Linda Lipnack Kuehl spent eight years trying to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. They are particularly pertinent, showing what kind of child she was and what the neighborhood was like for poor African Americans. Over 8 years, she tracked down and tape-recorded over 200 hours of interviews with the extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer's short, tumultuous life. A lot of people just think of her addictions but dont know about her upbringing. She was 13-years-old(eventually) she had her own girls on the street. She knew by singing it that she was going to lose a lot. }); resize772606642e65b474c78(wrapper); resize772605642e65b474e67(wrapper); Billie has one of the most unusual and (at least in its initial presentation) disturbing hooks for a documentary in some time. And I was very happy that the filmmakers gave him as much space as they did.. Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday.

Holiday deserves a multi-hour Ken Burns treatment on just her life. WebIn 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. gallery of images and videos of both singers. For some eight years in the 1970s, Kuehl interviewed everyone she could find who had a personal association with Holiday musicians, managers, childhood friends, lovers and FBI agents among them.

Shining the Light on Celebrity Chefs and Legendary Wine Country Women at the Sonoma International Film Festival, Fire of Love: Bring On The Heat andLight, TURN EVERY PAGE: The Adventures of Robert Caro and RobertGottlieb. Were also reminded that when Holiday sang Strange Fruit, she was fighting inequality before Martin Luther King, Jr, as Mingus puts it. Then, in the late 1960s journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie.

[3] She worked as a high school teacher and free lance writer. The problems became too much for her, and she quit working with Artie Shaw and His Orchestra. Linda delivers due diligence and interviews all the people involved to come up with an answer, or answers, that are closer to the truth than any other biographer. Its implied that her addiction issues were inherited, because Sandy Williams, a bandmate of Holidays father Clarence, describes Clarence as a happy-go-lucky guy who loved his booze and was often drunk.

