Enjoying Some Quality ME Time With Movies, Music and Books: Women's History Month

Monday, February 21, 2022

In Memory of: Billie Holiday (1915 - 1959) | Jazz and Blues Lovers Will Always Love Lady Day

My late mother loved gardening. She had a way of arranging flowers in the front yard of our home, based on the season of the year. Do you remember back in the day when neighbors used to visit each other and sit outside and talk? Well, I have a memory of one evening when my mom and some of her friends were sitting outside talking. I don't know what season of the year it was, but when I came outside there was a wonderful scent in the air. I had to interrupt the adult conversation and ask my mom what was that delightful odor I was smelling. She told me it was the gardenias she had planted and that in the evening was the best time to smell their fragrance.

Image credit: Amazon.com

Later on in life (in my teens), I learned about a jazz singer named Billie Holiday and she loved using gardenias to adorn her hair. I must say that she looked quite stylish. I wanted to copy her style so I bought fake flower hair ornaments. Sharing an image of the late Billie Holiday. She was a great jazz vocalist but she had a really sad life. They did a movie about her life and Diana Ross played her part. The movie was called “Lady Sings the Blues” (1972). Some say a lot of the bio details are not accurate. But don't most movies about famous people change details in the name of “artistic license”? The film was adapted from a book, her autobiography by the same name, published by Doubleday in 1956. Anyway! Entertainment-wise, it was a really good film. It's listed at TCM (Turner Classic Movies). Even if you don't watch the movie, you should listen to music. The soundtrack is pretty awesome!

In Memory Of: Eleanora Fagan Gough (1915-1959). She chose the stage name “Billie Holiday” and was nicknamed “Lady Day” by Lester Young, a saxophonist in the Count Basie Orchestra. The two worked together in nightclubs on New York's 52nd St.