36 Quotes by Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday, often referred to as "Lady Day," was a groundbreaking jazz vocalist whose soulful voice, emotive phrasing, and ability to convey deep emotions through her music left an indelible mark on the genre. With her unique vocal style and heartfelt delivery, Holiday transformed songs into intimate and deeply personal narratives, capturing the essence of pain, love, and resilience. She possessed a remarkable ability to infuse her performances with raw emotion, drawing from her own turbulent life experiences. Holiday's renditions of songs like "Strange Fruit" and "God Bless the Child" remain powerful and poignant, shedding light on the harsh realities of racial injustice and the human condition. Her influence extends beyond her musical contributions, as she became an icon of strength and authenticity, paving the way for future generations of female vocalists. Despite facing immense personal and professional challenges, Holiday's legacy endures, reminding us of the transformative power of music and the enduring impact of an artist who fearlessly shares their truth.
Billie Holiday Quotes
If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling. No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music.
Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know what's more than enough.
The difficult I'll do right now. The impossible will take a little while.
You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation.
Don't threaten me with love, baby. Let's just go walking in the rain.
Dope never helped anybody sing better or play music better or do anything better. All dope can do for you is kill you - and kill you the long, slow, hard way.
People don't understand the kind of fight it takes to record what you want to record the way you want to record it.
I'm always making a comeback but nobody ever tells me where I've been.
Sometimes it's worse to win a fight than to lose. (Meaning)
God has blessed you when he lets you believe in somebody.
When you sing, always tell the truth.
You've got to have something to eat and a little love in your life before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave.
Them that's got shall get, Them that's not shall lose. So the Bible says, And it still is news. Mama may have, Papa may have, But God bless the child that's got his own.
Mom and Pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. He was eighteen, she was sixteen and I was three.
Don't be in such a hurry.
You can't copy anybody and end with anything. If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling.
If I'm going to sing like someone else, then I don't need to sing at all.
A kiss that is never tasted, is forever and ever wasted.
There's no damn business like show business - you have to smile to keep from throwing up.
They think they can make fuel from horse manure - now, I don't know if your car will be able to get 30 miles to the gallon, but it's sure gonna put a stop to siphoning.
And when you're poor, you grow up fast.
If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you're out of your mind. There are more kicks to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by living in an iron lung.
God bless the child that's got his own.
One day a whole damn song fell into place in my head.
Singing songs like 'The Man I Love' or 'Porgy' is no more work than sitting down and eating Chinese roast duck, and I love roast duck.
The blues to me is like being very sad, very sick, going to church, being very happy ... it's sort of a mixed up thing. You just have to feel it.
All dope can do for you is kill you... the long hard way. And it can kill the people you love right along with you.
I've been told that nobody sings the word 'hunger' like I do.
I never sing a song the same way twice.
The only reason they're out there is to see me fall into the damn orchestra pit.
When Lester plays, he almost seems to be singing; one can almost hear the words.
Lust may be in the heart, though it be not seen by others; as guests may be in the house, though they look not out at the windows.
New Orleans is the only city in the world you go in to buy a pair of nylon stockings they want to know your head size.
In this country, don't forget, a habit is no damn private hell. There's no solitary confinement outside of jail. A habit is hell for those you love. And in this country it's the worst kind of hell for those who love you.
Love is like a faucet, it turns off and on.
In this country kings or dukes don't amount to nothing. The greatest man around then was Franklin D. Roosevelt, and he was the President; so I started calling Lester the President. It got shortened to Pres.
― Billie Holiday Quotes
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Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
