The first-ever collection of interviews with the tortured but
groundbreaking singer Billie Holiday, part of Melville House's beloved
Last Interview series
Legendary singer Billie Holiday comes alive in this first-ever
collection of interviews from throughout her career. Included is her
last interview, given from her deathbed in a New York City hospital,
where police were standing by ready to arrest her for a parole violation
should she recover. Also included: The transcript of an interrogation by
a US Customs official questioning about whether she'd violated her
parole by using drugs on a foreign tour.
But the book is more than a look at just the famously tragic side of her
life. In other conversations, drawn from music magazines, late-night
radio programs, and newspapers across the US and Canada, she discusses
her childhood, musicians who influenced her, her friendship -- and
falling out -- with the influential sax player Lester Young, why she
chose the gardenia as her symbol, why she quit Count Basie's band, her
substance abuse problems, writing songs and whether she wrote her own
memoir, and more.
In frank and open conversations, Billie Holiday proves herself far more
articulate, aware, intelligent, and even heroic than the way she's often
portrayed. This collection is an essential volume for all who have been
moved by her music.
