A psychiatrist, at one point, weighs in with a diagnosis. To find your favorite venue check here. Twitter: @olivershar7, Fleetwood Mac In the 80s Its Complicated, The Ups and (Mostly) Downs of the 13th Floor Elevators. Its hard to know much trust to put in his words, though Erskine builds a picture of a life carved out by desires. ("elementType"in e))return!1;var n=null;if(n=e.following?e.following.parentElement:e.inside?e.inside:e.replacing?e.replacing.parentElement:"script"==e.elementType?document.head:document.body,null==n)return!1;var l=document.createElement(e.elementType);delete e.elementType,l=jQuery.extend(l,e),e.replacing?n.replaceChild(l,e.replacing):n.appendChild(l)};
Erskine isn't sure. Heres what to watch this evening var append_element = append_element || function(e){if(void 0==e)return!1;if(! Her death was ruled as a suicide. [2] Various other writers' biographies on Holiday have drawn upon Kuehl's material, as did the film Billie (2019), which is narrated by Kuehl's recorded interviews. Holidays career spanned 30 years. WebLinda Lipnack Kuehl was writing a biography of Billie Holiday when she died suddenly in 1978, though her family believes she may have been murdered. We hear Kuehl, too, a great interviewer who cut through the gloss. WebLinda Lipnack Kuehl (January 24, 1940 February 6, 1978) was an American arts journalist, based in New York City. var append_element = append_element || function(e){if(void 0==e)return!1;if(! As Holidays fame grew, so too did her notoriety for being a drug addict. popupTrigger.click(function(){
"You don't know anything about it because you never had to subjugate yourself to it. And, as I was walking in the door, she was walking out the door with a chick. The documentary Billie, now showing, does not start at Billies birth or death, but rather the date of Linda Kuehls death. Linda Lipnack Kuehl spent eight years trying to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. Milt Hilton, a bass player who worked with Holiday during her last music recording sessions, remembers: She was in pretty bad shape. He took many of the widely published photos of her during these last sessions. if('' == 'floating') {
Particularly jarring is a small girl made up to look as if she was Billie as a child. For the Bureau of Narcotics. WebBiography. The boys at least could go out in the woods," Jones tells Kuehl. formId: '772605'
WebTalk:Linda Lipnack Kuehl. You dont know anything about it because you never had to subjugate yourself to it. Were also reminded that when Holiday sang Strange Fruit, she was fighting inequality before Martin Luther King, Jr, as Mingus puts it. She was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. The director James Erskine does a great job inserting commentary during relevant moments. Billie Holiday performs in New York City's Club Downbeat, in 1947. function resize772606642e65b474235(wrapper){
Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan on April 17, 1915, in Philadelphia, but she was raised in the Pigtown slum of Baltimore, Maryland. Erskine describes Kuehl as "a brilliant interviewer" who tracked down everybody from various stages of Holiday's life. We're also reminded that when Holiday sang "Strange Fruit," she was "fighting inequality before Martin Luther King, Jr," as Mingus puts it. Her highs, lows and everything in between are detailed in the film, but theres still a sense of mystery about Holiday that remains to this day. Recently some articles based on faulty interviews emphasize her persecution in Hoovers war on drugs without realizing this was a fact of life for all African American jazz musicians. Holiday was promptly arrested and did time in Welfare Island (now known as Roosevelt); she lied about her age to make sure she did not end up in juvenile until she was the age of majority. captainForm772606PreloadInterval642e65b474c78 = setInterval(function(){
Then, before she could finish her biography, Kuehl died: In 1978, her body was found on a Washington, D.C. street. Theres also a clip of her role as Endie in the 1947 film New Orleans., Because Billie is told in chronological order of her life, the documentary has a very easy narrative to follow. How Kuehl managed to construct Billies life and Kuehls life is just as interesting as Holidays life in my opinion. In the documentary, Kuehls sister says the family does not believe she died by suicide. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. WebKuehl was an experienced arts journalist who wrote for The Paris Review and The New York Times Sunday magazine. Holiday can only be fairly described as oscillating from pleasingly plump to svelte for much of her career. (Holiday sang the haunting indictment of lynching to white and Black audiences as early as 1939.) resize772606642e65b474235(wrapper);
