Today marks the 50th anniversary of Billie Holiday’s death. Her soulful sound timelessly inspired so many and her song Strange Fruit dared to talk about the unspeakable in a time when we most needed to be discussing the politics of killing black folks.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the divine Lady Day:
- “Somebody once said we never know what is enough until we know what’s more than enough.”
- “If you copy, it means you’re working without any real feeling.” (plagiarists, I’m talking to you)
And a song you may not have heard as often as some of her other hits, but which you might here playing on a Sunday afternoon at our house:
Like a Whisper 
Um, death, actually.
Beautifully done song. (I sometimes regret that I bought the complete collection of her recordings for someone who was out of my life by ’73, but hey, I got to listen and vinyl didn’t survive one of my moves anyway.)
typos are a beautiful thing aren’t they.