Died On This Date (July 17, 1959) Billie Holiday / Jazz Icon
themusicsover Billie Holiday (Born Eleanora Fagan)
April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959
Billie Holiday was one of the of the most influential singers popular music has ever known, but sadly, she was also one of its most tragic figures. After a childhood that included the abandonment of a father, tremendous poverty, Catholic reform school, at least one rape, and time served for prostitution, Holiday began singing in local clubs for tips in order to survive. It was reportedly at one of these clubs in 1933, that she was discovered by ace talent scout, John Hammond. This lead to Holiday’s recording debut on two Benny Goodman sides later that year. From there, Holiday was soon signed to Brunswick Records and was singing for the likes of Artie Shaw and Count Basie. Within a decade she was being regarded as one of the most important voices in jazz. Even though she was well on her way to fame and fortune, Holiday couldn’t shake her painful past. In 1947 she was arrested for drug possession and served nearly a year in prison where she claims she didn’t sing one note of music. Holiday made a triumphant return to stage less than two weeks after she was released. It was Carnegie Hall, and by all accounts, her set was staggering. She would again be arrested for drug possession less than a year later. By the early 50s, Holiday was having trouble landing gigs due to her record and seemingly continued down the road of drug and alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, her only support system seemed to be a string of abusive men she connected with through most of her adult life. While close to death in hospital in May of 1959, the local police kept a guard at her door, raided her room and arrested her for drug possession while she lay dying. Two weeks later, Billie Holiday was dead of cirrhosis of the liver. She had less than $1000 to her name.
What You Should Own
Gordon Waller and Peter Asher were the popular ’60s duo, Peter and Gordon. Since Asher’s sister, Jane Asher dated Paul McCartney at the time, Peter and Gordon were lucky enough secure unrecorded Lennon-McCartney songs for their own use. One of those songs, “A World Without Love” became their biggest hit. They broke up in 1968 after which Waller recorded a handful of solo albums and appeared in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Peter and Gordon reunited a few times in later years. Gordon Waller went into cardiac arrest on July 16, 2009 and died the next day.
Not many can say they opened for 
Celia Cruz was an internationally famous Cuban salsa singer who has been rightfully called the Queen of Salsa. Over the course of a career that spanned 50 years, Cruz earned 23 gold albums, making her one of the most successful Cuban and salsa singers. Born in Havana, Cruz was exposed to its beautiful music at a very young age, and by the time she was in her early 20s, she was making recordings for local radio stations, and by the time she was 25, she was fronting a popular Cuban orchestra. In 1959, she and her husband moved to New York City and became U.S. citizens soon after. Cruz recorded several albums with 