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♪ Saddest tale on land or sea ♪
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♪ Was when my man
walked out on me ♪
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- LINDA: I'd like to write
4
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something that is real, you know
5
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that is really Lady, and, uh...
6
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people who don't see her
in any sentimental way
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00:01:21,333 --> 00:01:23,083
you know, really as she is.
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I'd like to hear
what Bobby Tucker said...
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What'd he say?
10
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:
I can't say.
11
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:
But you can give me an idea.
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I can't. I never talk,
and nobody ever hears the tapes.
13
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:
Are you interviewing me
14
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or am I interviewing you?
15
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When I tell you something,
you print it!
16
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Billie's dead,
you're talking to me now.
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00:01:52,833 --> 00:01:54,375
:
Well, my friend today is
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00:01:54,458 --> 00:01:57,416
a gal who has been singing jazz
for a good many years now.
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Long enough to earn
for herself the title
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00:01:59,375 --> 00:02:01,666
"The world's greatest
Jazz vocalist".
21
00:02:02,125 --> 00:02:04,125
Miss Billie Holiday.
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00:02:08,416 --> 00:02:11,375
♪ Hey there, baby,
make up your mind ♪
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00:02:11,708 --> 00:02:15,250
♪ Cos I've been waiting
such a long, long time ♪
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♪ Now, baby, or never,
I've been so sad and blue ♪
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00:02:22,416 --> 00:02:25,083
♪ Now, baby, or never ♪
26
00:02:25,333 --> 00:02:28,500
♪ I've been so lonesome, too ♪
27
00:02:29,250 --> 00:02:32,083
♪ Now, baby, or never ♪
28
00:02:32,291 --> 00:02:35,000
♪ If I mean anything to you ♪
29
00:02:36,083 --> 00:02:38,833
♪ Now, baby, or never ♪
30
00:02:39,291 --> 00:02:42,541
♪ Cos I've wasted so much time ♪
31
00:02:43,166 --> 00:02:45,666
♪ Now, baby, or never ♪
32
00:02:46,166 --> 00:02:48,875
♪ And it ain't no fault
of mine ♪
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00:02:49,166 --> 00:02:52,166
♪ It's gotta be yes or no ♪
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00:02:52,291 --> 00:02:55,666
♪ It's either you stay or go ♪
35
00:02:55,750 --> 00:02:58,833
♪ You can't leave me
on the shelf ♪
36
00:02:59,333 --> 00:03:02,666
♪ You gotta commit yourself ♪
37
00:03:02,750 --> 00:03:04,583
♪ It's either you will ♪
38
00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,000
♪ Baby, or you won't
fall in love with me ♪
39
00:03:09,208 --> 00:03:11,291
An interview
with Sylvia Syms
40
00:03:11,416 --> 00:03:13,875
January 20th, 1973.
41
00:03:14,833 --> 00:03:16,916
:
To the people in our industry
42
00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:18,791
she was the great lady
of all time.
43
00:03:19,791 --> 00:03:21,041
She was the queen bee.
44
00:03:21,541 --> 00:03:24,083
♪ I've been so sad and blue ♪
45
00:03:24,500 --> 00:03:26,875
Without even trying,
she was the most sensual
46
00:03:26,958 --> 00:03:28,416
of all of the lady singers.
47
00:03:28,500 --> 00:03:31,041
♪ I've been so lonesome, too ♪
48
00:03:31,375 --> 00:03:33,500
I saw the whole world
in that face...
49
00:03:35,541 --> 00:03:37,708
all of the beauty
and all of the misery.
50
00:03:39,458 --> 00:03:43,125
Billie Holiday sang only truth,
she knew nothing else.
51
00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:46,041
♪ Now, baby, or never ♪
52
00:03:46,666 --> 00:03:49,791
♪ I've been so sad and blue ♪
53
00:03:50,500 --> 00:03:53,083
♪ Now, baby, or never ♪
54
00:03:53,166 --> 00:03:55,291
:
Met her in Philadelphia, once.
55
00:03:55,958 --> 00:03:58,750
There was a funny situation
because I was very unknown
56
00:03:58,833 --> 00:04:02,416
I was just a fan, and she just
kinda lifted up her skirt
57
00:04:02,583 --> 00:04:04,875
and went right into her stocking
and took out a bill
58
00:04:04,958 --> 00:04:06,583
and said get me some gin, son.
59
00:04:08,166 --> 00:04:11,750
♪ I'm gonna call you once more
on the telephone ♪
60
00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,583
♪ I'll give you till twelve,
then I'll be gone ♪
61
00:04:15,916 --> 00:04:17,291
In what way
do you think of her
62
00:04:17,375 --> 00:04:18,500
as being innovative?
63
00:04:18,625 --> 00:04:20,666
Well, the fact
that she just told
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00:04:20,750 --> 00:04:23,041
her own story,
just by being herself.
65
00:04:23,166 --> 00:04:25,333
♪ Now, baby, or never ♪
66
00:04:25,416 --> 00:04:27,458
Must be
a pretty interesting story
67
00:04:27,541 --> 00:04:28,750
that you're writing.
68
00:04:28,833 --> 00:04:30,250
She's had a wild life.
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00:04:30,750 --> 00:04:34,083
:
♪ You gotta commit yourself ♪
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00:04:34,333 --> 00:04:37,416
♪ It's either you will, baby,
or you won't ♪
71
00:04:37,500 --> 00:04:41,583
♪ Fall in love with me ♪
72
00:04:41,666 --> 00:04:44,250
I wanna know
why all girl singers crack up.
73
00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:47,250
They all crack up!
74
00:04:48,166 --> 00:04:51,125
When they hit the top,
something tragic happens.
75
00:04:52,625 --> 00:04:54,416
I wanna know what causes that.
76
00:05:08,833 --> 00:05:13,458
♪ Them that's got
shall have ♪
77
00:05:14,666 --> 00:05:17,875
♪ Them that's not
shall lose ♪
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00:05:18,666 --> 00:05:24,916
♪ So the Bible said
and it still is news ♪
79
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,708
♪ Mama may have ♪
80
00:05:29,541 --> 00:05:31,958
♪ Papa may have ♪
81
00:05:32,875 --> 00:05:38,208
♪ But God bless the child
that's got his own ♪
82
00:05:39,250 --> 00:05:41,708
♪ That's got his own ♪
83
00:05:43,041 --> 00:05:44,750
:
The things that I sing
84
00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,666
have to have something
to do with me and my life
85
00:05:47,833 --> 00:05:50,041
and my friends' lives.
