"Billie Holiday—she was the nicest woman in the world, you know. All she wanted to do was sing. They picked on her and picked on her to get money out of her. You do drugs 'cause you like to, not 'cause it's a life-style. ... They picked on Billie so much. She said, "Miles, come and see me in Long Island." She was in love with one of my kids and his curly hair—he used to ride my bicycle and watch the horse at Aqueduct. She said, "Miles, if they'd just leave me alone; they could have the house—everything." You know the way singers shake their asses now. Billie didn't have to do that. Her mouth was so sensuous; she was pretty and she would say certain words and her mouth would quiver, and she always had this white gardenia and long gloves."
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People from PhiladelphiaWomen singersSinger-songwriters from the United StatesJazz singersSingers from Maryland
Original Language: English
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Sources
Miles Davis, speaking with Julie Coryell in February 1978; as quoted in Jazz-Rock Fusion: The People, The Music (1978) by Coryell and Laura Friedman, p. 41
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday
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Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), born Eleanora Fagan Goughy, was an American jazz singer. Commonly known as Lady Day, her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo.
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