Music: Strange Record

Billie Holiday is a roly-poly young colored woman with a hump in her voice. Dance-hall crowds have heard her with Count Basie's Orchestra, radio audiences with Artie Shaw. She does not care enough about her figure to watch her diet, but she loves to sing. She also likes to listen to records of her singing.

Last spring Billie Holiday went to the Manhattan studios of the Vocalion Company, which has her under exclusive contract, to make a batch of records. One number, which she had been singing at a new downtown hotspot called Café...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!