86
00:05:50,458 --> 00:05:51,625
They have a meaning.
87
00:05:52,208 --> 00:05:58,958
♪ Empty pockets don't ever
make the grade ♪
88
00:05:59,208 --> 00:06:02,208
:
89
00:06:21,708 --> 00:06:28,333
♪ Money, you've got
lots of friends ♪
90
00:06:29,375 --> 00:06:30,750
♪ Crowding round... ♪
91
00:06:30,916 --> 00:06:35,000
:
92
00:06:39,375 --> 00:06:40,833
:
We used to stay together
93
00:06:40,916 --> 00:06:42,458
as small kids.
94
00:06:42,541 --> 00:06:43,791
:
How old were you?
95
00:06:43,875 --> 00:06:45,583
:
Eight or nine years old.
96
00:06:46,375 --> 00:06:48,291
Her and her mother were
very close.
97
00:06:48,416 --> 00:06:49,708
They were very close.
98
00:06:51,416 --> 00:06:54,416
The area she came up in,
as a kid...
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00:06:55,583 --> 00:06:57,458
everybody knew each other,
you know.
100
00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,208
It was just a nice community
to live in
101
00:07:00,291 --> 00:07:01,791
even though we were poor.
102
00:07:03,208 --> 00:07:06,125
It was a different type of poor
what they call today, you know.
103
00:07:06,750 --> 00:07:09,791
If we made it and we were happy
with what we had.
104
00:07:11,750 --> 00:07:15,750
♪ Crowding round no more ♪
105
00:07:17,125 --> 00:07:20,750
♪ Rich relations give... ♪
106
00:07:21,250 --> 00:07:23,708
In the bloom
of her youth, she was pretty.
107
00:07:25,583 --> 00:07:28,833
♪ You can help yourself ♪
108
00:07:29,166 --> 00:07:30,250
♪ But don't take... ♪
109
00:07:30,333 --> 00:07:31,750
:
People played on her.
110
00:07:31,833 --> 00:07:33,541
Did they play on her
when she was a kid?
111
00:07:33,625 --> 00:07:34,625
:
Of course.
112
00:07:34,708 --> 00:07:36,791
Who? Who?
- The men folks.
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00:07:36,875 --> 00:07:39,708
♪ Papa may have ♪
114
00:07:40,500 --> 00:07:46,208
♪ But God bless the child
that's got his own... ♪
115
00:07:48,583 --> 00:07:50,291
:
You hung out with Billie?
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00:07:50,375 --> 00:07:51,541
:
That's right.
117
00:07:51,625 --> 00:07:52,916
:
You called her Eleanora.
118
00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:55,708
That's her name,
Eleanor, Eleanora Fagan.
119
00:07:55,791 --> 00:07:57,666
That's the name
that we knew her by.
120
00:07:58,666 --> 00:08:00,291
:
You never knew the father?
121
00:08:00,541 --> 00:08:02,458
:
No, I never knew her father, no.
122
00:08:03,541 --> 00:08:05,541
Did she curse a lot
when she was a kid?
123
00:08:06,208 --> 00:08:07,541
Yep.
- What'd she say?
124
00:08:07,625 --> 00:08:08,750
What were her favourite words?
125
00:08:08,833 --> 00:08:09,875
:
"Motherfucker".
126
00:08:09,958 --> 00:08:12,250
Every other word
was motherfucker. What else?
127
00:08:12,333 --> 00:08:14,416
"Cocksuckers",
that was her word.
128
00:08:14,500 --> 00:08:16,125
"Motherfucker", "cocksucker"...
129
00:08:17,333 --> 00:08:19,375
She would say, "You suck
my ass, motherfucker".
130
00:08:24,750 --> 00:08:26,416
A lot of people didn't
like you calling 'em
131
00:08:26,500 --> 00:08:28,291
"motherfucker",
they would beat you up.
132
00:08:28,833 --> 00:08:29,791
A lot of men.
133
00:08:29,875 --> 00:08:31,375
:
Right there on the street?
134
00:08:31,833 --> 00:08:33,041
:
Yeah.
135
00:08:33,291 --> 00:08:35,791
Think she liked it?
- She must'a liked it.
136
00:08:36,375 --> 00:08:38,708
But the fellas that liked her,
she didn't dig them.
137
00:08:42,291 --> 00:08:43,958
Let me ask you
something, John...
138
00:08:44,041 --> 00:08:45,041
:
Go ahead.
139
00:08:45,416 --> 00:08:48,083
Did Billie...
did she turn tricks?
140
00:08:48,666 --> 00:08:50,083
:
Sure, of course.
141
00:08:50,166 --> 00:08:52,333
During them times,
you had to survive
142
00:08:52,708 --> 00:08:54,333
and she had to survive.
143
00:08:54,583 --> 00:08:56,375
Was she younger
than most girls?
144
00:08:57,083 --> 00:09:00,041
No. Girls start
young, some of 'em, you know.
145
00:09:00,500 --> 00:09:02,208
She wasn't like a slut.
146
00:09:02,291 --> 00:09:05,708
No, no, no, no...
she just lived fast.
147
00:09:11,083 --> 00:09:15,541
♪ The saddest tale on land
or sea ♪
148
00:09:15,875 --> 00:09:20,500
♪ Was when my man
walked out on me ♪
149
00:09:24,541 --> 00:09:26,291
:
150
00:09:26,541 --> 00:09:29,000
:
151
00:09:29,875 --> 00:09:31,375
:
152
00:09:31,916 --> 00:09:34,250
:
153
00:09:35,833 --> 00:09:39,291
:
154
00:09:41,208 --> 00:09:44,208
:
155
00:09:47,208 --> 00:09:48,666
Yeah?
156
00:09:53,375 --> 00:09:54,791
:
157
00:09:54,958 --> 00:09:58,500
:
158
00:10:00,208 --> 00:10:01,666
- Why?
159
00:10:02,166 --> 00:10:05,000
:
160
00:10:05,625 --> 00:10:10,000
♪ My man's gone,
I feel forlorn ♪
161
00:10:10,625 --> 00:10:15,833
♪ I've got those
"lost my man" blues ♪
162
00:10:16,291 --> 00:10:18,875
♪ He didn't treat me fair ♪
163
00:10:19,166 --> 00:10:21,958
♪ It's more than I can bear ♪
164
00:10:22,166 --> 00:10:23,458
♪ I've got those... ♪
- Did you ever hear
165
00:10:23,541 --> 00:10:24,708
her sing?