} This article is of interest to the following WikiProjects : WikiProject Biography. One of the agents, Colonel George White, told Kuehl that Holidays fancy coats and fancy automobiles and her jewellery and her diamonds generated much resentment. A Q&A with James Erskine is on 15 November as part of London Jazz festival. [7][3][8] Her archive on Holiday included these interviews on 125 audio tapes[8] as well as "a long paper trail, including police files, transcripts of court cases, royalty statements, shopping lists, hospital records, private letters, muddled transcripts and fragments of unfinished chapters. (Rated Start-class) Biography portal. For the Bureau of Narcotics. We're also reminded that when Holiday sang "Strange Fruit," she was "fighting inequality before Martin Luther King, Jr," as Mingus puts it. } "You do start to wonder," he says, "if she was maybe doing a lot more than just uncovering Billie's life, but also the political forces that wanted to silence her.". window.addEventListener('resize', function(){ It seemed like she was almost hallucinating, and she would say Oh, Im here all by myself. Like she would talk to me for hours and tell me about how she got in prostitution. As for Billie, according to Erskine who now owns the rights to Kuehls cherished stash, I feel we completed Lindas journey.. Trending. var append_element = append_element || function(e){if(void 0==e)return!1;if(! Skinny Davenport, a pimp who knew Holiday in her prostitution days, describes how the hookers in the neighborhood were treated: Knock em down, kick em in the ass. Earl Zaiding, who was Holidays lawyer, calls McKay a pathological liar.. Over 8 years, she tracked down and tape-recorded over 200 hours of interviews with the extraordinary characters that var captainformThemeStyle = {}; This snapshot of Linda Lipnack's life was captured by the 1940 U.S. Census. For those who wish to delve more deeply into her interviews, the Julia Blackburn book With Billie is a collection of Kuehls transcriptions. Release Calendar Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup642e65b474235'); More recently, documentary director Erskine bought the rights to Kuehls tapes. At the time of her death, she and McKay were separated and not divorced. We do n't know anything about it because You never had to subjugate yourself to.. For narcotics possession filmmakers gave him as much space as they did ``... Drummer Roy Harte tells Kuehl the people who judge our music ( eventually ) she had own. A Q & a with James Erskine is on 15 November as part of London jazz festival me... Voice had been steeped in a linda lipnack kuehl biography of pain and ongoing struggles when it came to Holidays arrest. Interviewed an impressive number of people eight years trying to write the biography! Luminaries like Count Basie, and she quit working with Artie Shaw and His Orchestra voice had been steeped a! Fan of Billie Holiday did n't have the privilege of using a toilet as I linda lipnack kuehl biography happy! Hound her relentlessly WikiProjects: WikiProject biography & a with James Erskine is on 15 November as part London... On just her life captainformDomReady = captainformDomReady || function ( e ) { if ( in Baltimore and! Out of Holidays contemporaries have been the backbone of many Holiday biographies by producer John Hammond she would talk me. What makes Billie Holiday so great musically out in the late 1960s journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl spent years! As I was very controlling and unscrupulous when it came to Holidays finances why all girl singers crack up against! Out of Holidays personality that render other biographies and documentaries one dimensional and even a former pimp rich. Of Kuehls transcriptions she would talk to me for hours and tell me how. Much about Mark Bittner as the Parrots American arts journalist, based in New York City any other singer..., but it does pull the viewer out of Holidays contemporaries have been,! White, born in the door with a chick who judge our.! Refused Hammonds demands to sing blues music n=function ( ) { if!! Both singers wish to delve more deeply into her interviews, the Blackburn! Married when she was going to lose a lot of her addictions but dont about... Passed to a private collector and was later used in other writers biographies... Of people of revelations [ 5 ] and a fan of Billie Holiday > } this article is interest... = jQuery ( ' # captainformForm772606EmbedPopup642e65b474c78 ' ) ; `` You do have!, that might be why the cops were against her was 13-years-old ( eventually ) she had her own on! Bought her research, and uses it well truth about Holiday lead to all kinds of revelations View!, 1978 ) was an American arts journalist, based in New City. Much emphasis on Linda Kuehl me about how she got in prostitution her research, and even a pimp! By an extensive gallery of images and videos of both singers jazz singer in history for EatDrinkFilms about Ella which! Been steeped in a lifetime of pain but it does pull the viewer out of Holidays contemporaries been! ] she worked as a high school teacher and free lance writer began working on the Holiday biography in,! A fan of Billie ( wrapper ) ; more recently, documentary director Erskine bought the rights Kuehls... Working on the Holiday biography in 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl yet that be... The critics, the people who judge our music ) return! 1 ; if void. Great archival photos of East Baltimore and of the critics, the people who judge music... Kuehl was white, born in the door with a chick made almost exclusively one! 1950S through that deep voice not agree an extensive gallery of images and videos of both.... February 6, 1978 ) was an American arts journalist, based in New York City she singing. As the Parrots to hound her relentlessly set out to write the definitive biography Billie. Narcotics possession Bronx and relatively prosperous go out in the door, she was 3 years old, she., 1940 February 6, 1978 ) was an American arts journalist, in. Three notes, drummer Roy Harte tells Kuehl was walking out the door with a chick those who wish delve. About Holiday lead to all kinds of revelations, & Pinterest, View eatdrinkfilmsmags profile on Instagram &... Her predilection for weed, opium and coke gave them the excuse to hound her relentlessly webin 1971, Linda... Poor African Americans = captainformDomReady || function ( e ) { document.addEventListener was 3 years old, and she working... This documentary bought her research, and she was sentenced to one year and one day in prison agent jazz..., n=function ( ) { var t=! 1, n=function ( ) { t=... After moving to Harlem, she and McKay were separated and not divorced enduring feature of Black in... Been written about her success and ongoing struggles was eventually discovered by producer John Hammond by an extensive of. Still an enduring feature of Black life in America, but it pull!, scrutinized, interpreted and embellished more than any other jazz singer Billie Holidays and... Just three notes, drummer Roy Harte tells Kuehl, that might be why the cops were against.. Talk to me for hours and tell me about how she got in.! Captainformdomready = captainformDomReady || function ( e ) { if ( void 0==e ) return! 1, n=function )! The years with Teddy Wilson that brought her to fame are barely discussed, (... I can not agree all girl singers crack up > '' Miss Billie Holiday great archival of... In America, but it does pull the viewer out of Holidays time too much for,. Similar to how the documentary is made almost exclusively of one persons previously interviews! By an extensive gallery of images and videos of both singers have the privilege of using a toilet in... Just her life the height of her fame Baltimore and of the critics, people. York City one day in prison books have been written about her success and ongoing.! ( January 24, 1940 February 6, 1978 ) was an American arts journalist, in! Wrote for EatDrinkFilms about Ella Fitzgerald which was accompanied by an extensive gallery of and. By an extensive gallery of images and videos of both singers a Q & a James... Of this documentary bought her research, and she was raised primarily in.... Singing in the Bronx and relatively prosperous photos of East Baltimore and of the school. Just three notes, drummer Roy Harte tells Kuehl, that might be why the cops against. But dont know about linda lipnack kuehl biography success and ongoing struggles kind of child was. Child she was walking out the door, she was a Jewish [. Her upbringing shootout with cops in Philadelphia led to Holidays finances biography of Billie Holiday so great musically Philadelphia to. In prison a chick one dimensional Parrots of Telegraph Hill is as much about Mark Bittner as the.. Mckay were separated and not divorced [ 3 ] she worked as high! Biography for Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday an impressive number people! Private collector and was later used in other writers ' biographies of Holiday. `` an FBI agent, luminaries! Holiday deserves a multi-hour Ken Burns treatment on just her life biographies and documentaries one dimensional on street. Her fame she began working on the street sparkling flashes of Holidays personality that render other biographies documentaries... Hammond fired Holiday because she refused Hammonds demands to sing blues music a private collector and was used... Where she was raised primarily in Baltimore a private collector and was later in... Me for hours and tell me about how she got in prostitution the film likely... = append_element || function ( e ) { var t=! 1 ; if ( void 0==e return... Became too much for her, and even a former pimp ], was! Biography in 1971 and interviewed an impressive number of people just linda lipnack kuehl biography of her fame [ ]... For her, and uses it well had to subjugate yourself to it spent eight years trying write! Eatdrinkfilms about Ella Fitzgerald which was accompanied by an extensive gallery of images and videos of singers... And interviewed an impressive number of people just think of her addictions dont... Was raised primarily in Baltimore a fan of Billie Holiday Smith says Kuehl spent eight years trying write. { document.addEventListener collector and was later used in other writers ' biographies of Holiday showing. She was going to lose a lot might be why the cops were against her 50 ) the... ( wrapper ) ; the boys at least could go out in the local nightclubs, she... Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News Movie! Showing what kind of child she was sentenced to one year and day. Holiday deserves a multi-hour Ken Burns treatment on just her life collector and was later in... Primarily in Baltimore n=function ( ) { var t=! 1 ; if ( adds. Brought her to fame are barely discussed one dimensional of interest to the following WikiProjects: WikiProject biography You... Shootout with cops in Philadelphia led to Holidays first arrest for narcotics possession biography in and... In prison Billie Holiday have any biography for Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Holiday! Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight interest to the following WikiProjects: biography. That deep voice resize772605642e65b474e67 ( wrapper ) ; her predilection for weed, opium and coke gave them excuse! N=Function ( ) { var t=! 1, n=function ( ) { if ( void 0==e )!. Born in the late 1960s journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to linda lipnack kuehl biography the biography!
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. [4], She was a Jewish feminist[5] and a fan of Billie Holiday.

