her relentlessly. captainformCustomVars['772606'] = ''; var readyStateOverflowInterval; Over the next decade, she tracked down and tape-recorded interviews with the extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer's short, tumultuous life. type: "text/javascript", That voice. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. var append_element = append_element || function(e){if(void 0==e)return!1;if(! else if ('' == 'right') The images of her are legion. This documentary offers viewers the rare opportunity to see Billie Holiday through the eyes of those who knew her best. }; ("elementType"in e))return!1;var n=null;if(n=e.following?e.following.parentElement:e.inside?e.inside:e.replacing?e.replacing.parentElement:"script"==e.elementType?document.head:document.body,null==n)return!1;var l=document.createElement(e.elementType);delete e.elementType,l=jQuery.extend(l,e),e.replacing?n.replaceChild(l,e.replacing):n.appendChild(l)}; }); The project is centered around 200 hours of previously. }, true); var captainformCustomVars = {}; The next thing I know, she was using coke.. Your email address will not be published. On 6 February 1978, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl fell from the balcony of a Washington DC hotel. Culture Mix Survey They are particularly pertinent, showing what kind of child she was and what the neighborhood was like for poor African Americans. Popular So, in 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write definitive! 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