- Yeah.
166
00:10:24,791 --> 00:10:26,500
When she was a kid?
- Yeah, yeah.
167
00:10:26,875 --> 00:10:28,208
She used to sing every night.
168
00:10:28,291 --> 00:10:30,750
♪ I've got those
"lost my man... ♪
169
00:10:30,833 --> 00:10:34,875
♪ ...can't get him
back again" blues ♪
170
00:10:36,875 --> 00:10:43,291
:
171
00:10:49,583 --> 00:10:51,500
Well, now
wait a minute, it's quite a jump
172
00:10:51,583 --> 00:10:53,583
from Baltimore to New York...
- Listen...
173
00:10:53,666 --> 00:10:55,416
Well, it was a jump.
174
00:10:55,500 --> 00:10:57,666
So, you were
15 years old then, weren't ya?
175
00:10:57,750 --> 00:10:59,083
:
No, I was 14.
176
00:10:59,166 --> 00:11:00,541
:
I beg your pardon.
177
00:11:09,708 --> 00:11:11,833
My first encounter
with Billie Holiday
178
00:11:11,916 --> 00:11:12,958
was as a listener...
179
00:11:14,916 --> 00:11:16,583
not as a biographer or critic.
180
00:11:18,625 --> 00:11:20,750
Age 14, I happened
to spot an album...
181
00:11:21,583 --> 00:11:23,375
"The Essential Billie Holiday"
182
00:11:24,250 --> 00:11:26,333
and curiously listened
to the voice.
183
00:11:27,541 --> 00:11:28,833
A strange voice...
184
00:11:29,500 --> 00:11:31,416
that was more real and true...
185
00:11:31,541 --> 00:11:33,416
than anything
I'd ever heard before.
186
00:11:35,083 --> 00:11:37,791
It told of experiences
so deeply felt...
187
00:11:38,291 --> 00:11:40,583
wailed huskily
from some netherworld...
188
00:11:41,416 --> 00:11:42,750
that I had no choice...
189
00:11:43,375 --> 00:11:46,291
I had to listen to where
that voice was coming from.
190
00:12:02,958 --> 00:12:04,583
:
Linda was my big sister
191
00:12:04,750 --> 00:12:07,250
and she was my protector,
and, uh...
192
00:12:07,333 --> 00:12:08,375
she was my best friend.
193
00:12:13,458 --> 00:12:16,458
We grew up in the Bronx Borough
of New York.
194
00:12:18,166 --> 00:12:20,416
My father was
a labour union organiser.
195
00:12:22,666 --> 00:12:25,875
Our family was Jewish
but non-religious.
196
00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:30,583
Linda was
a public high school teacher
197
00:12:30,666 --> 00:12:33,541
but she had been doing
interviews on women
198
00:12:33,833 --> 00:12:35,458
and women's rights
199
00:12:35,541 --> 00:12:37,958
as a journalist for Paris Review
200
00:12:38,041 --> 00:12:40,666
for the New York Times Sunday
magazine section.
201
00:12:42,750 --> 00:12:45,500
That's when she decided
to start writing a biography
202
00:12:45,583 --> 00:12:47,041
on Billie Holiday.
203
00:12:48,416 --> 00:12:51,083
Even though they came
from totally
204
00:12:51,291 --> 00:12:52,541
different backgrounds...
205
00:12:53,041 --> 00:12:54,958
I think she identified
with Billie.
206
00:12:56,125 --> 00:12:59,083
I think she felt the pain
of someone's struggles.
207
00:13:00,875 --> 00:13:03,041
She did not like seeing her
as a victim
208
00:13:03,791 --> 00:13:06,291
which I think is the way
she had been portrayed.
209
00:13:24,208 --> 00:13:26,000
:
210
00:14:09,291 --> 00:14:11,041
:
211
00:14:17,791 --> 00:14:21,666
:
212
00:14:21,833 --> 00:14:23,875
:
213
00:14:27,916 --> 00:14:29,500
:
214
00:14:30,041 --> 00:14:34,500
:
215
00:14:39,458 --> 00:14:41,750
Hello Pigmeat, how are you?
216
00:14:41,833 --> 00:14:43,708
Why hello, Mabel.
217
00:14:43,875 --> 00:14:45,125
It's good to see you.
218
00:14:45,208 --> 00:14:47,125
Yeah, where in the world
is you been?
219
00:14:47,208 --> 00:14:48,875
:
Someone told me about this girl
220
00:14:48,958 --> 00:14:50,541
who could sing so beautiful.
221
00:14:51,166 --> 00:14:53,458
And I went by to see her
and hear her.
222
00:14:53,958 --> 00:14:55,750
That's when I discovered her...
223
00:14:56,875 --> 00:15:00,208
a week or two after she started
coming the Apollo Theatre.
224
00:15:00,875 --> 00:15:03,000
And that's where she made
her stage appearance
225
00:15:03,083 --> 00:15:04,416
first time in her life.
226
00:15:05,750 --> 00:15:07,500
Why'd you think
she was so nervous?
227
00:15:07,583 --> 00:15:09,291
Well, she was
stage-frightened
228
00:15:09,375 --> 00:15:11,041
she'd never been
on a stage before.
229
00:15:11,708 --> 00:15:14,541
And a lot of people can sing
in them little small places
230
00:15:14,625 --> 00:15:17,000
with eight, ten, 15,
45 people...
231
00:15:17,750 --> 00:15:20,083
and then when you put 'em
in front of a big audience...
232
00:15:20,500 --> 00:15:23,583
a thousand, two thousand people,
they just freeze up.
233
00:15:42,458 --> 00:15:45,041
It must've been something!
234
00:15:57,083 --> 00:15:58,750
:
Tell us something, Billie
235
00:15:58,833 --> 00:16:00,458
about the background that, uh...
236
00:16:00,541 --> 00:16:02,458
brought about
your interest in jazz.
237
00:16:02,541 --> 00:16:08,416
:
238
00:16:10,875 --> 00:16:13,083
♪ My man... ♪
239
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:24,333
:
And that was it?