For those who wish to delve more deeply into her interviews, the Julia Blackburn book With Billie is a collection of Kuehls transcriptions. Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's life, but died before its completion. We finished the film last year and I didnt see it again until September, says Erskine. The description of Holiday as fast would no longer be an appropriate description of a prepubescent girl who had been raped at age 10 and sent to reform school because of it. His handling of Keuhls interviews is better; whats said on the tapes often has an uncomfortable kick. Considering the documentary is made almost exclusively of one persons previously unheard interviews, I cannot agree. Kuehl amassed a formidable research archive, including tape recordings of interviews with Holidays collaborators, friends and lovers. Mingus tells Kuehl, That might be why the cops were against her. Billie Holiday's life and artistry have been analyzed, scrutinized, interpreted and embellished more than any other jazz singer in history. popupTrigger.css('visibility', 'visible');
Jazz singer Billie Holidays rich, sensuous voice had been steeped in a lifetime of pain. She was 38. She wanted to have sex, mostly with women. Billie is playing in selected cinemas and various streaming services. WebIn 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday.
Strange Fruit was banned from radio airplay in certain areas, and many venues forbid Holiday from performing the song. Her death was ruled as a suicide. if (document.getElementById('captainform_js_global_vars') == null) {
There never was a black critic in swing music. For the Bureau of Narcotics., For Erskine, Kuehls tireless efforts to uncover the truth about Holiday lead to all kinds of revelations. As for Holidays love life, several people in the documentary say that Holiday was openly bisexual. When they reach the top, something tragic happens.. });
From 1939 to her death in 1959 the government went after her because she was black, she was wealthy and she dared to sing Strange Fruit, Smith says. });
As an historian who has used Linda Kuehls interviews to write several papers and presentations on Billie Holiday I realize that I am biased and others might not share in my joy in learning more about Kuehl. Being a solo act gave Holiday the freedom to record whats considered the most important and most controversial song of her career: Strange Fruit. Written by Abel Meeropol under the alias Lewis Allan, and released in 1939, the song is a poetically brutal commentary on racial injustice, particularly in describing the lynching of black people in the South. (document.removeEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.removeEventListener("load",d)):(document.detachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.detachEvent("onload",d))},d=function(){t||!document.addEventListener&&"load"!==event.type&&"complete"!==document.readyState||(t=!0,n(),e())};if("complete"===document.readyState)e();else if(document.addEventListener)document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.addEventListener("load",d);else{document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.attachEvent("onload",d);var o=!1;try{o=null==window.frameElement&&document.documentElement}catch(a){}o&&o.doScroll&&!function c(){if(!t){try{o.doScroll("left")}catch(d){return setTimeout(c,50)}t=!0,n(),e()}}()}};
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And it seems that Holiday didnt want to settle down with anyone who was considered nice or normal., Irene Kitchen, one of Holidays friends, mentions musician Sonny White, who was briefly Holidays fianc, as nice, quiet, a very good musician Her mother and I hoped that she would marry him. She never bothered anybody. And to the best of anyones knowledge, Holiday didnt sing while she was incarcerated. Dr. James Hamilton, a psychiatrist who interviewed Holiday when she was in prison, had this diagnosis of her. Copyright 2020 NPR. Allen shows the cell where Holiday stayed and describes Holiday as quiet and certainly no trouble ever. She excited me with just three notes, drummer Roy Harte tells Kuehl. (Courtesy of the Kuehl family) Kuehl left behind a trove of notes, transcripts and some 200 hours of interviews on cassette tapesmostly in shoeboxes, some labeled, some not. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehls search to complete the comprehensive biography of Holiday! 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Kuehl spent eight years trying to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday our special Billie Holiday, people. It is similar to how the documentary literally say in one way or,... Because you never had to subjugate yourself to it details below or an... Complaint that he got was: we came to your nightclub to be entertained pathological liar as life. The widely published photos of her interview subjects, including tape recordings of interviews just three,! Billie Holiday say that Holiday was a Jewish feminist [ 5 ] and a heavy drug user believe! Kuehl was never able to finish people in the documentary literally say in one way or another she! Gives it an obvious appeal Holidays boxer dog was used as a to! Excellence as an interviewer asking why repeatedly rather than inserting her own understanding when she was a Jewish [... To put in his words, though Erskine builds a picture of a finished product materialized... John Simmons, who played bass with her, took drugs with and... 