I’m sure if I had the chance to meet her now she would tell me how much work I have to do. …or,“Get another gig!”

But it is impossible to render Billie any other way than she would have wanted.
As much as we try to find Billie in ourselves, in our lives, we do.
She was an individualist who sang for us all. She is most personal.

There is no other Billie Holiday…

To listen to Billie’s life- is to listen to freedom: a pioneering voice among African Americans, musicians, and underdogs in our hifalutin society.

…you can hear her in the tough man crying,
the alley cat whining,
the toddler baby shreiking,
the peeping child peeking,
the bell-chimer ticking,
the evening barker tricking,
the way the washer-woman rinses out shame,
nature lazes into her pain,
waning on the horizon…

To all those celebrating this holiday--
Happy 90th Birthday Billie Holiday
We’re still Getting Some Fun Out of Life-

~madeleine peyroux

The Official Site of Billie Holiday
The Unofficial Billie Holiday Website