240
00:16:24,791 --> 00:16:27,583
:
241
00:16:34,083 --> 00:16:35,791
Well, I was
the first white guy
242
00:16:35,875 --> 00:16:37,083
who ever heard Billie, you know.
243
00:16:37,166 --> 00:16:39,541
I was the first one
who introduced her around.
244
00:16:40,541 --> 00:16:43,250
About the eighth stoop up here
245
00:16:43,375 --> 00:16:46,208
is where I first heard
Billie Holiday.
246
00:16:46,291 --> 00:16:49,750
It says laundry there, see?
And that's the place
247
00:16:49,833 --> 00:16:52,166
where Billie Holiday made
her debut
248
00:16:52,250 --> 00:16:53,791
as far as I know in New York
249
00:16:53,875 --> 00:16:57,333
in about February of 1933.
250
00:16:58,541 --> 00:17:01,291
What did you hear
that said to you
251
00:17:01,375 --> 00:17:03,625
"I have to let the rest
of the world know about this?"
252
00:17:03,916 --> 00:17:07,458
I heard a singer who was
an improvising horn player.
253
00:17:07,541 --> 00:17:09,250
Horn player?
- Yeah, well, that's how...
254
00:17:09,333 --> 00:17:10,333
that's how she sounded.
255
00:17:10,458 --> 00:17:11,708
Any specific horn player?
256
00:17:11,791 --> 00:17:12,958
Well, I think she liked Louis...
257
00:17:13,041 --> 00:17:15,000
Louis Armstrong.
- Louis Armstrong, I'm sorry.
258
00:17:15,083 --> 00:17:17,000
I need to add that last--
That's quite alright.
259
00:17:17,291 --> 00:17:20,291
And I knew, you know,
that these two would...
260
00:17:20,708 --> 00:17:22,083
would find, uh...
261
00:17:22,166 --> 00:17:24,666
would make music together
that was unprecedented.
262
00:17:24,708 --> 00:17:25,625
And it was.
263
00:17:28,125 --> 00:17:31,083
♪ When the moon's kinda dreamy ♪
264
00:17:31,833 --> 00:17:34,333
♪ Starry-eyed and dreamy ♪
265
00:17:35,166 --> 00:17:38,708
♪ And nights are luscious
and long ♪
266
00:17:40,916 --> 00:17:44,041
♪ If you're kinda lonely ♪
267
00:17:44,833 --> 00:17:47,208
♪ And all by your own-ly ♪
268
00:17:48,083 --> 00:17:52,583
♪ Then nothin' but the blues
are brewin' ♪
269
00:17:53,041 --> 00:17:56,375
♪ The blues are brewin' ♪
270
00:17:59,500 --> 00:18:02,750
♪ When the wind through
the window... ♪
271
00:18:03,041 --> 00:18:08,416
:
272
00:18:13,166 --> 00:18:16,500
♪ If love goes a-thirstin' ♪
273
00:18:17,250 --> 00:18:19,666
♪ Till you feel like burstin' ♪
274
00:18:20,666 --> 00:18:24,875
♪ Then nothin' but the blues
are brewin' ♪
275
00:18:25,500 --> 00:18:29,333
♪ The blues are brewin' ♪
276
00:18:29,833 --> 00:18:32,291
I persuaded
the American Record Company
277
00:18:32,375 --> 00:18:35,333
that they should record
the hits of the day
278
00:18:35,750 --> 00:18:39,041
with the wonderful girl singer,
and hit the jukebox trade.
279
00:18:40,041 --> 00:18:41,500
I says "It costs so little".
280
00:18:41,916 --> 00:18:43,416
We would do these records,
you see
281
00:18:43,500 --> 00:18:46,208
for less than $300 a session.
282
00:18:48,291 --> 00:18:51,041
♪ Suppose you want somebody ♪
283
00:18:51,708 --> 00:18:54,166
♪ But you ain't got nobody ♪
284
00:18:54,958 --> 00:18:59,333
♪ You only got a gleam
in your eye ♪
285
00:19:00,458 --> 00:19:03,583
:
286
00:19:15,625 --> 00:19:17,750
:
287
00:19:19,250 --> 00:19:21,041
:
288
00:19:26,708 --> 00:19:29,416
If you went to Harlem just
for music and no sex
289
00:19:30,041 --> 00:19:31,708
it was the strangest thing
in the world.
290
00:19:32,541 --> 00:19:34,041
And I went just for music.
291
00:19:49,125 --> 00:19:50,958
:
First time I met Billie was...
292
00:19:51,416 --> 00:19:53,583
in a place behind
the Apollo Theatre
293
00:19:54,208 --> 00:19:56,583
and she asked me
to take her home
294
00:19:57,291 --> 00:19:59,666
because some of her friends
that were there
295
00:19:59,958 --> 00:20:02,000
she says, "I don't want them
to take me home".
296
00:20:05,375 --> 00:20:09,250
The apartment was in Harlem,
that was considered a ghetto.
297
00:20:10,541 --> 00:20:13,083
When we got there, she asked me
to stay with us.
298
00:20:13,750 --> 00:20:16,416
I ended up staying,
oh, about six months.
299
00:20:18,750 --> 00:20:20,875
Her mother used to tell me
about her
300
00:20:20,958 --> 00:20:22,500
when she was a little girl.
301
00:20:23,458 --> 00:20:24,791
:
What would she tell you?
302
00:20:24,875 --> 00:20:28,208
That she was still
in love with Billie's father.
303
00:20:29,375 --> 00:20:31,916
And a lot of times when she used
to talk about it, she'd cry.
304
00:20:34,666 --> 00:20:38,000
Somebody told me that
Billie used to go with girls.
305
00:20:38,083 --> 00:20:39,583
Now, is there any truth in that?
306
00:20:39,666 --> 00:20:40,916
:
Oh, of course!
307
00:20:41,666 --> 00:20:43,625
Her nickname among the men...
308
00:20:44,041 --> 00:20:46,666
they called her
Mister Billie Holiday
309
00:20:46,750 --> 00:20:49,583
because she was seldom seen
with fellas.
310
00:20:50,666 --> 00:20:52,625
And I will always believe
311
00:20:52,916 --> 00:20:54,750
that her mother was
the cause of it
312
00:20:55,083 --> 00:20:58,541
cos she never wanted Billie
to get close with any fellas.
313
00:20:59,666 --> 00:21:01,458
She would tell her
they're no good.
314
00:21:02,208 --> 00:21:05,416
"I heard this about him"
and "I heard that about him"...