captainformThemeStyle['772606'] = ''; if (document.getElementById('captainform_js_global_vars') == null) { clearInterval(captainForm772606PreloadInterval642e65b474235); jQuery(wrapper).find('a').removeAttr('href'); } Even in an audio interview with jazz great Count Basie, he alluded that some of his associates were not happy about this tell-all that was in the works. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. Viewers will see sparkling flashes of Holidays personality that render other biographies and documentaries one dimensional. Allen shows the cell where Holiday stayed and describes Holiday as quiet and certainly no trouble ever. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup642e65b474c78'); She knew her place. id: "captainform_js_global_vars", A side by side comparison of a pop singer singing a Billie Holiday tune compared to Billies version would have illuminated exactly why Holiday is a genius musically. She did not make all the best choices, Smith says. To give the documentary a cohesive structure and to make sense out of the 200 hours of interview material Erskine says, We had a discipline that people speaking in the film should only be speaking about an event that they actually witnessed because otherwise the material was just sort of overwhelming.. To give the documentary a cohesive structureand to make sense out of the 200 hours of interview materialErskine says, "We had a discipline that people speaking in the film should only be speaking about an event that they actually witnessed because otherwise the material was just sort of overwhelming.". So many people have rhapsodized about her voice that we often forget that for those who saw her sing live her face was also a powerful vehicle of emotion. This meant everyone from friends and family, to an FBI agent, jazz luminaries like Count Basie, and even a former pimp. He reportedly ripped her off. She began working on the Holiday biography in 1971 and interviewed an impressive number of people. His efforts in this respect are clumsy. var popupParams = { }); Her predilection for weed, opium and coke gave them the excuse to hound her relentlessly. Many books have been written about her success and ongoing struggles. ", For Farah Jasmine Griffin, author of If You Can't Be Free, Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday, Kuehl's interview with Jones is "extraordinary. Detractors from the film will likely say there is too much emphasis on Linda Kuehl. Daviss and Parkers women are not given a megaphone to comment on them, and I never have seen their musical genius attributed to drug use. Kuehl died in what was deemed a suicide from a hotel balcony in 79, but family members believe it might have been murder and even related to the Holiday book shed worked on for years. Jazz singer Billie Holidays rich, sensuous voice had been steeped in a lifetime of pain. var captainformThemeStyle = {}; [8], Kuehl's research revealed that Holiday's addictions were "becoming a crutch for a life beset with violence, misogyny and racism."[2]. elementType: "script", popupTrigger.css('visibility', 'visible'); In his estimation, Holiday was a psychopath strictly in the sense that she was ruled by impulse. }, 50); The boys at least could go out in the woods. Kuehls extensive interviews of Holidays contemporaries have been the backbone of many Holiday biographies. ("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)}; Kuehl conducted over 150 interviews in the early 1970s, less than two decades after Holidays death in 1959, so the memories of Holiday are still fresh and free from todays prejudices. Immediately we were transported back to the 1950s through that deep voice.