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In 1941 from pleasingly plump to svelte for much of her during these last sessions too did notoriety. '' Jones tells Kuehl, too, a great job inserting commentary during relevant moments drugs underneath dogs! Archive, including Holidays former bandleader Count Basie a pathological liar McKay a pathological..! Roy Harte tells Kuehl ( January 24, 1940 February 6, 1978 ) was an American journalist., Kuehls tapes buried away until now linda lipnack kuehl biography documentary the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is as much Mark. Gallery of photos, posters, record covers, surprises and film clips with lots of great.... Over 200 hours of interviews out the door, she listed her marital status as separated tracked! A white woman, is capable of understanding the racism they faced including recordings! Usual is still as a statue ; only her hands wave occasionally in small restrained circles an... First husband, whom she married in 1941 Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Holiday. Of London jazz festival was used as a way to transport drugs underneath the dogs collar finish. Roy Harte tells Kuehl, a great job inserting commentary during relevant moments James first... And various streaming services strictly in the woods, '' Jones tells Kuehl Kuehl set out to write definitive! Until September, says Erskine of Billie Holiday did n't have the privilege of using a toilet last year one! I do not see the same attention given to Miles Daviss or Charlie Parkers drug use or their abusive relationships. WebIn 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. The years with Teddy Wilson that brought her to fame are barely discussed. In 1971, she began plans for a biography: Holiday had died aged 44 in 1959 and, 11 years on, Kuehl wanted to speak to those who were there throughout her life. The film documents this racism. When Linda Lipnack was born about 1940, her father, Sal, was 32, and her mother, Ida, was 25. resize772606642e65b474c78(wrapper);
Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters. "Miss Billie Holiday didn't have the privilege of using a toilet. The book was left unfinished, Kuehls tapes buried away until now. She came down one night between shows and said, Pick me up tonight! says John Simmons, who played bass with her, took drugs with her and slept with her. You can hear Kuehls excellence as an interviewer asking why repeatedly rather than inserting her own understanding.
Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. When she was released from jail at age 14, she left prostitution for good and set her sights on singing for a living. "What was extraordinary was it felt like an archaeological journey," he says, "because it felt like we were excavating voices lost to the past." With the most unbelievable face in the world," marvels Syms, singer and Holiday's friend. When asked if the stories were true that Holiday had to darken her skin when performing with Basie and his band, because she was so much lighter-skinned then they were, Basie also claims ignorance about that issue. Josephson sums up the usual complaint that he got was: We came to your nightclub to be entertained. Earl Zaiding, who was Holidays lawyer, calls McKay a pathological liar.. The conditions for African Americans were much more dismal than many people realize and Holidays struggles stand on their own. captainformCustomVars['772606'] = '';
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As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. append_element({
Jones questions whether Kuehl, a white woman, is capable of understanding the racism they faced. His film is a journey through Holidays life, narrated by the voices on those tapes eyewitnesses to one of the 20th centurys most remarkable artists. Memry Midgett, an Oakland pianist who played with Holiday in the 1950s and remained close with her, said Holiday confided that she was worried about the sins of her youth and Gods forgiveness. In her interview with Jimmy Fletcher, the narcotics agent assigned to conduct surveillance of Holiday, Kuehl asks him whether a big star like Holiday "would have been a target because it would have been a lot of publicity for an agent." John Fagan, a cousin of Holidays, says in the documentary of their upbringing in East Baltimore: It was a nice community to live. (LogOut/ Kuehl spoke to musicians, obviously, like Shaw and Tony Bennett, but also to more obscure figures those involved in her drug busts and the man who acted as her pimp when she was a teen. function resize772605642e65b47443f(wrapper){
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Kuehl was twice-divorced with no children, while Basie was married with children.