315
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,291
Her mother pushed that
in her mind to be careful
316
00:21:08,750 --> 00:21:10,291
cos they'll break your heart.
317
00:21:11,916 --> 00:21:13,458
Just like Billie's father.
318
00:21:17,416 --> 00:21:19,666
:
319
00:21:20,416 --> 00:21:24,416
:
320
00:21:24,791 --> 00:21:26,458
:
321
00:21:26,708 --> 00:21:28,416
:
322
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:35,125
:
323
00:21:37,708 --> 00:21:39,166
:
324
00:21:39,708 --> 00:21:41,333
:
325
00:21:44,750 --> 00:21:46,458
:
326
00:21:48,125 --> 00:21:49,791
:
327
00:21:54,541 --> 00:21:58,000
:
328
00:22:10,583 --> 00:22:11,666
:
What was he like?
329
00:22:12,625 --> 00:22:16,750
:
330
00:22:18,291 --> 00:22:22,250
:
331
00:22:28,458 --> 00:22:33,958
:
332
00:22:58,208 --> 00:23:00,208
Whether the men
who Billie went with
333
00:23:00,291 --> 00:23:02,708
treated her well or not...
334
00:23:03,416 --> 00:23:05,583
she always chose them
for a reason.
335
00:23:07,750 --> 00:23:10,708
They played for her,
they protected her...
336
00:23:11,750 --> 00:23:14,666
and in the man's world
of the night club...
337
00:23:15,541 --> 00:23:18,708
they allowed her to do
the one thing that mattered...
338
00:23:19,458 --> 00:23:20,750
which was to sing.
339
00:23:22,541 --> 00:23:25,500
Music didn't bring Billie
to Harlem...
340
00:23:26,166 --> 00:23:29,541
but it was her voice
that would allow her to escape.
341
00:23:33,416 --> 00:23:34,625
Attention everybody!
342
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,333
♪ Now, here's a boogie-woogie,
solid beat ♪
343
00:23:38,750 --> 00:23:40,958
♪ Come on you dancers,
on your feet ♪
344
00:23:41,500 --> 00:23:43,791
♪ The winners get a prize
as you all know ♪
345
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,458
♪ And we pick 'em by the speed
and the class they show ♪
346
00:23:46,541 --> 00:23:47,750
♪ Let's go! ♪
347
00:23:50,083 --> 00:23:51,500
:
Billie, I'm just wondering
348
00:23:51,583 --> 00:23:54,083
if you might tell us how people
began to call you "Lady Day".
349
00:23:55,291 --> 00:23:59,291
:
350
00:24:27,208 --> 00:24:29,041
:
351
00:24:31,375 --> 00:24:32,791
:
352
00:24:33,416 --> 00:24:36,208
:
353
00:24:43,583 --> 00:24:45,458
:
354
00:24:46,083 --> 00:24:50,958
:
355
00:25:01,166 --> 00:25:03,041
:
356
00:25:03,500 --> 00:25:06,333
:
357
00:25:13,958 --> 00:25:16,291
:
358
00:25:16,541 --> 00:25:19,833
:
359
00:25:20,125 --> 00:25:22,958
:
360
00:25:40,416 --> 00:25:41,916
What would be
a good question
361
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:43,000
for you to ask me...
362
00:25:43,083 --> 00:25:44,916
You?
- About Billie?
363
00:25:46,041 --> 00:25:48,291
You said that
you used to alternate
364
00:25:48,375 --> 00:25:51,625
riff-raff joints, and then you'd
play some big white hotel.
365
00:25:51,708 --> 00:25:54,708
Go from one extreme
to the other. Is that true?
366
00:25:55,583 --> 00:25:58,541
Well, I don't
call no place a riff-raff
367
00:25:58,625 --> 00:25:59,791
that pays me.
368
00:26:01,208 --> 00:26:03,125
She said you weren't
your own boss...
369
00:26:03,708 --> 00:26:05,166
that you had too many
managers.
370
00:26:05,708 --> 00:26:07,625
- It's true?
371
00:26:08,125 --> 00:26:13,166
:
372
00:26:13,541 --> 00:26:20,750
:
373
00:26:21,416 --> 00:26:25,833
:
374
00:26:26,166 --> 00:26:28,375
:
375
00:26:28,541 --> 00:26:30,833
:
376
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:35,916
:
Both.
377
00:26:36,166 --> 00:26:38,166
I can't write about Billie
Holiday with your band
378
00:26:38,250 --> 00:26:39,833
if I'm not gonna talk
about your band.
379
00:26:39,916 --> 00:26:43,583
- Am I?
380
00:26:45,208 --> 00:26:46,375
Can I?
381
00:26:49,083 --> 00:26:51,666
My name is Jonathan
David Samuel Jones
382
00:26:51,791 --> 00:26:53,708
professional name Jo, J.O.
383
00:26:54,166 --> 00:26:56,125
And everybody professes
to know her...
384
00:26:56,583 --> 00:26:58,375
they knew nothing about her.
385
00:26:58,708 --> 00:27:01,500
All that they knew was
what was in it for them.
386
00:27:03,708 --> 00:27:06,250
What happened with her
and Count Basie?
387
00:27:06,333 --> 00:27:07,666
I mean, why did that--
388
00:27:07,750 --> 00:27:09,125
:
Count Basie?
389
00:27:09,208 --> 00:27:10,666
Can't you leave
Count Basie alone?
390
00:27:10,750 --> 00:27:13,000
That's no problem.
That was no problem.
391
00:27:13,958 --> 00:27:15,083
That was no problem.
392
00:27:15,375 --> 00:27:17,083
Well, why did
she leave the band?
393
00:27:17,875 --> 00:27:20,041
She didn't leave
the band, she was fired!
394
00:27:20,166 --> 00:27:21,166
:
Who fired her?
395
00:27:21,250 --> 00:27:22,166
:
John Hammond!
396
00:27:23,041 --> 00:27:25,958
:
John Hammond fired her? Why?
397
00:27:26,916 --> 00:27:28,625
That's a big
question, if you can answer that
398
00:27:28,708 --> 00:27:30,083
they wouldn't have the UN.
399
00:27:32,541 --> 00:27:35,583
About Basie, um,
why did Billie leave the band?
400
00:27:35,916 --> 00:27:38,000
Well, you see,
here's the thing...