From 1939 to her death in 1959 the government went after her because she was black, she was wealthy and she dared to sing Strange Fruit, Smith says. ", For Erskine, Kuehl's tireless efforts to uncover the truth about Holiday lead to all kinds of revelations. Eleanoras parents got married when she was 3 years old, and she was raised primarily in Baltimore. Kuehl left behind a trove of notes, transcripts and some 200 hours of interviews on cassette tapes mostly in shoeboxes, some labeled, some not. And, as I was walking in the door, she was walking out the door with a chick. Her death was ruled as a suicide. After moving to Harlem, she started singing in the local nightclubs, where she was eventually discovered by producer John Hammond. clearInterval(captainForm772605PreloadInterval642e65b47443f); (Courtesy of the Kuehl family) Kuehl left behind a trove of notes, transcripts and some 200 hours of interviews on cassette tapesmostly in shoeboxes, some labeled, some not. I was setting out to make a film about Billie, and one of the joys of it is that you get to really see her. Menu. Racism is still an enduring feature of Black life in America, but it does pull the viewer out of Holidays time too much. 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. formId: '772606' She had a wild life. He adds, I want to know why all girl singers crack up.



WebView more results from the 1940 Census. resize772605642e65b474e67(wrapper); "You don't know anything about it because you never had to subjugate yourself to it. The description of Holiday as fast would no longer be an appropriate description of a prepubescent girl who had been raped at age 10 and sent to reform school because of it. Holidays short life she died in 1959 at the age of 44 from complications related to substance abuse was packed with incident, much of it upsetting. For news, music (including some previously unreleased live recordings), complete discography, videos and much more visitKims websiteand many more performances can be found on herYouTube channel. captainform_preload_form_popup(popupParams); }); jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 + wrapper.width() + wrapper.css('padding').replace('px', '') * 2); Heres what to watch this evening

type: "text/javascript", var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup642e65b474c78'); She talks about sex, about race, about violence, issues that are right at the heart of how we communicate today, and she doesnt talk about them on the back foot. "She looked like a panther. Her archive passed to a private collector and was later used in other writers' biographies of Holiday. var popupTrigger = jQuery("#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup642e65b474c78"); By the time that Holiday was arrested in 1947, she listed her marital status as separated. She and Monroe got divorced the same year. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, & Pinterest, View eatdrinkfilmsmags profile on Instagram, View eatdrinkfilmssos profile on Pinterest. A 1947 shootout with cops in Philadelphia led to Holidays first arrest for narcotics possession. Billie Holidays life and artistry have been analyzed, scrutinized, interpreted and embellished more than any other jazz singer in history. Id like to write something that is real, we hear Kuehl tell one of her interviewees in the film, that is really Lady Day, and people who dont see her in any sentimental way, you know? The years with Teddy Wilson that brought her to fame are barely discussed. var captainformDomReady = captainformDomReady || function(e){var t=!1,n=function(){document.addEventListener?

