Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday

CC: “Frank Sinatra Mugshot” by Τ

Frank Sinatra went to Billie Holiday on her deathbed, in a run down Harlem Hospital.

Billie was 44 years old, her internal organs was shot and she was badly in need of dope. The boys in blue had looted her room and helped themselves to heroin from her pocketbook.

The doctor turned a blind eye, the mindset was, ‘Why treat this lady, if she’s still flying?’.

Three cops were stationed at her door and a beauty therapist was inside doing Billie’s hair and nails. Billie was smoking cigarette after cigarette, she instructed Sinatra to keep an eye on the therapist, who she complained would gladly remove the gold from her teeth while she was still chewing her gum

Billie was skin and bone, her body was wrecked by narcotics, alcohol had ruined her intestines. She was delighted when Sinatra turned up, and when he told her how much he loved the album, ‘Lady In Satin’ and tried to get her interested in going back to work.

Frank told her that he owed his career to her, “You taught me everything when I was beginning with Harry James.” Billie wasn’t having it. She grinned, she said, ‘cut the crap baby, get me some dope’. She was flat-out at this point, from withdrawal.

Later on that day, her liver gave up and she passed away. Sinatra was devastated, he spent a long time holed up indoors, listening her music over again, crying himself to sleep.

See, Frank Sinatra was this complex/enigmatic character, merciless, delicate, streetwise, and stacked with heart. Billie was his golden calf, she versed him in the art of phrasing, of tone, of pitch, of tempo, simply put, she taught him how to sing.

Where Frank was the cat with nine lives, Billie was destined for a short run at the Opera. She was born to croon those strange, off beat notes, to pour her genius out of that ‘brilliant, honey-coloured throat’, and into the rarefied, jazz atmosphere of Harlem. She was jazz’s secret weapon, the Zen priestess of soul, impeccable timing, phrasing, and precision.

A human instrument created in another world, another time, and therein lies the conundrum, conceived with this internal light, grasping for a break in life, Billie’s continued agony created that incredible blues soul, that ‘mixed up thing’ the apparatus of invention, the Rosetta stone, the wonder that became Lady Day.

Sinatra was a skinny, cocky singer when he first became her boyfriend. He was in awe of his muse ’till the day she died. Their souls matched, they imparted the same harsh virtuoso, the same gritty musical genius. No way would Billie claim credit for ‘educating’ Sinatra, she cast off the idea, saying all she ever did was help him to “bend a note”.

Still, Sinatra owed the root of his art to Lady Day. He knew it, they both did, but Billie shucked it off, with a smile.

Alice Frances Wickham is the founding editor of NEW LONDON WRITERS, an online literary agency, webzine and blog. To find out more about NEW LONDON WRITERS visit Alice’s blog at http://newlondonbloggers.com , where you will see some great writing! —- Article From Articles For All

If you are not familiar with Frank Sinatra’s music, a good place to start is with the Album, “No One Cares.”
You can learn about this record at this site:
Frank Sinatra – Why Try To Change Me Now | Notable Music

http://notablemusic.net2/13/13

Jenkins who also worked with the Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald among others, captures Mr. Sinatra in a stunning & melancholy mood with Cy …

Who would you say are the top 5 jazz vocalists? Certainly Billie Holiday would be on the list, but who else? See if your lists matches what listeners decided recently on a radio poll…
Listen to the 50 Greatest Jazz Vocals of All Time | KPLU News for …

http://www.kplu.org2/7/13

Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday; Lush Life by Johnny Hartman/John Coltrane; God Bless the Child by Billie Holiday; How High The Moon by Ella Fitzgerald; Mac the Knife (in Berlin) by Ella Fitzgerald; At Last by Etta James; What a Wonderful … I've Got You under My Skin by Frank Sinatra; Sweet Georgia Brown by Anita O'Day; All of Me by Billie Holiday; Black and Blue by Louis Armstrong; The Waters of March by Susanna McCorkle; Fly Me To the Moon by Frank Sinatra …

Learn more about the life and music of Billie at this webpage:

Billie Holidayhttp://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Harris April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American … Frank Sinatra admired Holiday, having been influenced …

Ms. Holiday was part of the Harlam Music Scene, You can see a nice slideshow about Harlam and Jazz at this website:
Harlem renissance

“I’ll Be Seeing You,” as sung by Billie Holiday, is it on your playlist? And who else should be there along with her? For some suggestion, check out the playlist here:
Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, OH MY! – What is love …

http://vegetarianginger.blogspot.com10/11/11

Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, OH MY! (playist: track 7) ive been getting into jazz/swing music lately. its the romance i like. Jazzy fourties songs like, "ill be seeing you" and "the way you look tonight" just make me …

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Billie Holiday – One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) 1957

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Frank Sinatra