Relationship and Connections to African-American culture & the Harlem Renaissance
After the end of World War I, and lasting until the mid-1930’s, the predominantly African-American neighborhood of Harlem, located in Manhattan, N.Y., became a vibrant cultural and artistic center. Black artists, musicians, writers, poets, and intellectuals congregated in the neighborhood to practice their art and share ideas. Many creative advances in all of these fields were made during this time. Jazz music in particular flourished during the Harlem Renaissance, and many of the style’s most influential figures were active there, including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and Cab Calloway. Billie Holliday was also undeniably a central and leading figure in this Harlem Renaissance jazz scene, although her music would extend beyond jazz to include blues songs as well.
While still a teenager, Billie Holiday joined the Harlem Renaissance scene and got her start singing at various nightclubs in Harlem. Working mostly for tips, she would sometimes sing with the accompaniment of a house piano player, and at other times she would be the vocalist for a larger band. Since she had no formal musical training, being a part of such a vibrant musical culture was undoubtedly significant in providing Billie Holiday with the musical skills she needed as a developing artist. Her early days in Harlem could be considered an “apprenticeship” which enabled her to refine her art. While she relished all of the music that surrounded her in Harlem, she quickly developed her own unique style.
WHEN SHE WAS 18, HOLIDAY WAS SPOTTED SINGING AT A HARLEM NIGHTCLUB BY TALENT AGENT JOHN HAMMOND, WHO INTRODUCED HER TO UPCOMING JAZZ CLARINETIST AND BANDLEADER BENNY GOODMAN. WITH GOODMAN’S GROUP, SHE MADE HER FIRST RECORDING. IN 1935 HOLIDAY’S CAREER TRULY BLOSSOMED WHEN SHE RECORDED THE SONGS “WHAT A LITTLE MOONLIGHT CAN DO” AND “MISS BROWN TO YOU,” WHICH WERE VERY POPULAR AND LED TO HER FIRST RECORDING CONTRACT. THIS RECORDING CONTRACT, AS WELL AS HER CONCERT AT THE FAMOUS APOLLO THEATER, A CENTRAL VENUE IN HARLEM, BROUGHT HER NATIONWIDE FAME. IN THIS WAY, THE CRITICAL ROLE THAT THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE PLAYED IN HOLIDAY’S EARLY MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT IS SIGNIFICANT, AS IT ENABLED HOLIDAY TO DEVELOP AND REFINE HER UNIQUE MUSICAL TALENT WHICH ULTIMATELY EARNED HER A PROMINENT PLACE IN AMERICAN JAZZ MUSIC. HOLIDAY’S SUCCESS ALSO REFLECTED POSITIVELY AND BROUGHT MORE WORLDWIDE ATTENTION TO THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE ITSELF.
WHEN SHE WAS 18, HOLIDAY WAS SPOTTED SINGING AT A HARLEM NIGHTCLUB BY TALENT AGENT JOHN HAMMOND, WHO INTRODUCED HER TO UPCOMING JAZZ CLARINETIST AND BANDLEADER BENNY GOODMAN. WITH GOODMAN’S GROUP, SHE MADE HER FIRST RECORDING. IN 1935 HOLIDAY’S CAREER TRULY BLOSSOMED WHEN SHE RECORDED THE SONGS “WHAT A LITTLE MOONLIGHT CAN DO” AND “MISS BROWN TO YOU,” WHICH WERE VERY POPULAR AND LED TO HER FIRST RECORDING CONTRACT. THIS RECORDING CONTRACT, AS WELL AS HER CONCERT AT THE FAMOUS APOLLO THEATER, A CENTRAL VENUE IN HARLEM, BROUGHT HER NATIONWIDE FAME. IN THIS WAY, THE CRITICAL ROLE THAT THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE PLAYED IN HOLIDAY’S EARLY MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT IS SIGNIFICANT, AS IT ENABLED HOLIDAY TO DEVELOP AND REFINE HER UNIQUE MUSICAL TALENT WHICH ULTIMATELY EARNED HER A PROMINENT PLACE IN AMERICAN JAZZ MUSIC. HOLIDAY’S SUCCESS ALSO REFLECTED POSITIVELY AND BROUGHT MORE WORLDWIDE ATTENTION TO THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE ITSELF.
Underlying most of the artistic and creative developments during the Harlem Renaissance was the idea of the “New Negro,” which was rooted in Black pride and achievement. As southern blacks moved to northern cities to escape still brutal conditions in the South, many who were drawn to Harlem aspired to shed their background as members of the underclass and adopted values of cosmopolitan sophistication. Thus the Harlem Renaissance was not only a period of artistic expression, but also a movement toward greater social consciousness and awareness. Despite Billie Holiday’s close involvement with the musicians of the Harlem Renaissance, there is little historical evidence that she had any extensive interaction with the writers, visual artists, or intellectuals who were her neighbors and who also flourished during these days in Harlem. Perhaps this could be due to the fact starting at a very young age, Holiday had to wrestle with her own demons, such as her serious addiction to drugs and alcohol, as well as her tendency toward entering into abusive relationships, all of which ultimately took their toll on her health. These challenges, in addition to the demands of her musical career, probably left little time for Holiday to interact with the intellectuals and writers who were active during the Harlem Renaissance.
Nonetheless, Holiday intuitively embraced the social causes that were central to African American culture at the time. When she travelled the South, touring with a white band, she encountered the blatant racism of segregation, and was generally unable to eat at the same restaurants or stay at the same hotels as her white bandmates. Undoubtedly these experiences emboldened Holiday to perform song “Strange Fruit,” which condemned lynching in an emotional and poetic way. She first performed the song at the integrated nightclub Cafe Society in 1939. Seeking to bring the message of the song to a wider audience, Holiday desired to record the song, but her her record company refused out of concern that record sellers and radio stations in the South would not play it, or would react with even more hostility. Ultimately, Holiday convinced her record company to release her from her contract so that she could record this one song on an alternative jazz recording label. Holiday said the song reminded her of her father and the racism he encountered during his life; he died of a lung infection after not being able to find a hospital willing to treat him. Clearly, the song’s profound message was highly important to Holiday, and her efforts to promote it reveal her commitment to the social causes impacting all African Americans at the time. The haunting lyrics and Holiday’s mournful delivery brought the issue of lynching to the forefront of popular culture.
The racism that Billie Holiday encountered on the road and which characterized so much of African American life at the time became so difficult that once her fame was established, she chose to spend most of the 1940s working in New York. Yet even in northern states, she was forced to use the freight elevator in a hotel where she was performing with the Artie Shaw band, so as not to offend the hotel’s white guests. The frustration of this experience caused her to stop performing with the band, and to pursue more individual projects.
One of these projects was the 1947 film “New Orleans,” which was originally envisioned to be a story of jazz, produced by acclaimed actor and director Orson Welles. However, even here, the racism of the day interfered. Although initially she was to appear as herself and sing several of her songs, the film’s producers became concerned that the cast, which included many prominent African American musicians, would not be acceptable to many American audiences. Therefore, Holiday’s role was reduced substantially, and she ultimately was cast in a very small part as a maid. In short, many of the significant experiences of Billie Holiday’s life and work are intertwined with the racism which was characteristic of the African American experience of her day, and her resilience in the face of such racism reveals her own strength and her devotion to sharing the messages of her music.