
Born Elinore Harris, Billie Holiday had a tough teenager and younger adulthood period, which blanketed operating in brothels, both as a cleaning female and a prostitute, and being raped. Through this difficulty, she dreamed of turning into a jazz singer. She got her preliminary singing spoil whilst she applied at a Harlem membership that changed into seeking out a dancer, but wherein she were given hired as a singer. There, she met and fell in love with the suave Louis McKay. After this preliminary smash, Billie desired her making a song profession to transport to the mainstream clubs in downtown Manhattan. She took a hazard whilst she agreed to be the lead singer for the Reg Hanley Band, a often white group, who convinced her that she could need to make her mark in local tours earlier than her Manhattan dream may want to happen. As Billie tried to develop her profession, pressures of existence, such as being a black lady, caused her now not so secret substance abuse (particularly of heroin), not so secret due to her increasingly erratic behavior, each on degree and off. As the ones round her, such as Louis, labored to help Billie emotionally to get off drugs, Billie faced other issues, which includes open narcotic use being a crook offense, which in aggregate with the effects of the heroin use itself might be Billie’s downfall regardless of her singing talent. tt0068828