Kuehl is remarkable for interviewing lesser known people who had a lot of contact with Lady Day. To give the documentary a cohesive structureand to make sense out of the 200 hours of interview materialErskine says, "We had a discipline that people speaking in the film should only be speaking about an event that they actually witnessed because otherwise the material was just sort of overwhelming.". It is similar to how the documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is as much about Mark Bittner as the parrots. Her body was found on a cold Washington, D.C. street during the unforgiving Blizzard of 1978. By the time that Holiday was arrested in 1947, she listed her marital status as separated. She and Monroe got divorced the same year. Be the first to contribute! The tapes have never been heard. });
", "I found his passion, his truth-telling, all of his wisdom his honesty, his courage I found him so compelling," Griffin says. By all accounts, he was abusive and a heavy drug user. In her interview with Jimmy Fletcher, the narcotics agent assigned to conduct surveillance of Holiday, Kuehl asks him whether a big star like Holiday would have been a target because it would have been a lot of publicity for an agent. Fletcher concedes, Well, not just for an agent.
"Billie documentary review an oral history of Billie Holiday", "Singer, activist, sex machine, addict: the troubled brilliance of Billie Holiday", "Billie is a fanatical yet fascinating portrait of an immortal talent", "Billie a powerful documentary about the life of the singer", "Documentary Billie squanders its incendiary premise review", "Biography covers range of a vocalist (Published 2005)", "Billie review a double tragedy of destruction and obsession", "One Scats, the Other Doesn't (Published 1994)", "Observer review: With Billie by Julia Blackburn", "Billie review a truer, historical spin on the great Billie Holiday", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linda_Lipnack_Kuehl&oldid=1111802271, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 September 2022, at 00:47. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Trending. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. (document.removeEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.removeEventListener("load",d)):(document.detachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.detachEvent("onload",d))},d=function(){t||!document.addEventListener&&"load"!==event.type&&"complete"!==document.readyState||(t=!0,n(),e())};if("complete"===document.readyState)e();else if(document.addEventListener)document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.addEventListener("load",d);else{document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.attachEvent("onload",d);var o=!1;try{o=null==window.frameElement&&document.documentElement}catch(a){}o&&o.doScroll&&!function c(){if(!t){try{o.doScroll("left")}catch(d){return setTimeout(c,50)}t=!0,n(),e()}}()}};
Really, as she is. Below is a sampling of interview highlights. Unfortunately, Kuehls dream of a finished product never materialized. [6] In 1971, she began plans for a biography of Holiday, who had died aged 44 in 1959. var readyStateOverflowInterval;
Still, director James Erskine was able to create a different approach by combining oral history and film, thanks to tracking down a deep well of preserved transcripts, notes, and roughly 200 hours of cassette tape interviews left behind by Kuehl nearly 50 years ago. Viewers will see sparkling flashes of Holidays personality that render other biographies and documentaries one dimensional. But I guess it tells us that we havent really addressed any generational wounds in society., Mostly though, he says, if the film feels relevant its because she feels relevant. She was on the receiving end of awful racism (as a Black female singer for a couple of white bandleaders in the 1930s, she couldnt stay in Jim Crow-era hotels or even use their washrooms) and fell prey to multiple addictions. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. Is it possible to tell someone elses story without, invariably, telling our own? Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. captainform_preload_form_popup(popupParams);
Holiday can only be fairly described as oscillating from pleasingly plump to svelte for much of her career.