401
00:27:38,875 --> 00:27:41,916
there was a real problem
with Billie and Basie.
402
00:27:42,833 --> 00:27:45,625
She weren't making enough money,
simple as that
403
00:27:45,791 --> 00:27:48,000
and this is really one of
the principal reasons
404
00:27:48,083 --> 00:27:49,291
why she left the band.
405
00:27:49,833 --> 00:27:51,666
How much was
she getting paid then?
406
00:27:51,750 --> 00:27:53,541
I think
100 and a quarter a week
407
00:27:53,625 --> 00:27:55,125
something like that,
at the most!
408
00:27:56,166 --> 00:27:57,125
:
She quit?
409
00:27:57,250 --> 00:27:58,833
:
Oh sure, sure.
410
00:27:59,958 --> 00:28:02,333
John Hammond wanted
her to sing the blues.
411
00:28:02,416 --> 00:28:05,625
So, since she wouldn't sing
the blues, he fired her.
412
00:28:07,583 --> 00:28:09,041
:
How can I verify it?
413
00:28:10,125 --> 00:28:13,041
His number's 0803 4173.
414
00:28:13,125 --> 00:28:14,500
Call him up and I'll tell him
415
00:28:14,583 --> 00:28:16,250
and I'll give him
another heart attack.
416
00:28:17,125 --> 00:28:18,125
Call him.
417
00:28:18,500 --> 00:28:20,083
I'm... I'm not...
- Call him!
418
00:28:20,291 --> 00:28:22,625
I'm not gonna call him now.
- Call him!
419
00:28:22,708 --> 00:28:25,041
Listen, I'm gonna
call him, I'm gonna to ask him.
420
00:28:25,125 --> 00:28:26,625
No, call him!
- You know I'm not gonna
421
00:28:26,708 --> 00:28:27,791
get through to him.
422
00:28:29,666 --> 00:28:31,208
:
I guess you've heard by now
423
00:28:31,291 --> 00:28:33,208
that Jo Jones said
that you fired her.
424
00:28:33,291 --> 00:28:34,750
:
Oh, absolute lie.
425
00:28:35,458 --> 00:28:36,458
Absolute lie.
426
00:28:36,500 --> 00:28:38,500
...because she wouldn't
sing the blues.
427
00:28:39,041 --> 00:28:41,375
How can Jo say
a thing like that?
428
00:28:41,958 --> 00:28:43,625
Did you talk to Jo?
- Yeah.
429
00:28:44,125 --> 00:28:46,500
Jo said I...?
Oh, Jo's out of his mind.
430
00:28:47,333 --> 00:28:48,916
:
He's a garbage-mouth liar!
431
00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:50,250
:
Why didn't... would...
432
00:28:50,333 --> 00:28:52,166
He fired her because
he wanted her to sing the blues!
433
00:28:52,250 --> 00:28:53,625
He wanted her to be
a coloured mammy!
434
00:28:54,333 --> 00:28:55,375
Didn't I tell you
435
00:28:55,458 --> 00:28:57,291
not to let me catch you
at that piano again?
436
00:28:57,750 --> 00:29:00,208
I'm sorry, Mam. If I'd have
heard you coming
437
00:29:00,291 --> 00:29:02,041
I wouldn't have let you
catch me.
438
00:29:02,125 --> 00:29:04,041
Well, let me fix you
a good hot tub.
439
00:29:04,416 --> 00:29:06,458
I'm telling you this
in front.
440
00:29:06,541 --> 00:29:09,666
He wanted her to just be
yassa boss, yassa boss.
441
00:29:09,708 --> 00:29:11,875
And everybody talk about how
he's the great white father.
442
00:29:11,916 --> 00:29:13,416
Don't give me that shit.
443
00:29:13,500 --> 00:29:15,666
But nobody got guts enough
to tell the people that
444
00:29:15,750 --> 00:29:17,041
because they're afraid of him.
445
00:29:17,916 --> 00:29:20,375
The problem
with Jo is, you know, that...
446
00:29:20,458 --> 00:29:23,583
Jo is not always
the most reliable, uh...
447
00:29:23,666 --> 00:29:26,041
I just saw Jo last week.
I'll have to ask him
448
00:29:26,125 --> 00:29:29,458
how he could possibly have
given you such a personal...
449
00:29:29,541 --> 00:29:31,125
:
Sure, do indeed.
450
00:29:32,375 --> 00:29:34,416
It happened.
That was a long time ago.
451
00:29:34,500 --> 00:29:35,750
How in the hell can I tell you
452
00:29:35,833 --> 00:29:37,666
what happened 40 years ago?
- How can I prove it?
453
00:29:37,791 --> 00:29:39,958
You don't have to
prove it, it happened!
454
00:29:40,916 --> 00:29:43,208
I believe you!
- No, it happened!
455
00:29:43,291 --> 00:29:44,375
:
OK!
456
00:29:45,041 --> 00:29:46,541
But when I put
something in print...
457
00:29:46,625 --> 00:29:48,625
I don't give a damn.
Put it in print and quote me.
458
00:29:48,708 --> 00:29:49,750
It happened.
459
00:29:49,833 --> 00:29:52,208
So don't you ask
if you're interviewing me
460
00:29:52,291 --> 00:29:54,333
and when I tell you something,
you print it!
461
00:29:55,666 --> 00:29:57,708
Are you interviewing me
or am I interviewing you?
462
00:29:58,916 --> 00:30:00,416
Where were you 30 years ago?
463
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:02,875
:
464
00:30:12,250 --> 00:30:14,000
:
Linda was very conscious
465
00:30:14,083 --> 00:30:17,750
of being a white writer
and writing about Billie.
466
00:30:18,541 --> 00:30:20,333
You don't know what
we was going through.
467
00:30:20,416 --> 00:30:21,458
What were you going
through?
468
00:30:21,541 --> 00:30:23,041
:
We was going through hell.
469
00:30:23,875 --> 00:30:26,958
Miss Billie Holiday didn't have
the privilege of using
470
00:30:27,041 --> 00:30:29,000
a toilet in a filling station.
471
00:30:30,416 --> 00:30:32,625
The boys at least could go out
in the woods.
472
00:30:33,833 --> 00:30:35,208
You don't know anything
about it
473
00:30:35,291 --> 00:30:37,666
because you've never had
to subjugate yourself to it.
474
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:39,041
Never!
