I completely forgot that yesterday (April 7) was Billie Holliday's Birthday. I had the fortune to learn more about her while making a student film centered on her childhood home. For the past 40 years a lot of misinformation has perpetuated due to the sensationalized tales of New York Times Journalist and ghost writer William Dufty in the biography Lady Sings The Blues, the 1972 biopic based on it that served more to boost Diana Ross' career than educate the world about Billie.
During this time, I used several books as research materials to help me compose a narrative. Among them I eagerly recommend the book If you can't be free, be a mystery:in search of Billie Holiday by Farah Jasmine Griffin, which takes a multilayered perspective from the recollections of relatives, friends and colleagues in the music world who knew her in every stage of her life. Billie wasn't perfect, but she was FAR from a victim.
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