: Her relocation to New York City at age 13 and her transition from cleaning houses to singing in speakeasies for tips.
: Born in Philadelphia in 1915 to teenage parents, she spent a volatile childhood in Baltimore. Billie Holiday: A Biography
: Becoming one of the first Black women to tour with an all-white orchestra (Artie Shaw) and the racial indignities she faced on the road. : Her relocation to New York City at
: Her big break in 1933 when producer John Hammond heard her at a Harlem club and paired her with Benny Goodman for her first recordings. Billie Holiday: A Biography
Author Paul Alexander on Billie Holiday Biography "Bitter Crop"