475
00:30:40,333 --> 00:30:41,791
:
Most neighbourhoods
476
00:30:41,875 --> 00:30:44,791
where we were,
were segregated by race.
477
00:30:46,500 --> 00:30:49,333
But we were very much
aware of what was happening
478
00:30:49,416 --> 00:30:51,166
in the world, racially.
479
00:30:53,291 --> 00:30:56,083
Violations of
people's civil rights.
480
00:30:58,291 --> 00:31:02,500
The horrors of dogs attacking
black people in the South.
481
00:31:05,208 --> 00:31:08,708
The African-American struggle
resonated with Linda.
482
00:31:10,916 --> 00:31:13,333
And it was always an outrage
to Linda
483
00:31:13,416 --> 00:31:15,291
that people walked in
the front door
484
00:31:15,375 --> 00:31:16,750
who were coming to see her
485
00:31:17,125 --> 00:31:20,500
but Billie Holiday had to walk
through the kitchen to perform.
486
00:31:28,416 --> 00:31:30,458
:
This is no secret, of course
487
00:31:30,500 --> 00:31:33,125
that wherever musicians gather
and talk about singers
488
00:31:33,208 --> 00:31:35,916
they generally elect you
as their favourite.
489
00:31:36,250 --> 00:31:37,750
Now, who is your favourite?
490
00:31:39,958 --> 00:31:43,541
:
491
00:31:46,916 --> 00:31:53,000
♪ Alone, from night to night,
you'll find me ♪
492
00:31:53,791 --> 00:31:55,708
:
Jo Jones told me that, uh...
493
00:31:55,791 --> 00:31:57,791
Hammond fired Billie
from the Basie Band
494
00:31:57,875 --> 00:31:59,500
because she wouldn't
sing the blues.
495
00:31:59,583 --> 00:32:00,458
Is that the truth?
496
00:32:00,541 --> 00:32:01,750
:
It's probably... sure.
497
00:32:01,833 --> 00:32:03,375
:
Could be? She never told you?
498
00:32:03,458 --> 00:32:05,458
:
No, she never told me, but...
499
00:32:05,541 --> 00:32:08,333
I wanna be known as a singer
who can sing the ballad
500
00:32:08,416 --> 00:32:10,333
who can sing up-tempo things.
501
00:32:10,708 --> 00:32:12,958
Don't tell me I'm only
a blues singer
502
00:32:13,041 --> 00:32:14,958
that that's I all I can do is
the blues.
503
00:32:15,041 --> 00:32:17,125
And that's what--
- That's what they did!
504
00:32:17,208 --> 00:32:18,875
Did you two ever
talk about this?
505
00:32:18,916 --> 00:32:20,458
:
We would've had to.
506
00:32:21,125 --> 00:32:23,750
See, now, you've got
the misconception
507
00:32:23,833 --> 00:32:25,791
that black is the blues.
508
00:32:25,875 --> 00:32:26,875
:
Sure.
509
00:32:28,125 --> 00:32:30,791
It seems as if
the people who were running
510
00:32:30,875 --> 00:32:32,208
the recordings were white...
511
00:32:32,916 --> 00:32:35,000
I mean the powers, the agents...
512
00:32:35,833 --> 00:32:38,416
let's say 7/8ths
of the musicians were black.
513
00:32:40,166 --> 00:32:42,875
You see what
people do to suppress you...
514
00:32:43,500 --> 00:32:46,583
the frustration of what
connected with black performers.
515
00:32:48,041 --> 00:32:51,083
The difference in being,
quote, a "black star"
516
00:32:51,166 --> 00:32:53,458
in relationship to it being
a star.
517
00:32:55,875 --> 00:32:57,625
Billie Holiday,
she's a black singer.
518
00:32:57,708 --> 00:33:00,041
Billy Eckstine,
"Oh, you mean the black singer".
519
00:33:00,125 --> 00:33:02,625
And not Peggy Lee,
she's a "Slav singer"
520
00:33:02,958 --> 00:33:05,291
or Barbara Streisand,
she's a "Jewish singer".
521
00:33:05,416 --> 00:33:07,166
Not that, you don't get that.
522
00:33:08,333 --> 00:33:10,250
Get a load of the critics
for God's sake
523
00:33:10,333 --> 00:33:14,500
the people who judge our music
as being good or bad...
524
00:33:15,041 --> 00:33:16,666
there isn't a black critic.
525
00:33:17,041 --> 00:33:19,583
There was never
a black critic in swing music.
526
00:33:19,666 --> 00:33:20,583
:
Why?
527
00:33:20,666 --> 00:33:22,833
Why? Because of the power
structure is such
528
00:33:22,916 --> 00:33:24,583
that you never got a chance.
529
00:33:24,625 --> 00:33:27,041
You have all white critics
to decide
530
00:33:27,125 --> 00:33:29,000
whether or not
you were good or bad.
531
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,708
It's a pleasure, always,
to welcome Mr Billy Eckstine.
532
00:33:36,583 --> 00:33:38,041
Do black people get bugged...
533
00:33:38,125 --> 00:33:39,875
I think this is one
of the most ironic things
534
00:33:39,958 --> 00:33:41,625
that a man named
Paul Whiteman...
535
00:33:41,708 --> 00:33:43,125
was known as the "King of Jazz".
536
00:33:43,208 --> 00:33:45,333
- Paul Whiteman was a white man.
537
00:33:45,416 --> 00:33:47,458
And, err, jazz is supposed
to be--
538
00:33:47,541 --> 00:33:49,166
Benny Goodman was
the "King of Swing".
539
00:33:55,041 --> 00:33:56,916
:
We used to laugh at the fact
540
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,583
that Benny Goodman was, uh,
King of Swing.
541
00:34:00,375 --> 00:34:03,208
Paul Whiteman, King of Jazz,
you know, these things
542
00:34:03,291 --> 00:34:05,583
they're absolutely comedic!
543
00:34:08,041 --> 00:34:09,125
Look at Tom Jones.
544
00:34:10,833 --> 00:34:13,875
Tom Jones openly declares
that he got his style
545
00:34:13,958 --> 00:34:16,041
from Otis Redding,
from Jackie Wilson
546
00:34:16,125 --> 00:34:17,375
from Chuck Berry
547
00:34:17,458 --> 00:34:19,458
and that he started learning
how to sing ballads
548
00:34:19,541 --> 00:34:20,916
by listening to my records.