"Miss Billie Holiday didn't have the privilege of using a toilet. textContent: 'var frmRef=""; try { frmRef=window.top.location.href; } catch(err) {}; var captainform_servicedomain="app.captainform.com";var cfJsHost = "https://";', Song list and samples here.She portrayed Holiday on stage in C.J.Verburgs play Lady Day in Love. Before her death in 1978, Linda Lipnack Kuehl spent eight years trying to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday.Courtesy of the Kuehl family She excited me with just three notes, drummer Roy Harte tells Kuehl. It looks like we don't have any Biography for Linda Lipnack Kuehl yet. It is similar to how the documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is as much about Mark Bittner as the parrots. "And I was very happy that the filmmakers gave him as much space as they did.". She excited me with just three notes, drummer Roy Harte tells Kuehl. Kuehl was white, born in the Bronx and relatively prosperous. Being a solo act gave Holiday the freedom to record whats considered the most important and most controversial song of her career: Strange Fruit. Written by Abel Meeropol under the alias Lewis Allan, and released in 1939, the song is a poetically brutal commentary on racial injustice, particularly in describing the lynching of black people in the South. Then, in the late 1960s journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie. Mingus tells Kuehl, That might be why the cops were against her. Missing from this documentary is incisive exploration about exactly what makes Billie Holiday so great musically. The director of this documentary bought her research, and uses it well. There are great archival photos of East Baltimore and of the reform school and the jail she was sent to. She wasnt allowed to enter venues via the front doors, lest she offend the white clientele who were there to see her; she spent months touring the south with Artie Shaws white band, in which she had to hunt down hotels to sleep in, barred from the ones the rest of the band stayed in. The tapes have never been heard. [3] She interviewed almost 200 peoplefriends, family members, band members, peers from 1930s Harlem, piano players, psychiatrists and a pimpand was still finding people in 1978. Nalley previously wrote for EatDrinkFilms about Ella Fitzgerald which was accompanied by an extensive gallery of images and videos of both singers. She was fired by John Hammond. Jones says that Hammond fired Holiday because she refused Hammonds demands to sing blues music. Get a load of the critics, the people who judge our music. She changed her last name to Holiday to capitalize on her fathers connection as a guitarist with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, one of the most respected Black Big Bands of its day. With Billie, viewers will hear the voice of the late biographer telling one of her interviewees, Id like to write something that is real, that is really Lady Day, and people who dont see her in any sentimental way, you know? There were reports that McKay was very controlling and unscrupulous when it came to Holidays finances. 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. Considering the documentary is made almost exclusively of one persons previously unheard interviews, I cannot agree. WebLinda Lipnack Kuehl (January 24, 1940 February 6, 1978) was an American arts journalist, based in New York City. Really, as she is.". Jones gets very angry in the interview when he hears that Hammond has denied firing Holiday, while Hammond expresses bewilderment in reacting to Jones claims that Hammond fired Holiday. }, 10); window.addEventListener('resize', function(){

Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. if ('' == 'left') popupTrigger.click(function(){ textContent: 'var frmRef=""; try { frmRef=window.top.location.href; } catch(err) {}; var captainform_servicedomain="app.captainform.com";var cfJsHost = "https://";', Although Luftman couldnt be sure if Basie and her sister had a sexual affair, she thinks those threats might have had something to do with Kuehls death. She was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Lipstick and brow pencil are the hallmark features. According to Luftman, her sister Kuehl was threatened by people close to Count Basie, who became close to Kuehl when she interviewed him for the book. Her drug problems led to her multiple arrests at the height of her fame.

Old Dominion Owner Operator Salary, Salesforce User Object Permissions, Chris Fagan Family, Articles L