Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), born Eleanora Fagan and later nicknamed Lady Day , was an American jazz singer, composer, a seminal influence on jazz and pop singers, and generally regarded as one of the greatest female jazz vocalists.Billie Holiday had a difficult childhood, which greatly affected her life and career. Much of her childhood is clouded by conjecture and legend, some of it propagated by her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, published in 1956. This account is known to contain many inaccuracies.
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The Blues Are Brewin' - Live with Louis Armstrong
___________________________________________________________Phyllis Hyman
Phyllis Hyman - Even though she was born in Philadelphia, Phyllis grew up in the St. Clair Village section in Pittsburgh. After leaving Pittsburgh, her music training started with a scholarship to a music school. On graduation, she performed on a national tour with the group New Direction in 1971.After the group disbanded, she joined All the People and worked with another local group, The Hondo Beat. At this time, she appeared in the film Lenny (1974). She also did a two-year stint leading a band called Phyllis Hyman and the P/H Factor. Phyllis was discovered in 1975 by music industry veterans Sid Maurer and Fred Frank, and signed to their Roadshow Records / Desert Moon imprint.
Hyman moved to New York City to work on her reputation. She did background vocals on Jon Lucien's Premonition and worked in clubs. It was during one of these performances that she was spotted by Norman Connors, who offered her a spot as a vocalist on his album, You Are My Starship (1976). Her best performance on the album is a remake of The Stylistics' Betcha By Golly Wow.
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Meet Me On The Moon - Live