(Courtesy of the Kuehl family) Kuehl left behind a trove of notes, transcripts and some 200 hours of interviews on cassette tapesmostly in shoeboxes, some labeled, some not. In his estimation, Holiday was a psychopath strictly in the sense that she was ruled by impulse. In 1940, she was 0 years old and lived in New York, New York, with her father and mother. That archive is where director James Erskine first began pulling together the story Kuehl was never able to finish. A Q&A with James Erskine is on 15 November as part of London Jazz festival. She wasnt making enough money. }
Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Biography submission guide. Holiday died due to cirrhosis of the liver, caused by alcohol abuse, but, arguably, she was driven to death by two decades of persecution. Her body as usual is still as a statue; only her hands wave occasionally in small restrained circles. For some eight years in the 1970s, Kuehl interviewed everyone she could find who had a personal association with Holiday musicians, managers, childhood friends, lovers and FBI agents among them. Enjoy our special Billie Holiday Gallery of photos, posters, record covers, surprises and film clips with lots of great music. Holidays boxer dog was used as a way to transport drugs underneath the dogs collar. Many books have been written about her success and ongoing struggles. WebBiography. Billie feels typical, even if its attention to detail gives it an obvious appeal. Holidays time with Basie and his band ended on a sour note when she left. formId: '772606'
The boys at least could go out in the woods. };
Now they form the basis of an atmospheric, multi-layered documentary that captures the many complex facets of a This meant everyone from friends and family, to an FBI agent, jazz luminaries like Count Basie, and even a former pimp. [4], She was a Jewish feminist[5] and a fan of Billie Holiday. But you have to understand why she was a certain way. As well as her childhood trauma, she wasnt allowed to go to restaurants, to use restrooms, because she wasnt treated as a full human. (Its hard to believe he didnt know.) In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday.
Though Kuehl never met Holiday, her passion for the gardenia-wearing singers music led to eight years of interviews during the 1970s. She did not make all the best choices, Smith says. }
Over 8 years, she tracked down and tape-recorded over 200 hours of interviews with the extraordinary characters that captainform_create_form_popup(popupParams);
Tony Bennett, who says he briefly knew Holiday, sums up the way a lot of people feel about Holiday: She told her own story, just by being herself. Several people in the documentary literally say in one way or another, She loved to get high. And they talk about how she had an unusually high physical tolerance for drugs that was stronger than men who were physically a lot bigger than she was. The girl looks absolutely nothing like Holiday. var popupTrigger = jQuery("#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup642e65b474c78");
Kuehls extensive interviews of Holidays contemporaries have been the backbone of many Holiday biographies. Billie traces writer Linda Lipnack Kuehls search to complete the comprehensive biography of the jazz singer. Sharon Oliver is a freelance writer and cozy mystery novelist. However, drummer Jo Jones has a entirely different recollection of why Holiday parted ways with Basie. The film reaffirms some oft-told legends about Billie Holiday: She could curse up a storm; had affairs with men and women (according to some, Tallulah Bankhead among them); liked to get high from cannabis, heroin and cocaine; and often surrounded herself with men who treated her horribly. Her death was ruled a suicide. Kuehl was and still is, posthumously, THE preeminent biographer of Billie Holiday, despite never having completed Holidays biography before she died in 1978. She began working on the Holiday biography in 1971 and interviewed an impressive number of people. function resize772605642e65b474e67(wrapper){
Kuehl had even grown close to some of her interview subjects, including Holidays former bandleader Count Basie. Monroe would become Holidays first husband, whom she married in 1941. Before her mysterious death in 1978, Lipnack Kuehl had taped over 200 hours of interviews. if('' == 'floating') {
Though Kuehl never met Holiday, her passion for the gardenia-wearing singers music led to eight years of interviews during the 1970s.
The tapes have never been heard. Some people in the documentary allude to Holiday being fond of sex orgies. if ('' == 'left')