S2E19 Billie Holiday vs The United States, Follow us for more Black History facts
Around 1930, Eleanora began showing up at jazz clubs to audition and sing with resident pianists and sharing tips with other performers. This is when she would renamed herself “Billie” after the film star Billie Dove. Although she never received technical training or learned how to read music, Holiday quickly became an active participant in the cities jazz scene.
At the age of 18, Holiday was discovered by producer John Hammond while she was performing in a Harlem jazz club. Hammond was instrumental in getting Holiday recording work with an up-and-coming clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman. with whom she cut her first record as part of a studio group, she sang vocals for several tracks, including her first commercial release “Your Mother’s Son-In-Law” and the 1934 top ten hit “Riffin’ the Scotch.” by then she was on the verge of his own superstardom and from 1935 to 1941 Holiday’s career accelerated.