Few vocalists have left the impact that Billie Holiday has on R&B and music at large. Billie’s powerful voice and poignant songs expressed the sorrow of a generation in a way that’s clawed at souls for decades, and that we still feel on her 100th birthday. Frank Sinatra called her “the greatest single musical influence on me.”
In honor of Billie’s centennial, take some time to sift through these photos from the beginning to the end of her career.
1.
Source: Getty
Billie performing with a live band in 1954
2.
Source: Getty
Billie performing on stage circa 1950
3.
Source: Getty
Billie studio portrait circa 1954
4.
Source: Getty
Billie and a friendly puppy circa 1940
5.
Source: Getty
Billie studio portrait circa 1939
6.
Source: Getty
Billie studio portrait circa 1939
7.
Source: Getty
Billie studio portrait circa 1954
8.
Source: Getty
Billie studio portrait 1955
9.
Source: Getty
Billie going over ‘Symphony In Black’ with Duke Ellington in 1935
10.
Source: Getty
Billie belting it out in Hamburg during a world tour in 1954
11.
Source: Getty
Billie in NYC circa 1945
12.
Source: Getty
Billie on stage circa 1957
13.
Source: Getty
Billie in portrait circa 1935
14.
Source: Getty
Billie in the spotlight circa 1954
15.
Source: Getty
Billie studio portrait circa 1943
16.
Source: Getty
Billie singing at the Sugar Hill in Newark, NJ circa 1957
17.
Source: Getty
Billie studio portrait circa 1948
18.
Source: Getty
Billie with Louis Armstrong circa 1939
19.
Source: Getty
Billie at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957
20.
Source: Getty
Billie, Louis Armstrong, and Barney Bigard performing circa 1947
21.
Source: Getty
Billie studio portrait circa 1950
22.
Source: Getty
Billie, Ben Webster, and Johnny Russell in Harlem circa 1935
23.
Source: Getty
Billie walking a small dog circa 1956
24.
Source: Getty
Billie on the front of a record cover for ‘God Bless’ The Child.’
25.
Source: Getty
Billie in concert circa 1954
26.
Source: Getty
Billie taking a turn on the saxophone
27.
Source: Getty
Billie being read her rights after being busted for heroin possession circa 1947
28.
Source: Getty
Billie singing at Ryan’s on 52nd Street in NYC circa 1942
29.
Source: Getty
Billie and Count Basie performing together circa 1951
30.
Source: Getty
Billie recording a song with a band at Commodore Records circa 1939
31.
Source: Getty
Billie at The Seven Lively Arts circa 1957
32.
Source: Getty
Billie recording at Decca Records circa 1946
33.
Source: Getty
Billie at the mic circa 1955
34.
Source: Getty
Diana Ross portraying Billie in the 1972 film ‘Lady Sings The Blues’
35.
Source: Getty
Billie sitting with a dog at her feet circa 1945
36.
Source: Getty
Billie with an orchid in her hair circa 1950
37.
Source: Getty
Billie on stage circa 1954
38.
Source: Getty
Billie fast asleep on a couch circa 1954
39.
Source: Getty
Billie in a contemplative photo shoot circa 1950
40.
Source: Getty
Billie studio portrait circa 1955
41.
Source: Getty
Billie singing at Carnegie Hall
42.
Source: Getty
Billie posing for a studio portrait in the 1950s