549
00:34:21,666 --> 00:34:23,583
Now, all four of us
that they named
550
00:34:23,666 --> 00:34:26,083
where's ours?
Where's our compensation?
551
00:34:26,166 --> 00:34:27,291
Where's your payday?
552
00:34:40,791 --> 00:34:42,541
:
The most remarkable things
553
00:34:42,625 --> 00:34:44,166
about jazz performers...
554
00:34:44,250 --> 00:34:46,541
you're way ahead of so many
of the rest of us
555
00:34:46,583 --> 00:34:48,291
when it comes to de-segregation.
556
00:34:48,875 --> 00:34:52,125
Why is it that the colour thing
has not ever really been
557
00:34:52,208 --> 00:34:54,166
that important with musicians?
558
00:34:54,583 --> 00:34:57,333
:
559
00:35:02,375 --> 00:35:04,208
Who was it
that brought about the job
560
00:35:04,291 --> 00:35:06,500
you did with Artie Shaw
in the old days, you remember?
561
00:35:06,583 --> 00:35:08,333
:
Well, Artie Shaw.
562
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:10,875
He asked me, did I want a job?
563
00:35:11,291 --> 00:35:12,958
So, I says,
"Yeah, I want a job".
564
00:35:13,916 --> 00:35:15,625
:
And there was still a policy
565
00:35:15,708 --> 00:35:18,416
of no coloured singers
being with a white organisation.
566
00:35:18,500 --> 00:35:19,916
Would you tell
that story to us now?
567
00:35:20,125 --> 00:35:22,416
:
568
00:35:26,916 --> 00:35:30,000
I first met Billie
back in around 1930.
569
00:35:31,458 --> 00:35:33,958
Billie was just a young kid then
and I was almost as hungry
570
00:35:34,041 --> 00:35:35,166
in those days as she was.
571
00:35:35,875 --> 00:35:37,750
I remember saying to her
one day, "Billie...
572
00:35:38,083 --> 00:35:39,166
if I ever make the grade
573
00:35:39,250 --> 00:35:41,458
and get a band of my own,
you're gonna sing with it".
574
00:35:42,125 --> 00:35:43,750
And sure enough,
that's what happened.
575
00:35:45,416 --> 00:35:49,250
Do you remember
when Billie first came to sing?
576
00:35:50,708 --> 00:35:52,375
To the best of
my knowledge
577
00:35:52,458 --> 00:35:55,333
it would've had to have been
in either '36 or '37.
578
00:35:56,791 --> 00:35:59,208
We were a travelling group
of minstrels.
579
00:35:59,500 --> 00:36:03,125
We got a bus
and travelled 300 miles.
580
00:36:04,916 --> 00:36:07,541
And the way we carried it out
was part of the life.
581
00:36:09,666 --> 00:36:11,208
Did Billie have
any trouble
582
00:36:11,291 --> 00:36:12,833
as a black singer
with a white band?
583
00:36:12,916 --> 00:36:14,833
Yes, the normal kind
of problems
584
00:36:14,916 --> 00:36:18,208
that would exist for any
black person in those days.
585
00:36:21,666 --> 00:36:23,958
She was remarkable
in that she was a trailblazer
586
00:36:24,041 --> 00:36:26,125
without really, you know--
- Being conscious?
587
00:36:26,208 --> 00:36:28,541
Yeah, she wouldn't
make a thing or anything.
588
00:36:30,208 --> 00:36:33,625
Today, it's hard to even
describe the climate, you know
589
00:36:33,708 --> 00:36:35,916
like waitresses refusing
to server her.
590
00:36:37,166 --> 00:36:41,625
After we would eat, she always
ordered an extra hamburger
591
00:36:42,250 --> 00:36:43,666
and she'd put that
in her purse...
592
00:36:44,541 --> 00:36:46,333
because she never knew
593
00:36:46,416 --> 00:36:48,416
when she would not be able
to be served.
594
00:36:50,916 --> 00:36:52,708
:
The incidents concerning Billie
595
00:36:52,791 --> 00:36:55,500
were mostly concerning finding
a place to stay
596
00:36:55,583 --> 00:36:57,250
wherever we went.
- Mm-hm.
597
00:36:58,083 --> 00:36:59,791
The usual racial problem.
598
00:37:00,833 --> 00:37:03,625
:
599
00:37:04,291 --> 00:37:06,333
We'd get in
in the early morning hours
600
00:37:06,416 --> 00:37:09,458
you see, and many times
she either slept in the car...
601
00:37:09,541 --> 00:37:11,166
the bus, or... wherever.
602
00:37:11,666 --> 00:37:13,083
:
And where would you go?
603
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:15,083
:
To a hotel.
604
00:37:15,166 --> 00:37:16,500
:
How did she take it?
605
00:37:17,375 --> 00:37:21,833
:
606
00:37:22,958 --> 00:37:24,458
:
Do you remember an incident
607
00:37:24,541 --> 00:37:26,625
by any chance,
when you first hit Kentucky
608
00:37:26,708 --> 00:37:29,625
and, uh, the sheriff,
he came up to the band stand
609
00:37:29,708 --> 00:37:31,791
and said, "What's that black
bitch going to sing?"
610
00:37:31,875 --> 00:37:33,583
And there was a brawl
or something?
611
00:37:34,791 --> 00:37:37,750
:
612
00:38:10,166 --> 00:38:13,750
:
613
00:38:14,750 --> 00:38:17,875
Well, he didn't
fire her, she left on her own.
614
00:38:19,583 --> 00:38:20,750
She had a lot of pride.
615
00:38:22,791 --> 00:38:23,958
:
How'd she take it?
616
00:38:24,250 --> 00:38:26,250
Uh...
philosophically, I guess...
617
00:38:26,583 --> 00:38:29,958
in her vulgar language method.
618
00:38:32,291 --> 00:38:34,875
If she had other words
at her disposal
619
00:38:34,958 --> 00:38:36,291
she would've used them.
620
00:38:37,541 --> 00:38:39,875
The only words she could speak
were those in the song.
621
00:38:41,166 --> 00:38:44,083
This beautiful soul she had
that she could only do
622
00:38:44,166 --> 00:38:46,166
by expressing herself singing.
623
00:38:50,375 --> 00:38:53,000
And now a little tune
written especially for me...
624
00:38:53,500 --> 00:38:54,791
"Strange Fruit".
625
00:39:12,875 --> 00:39:16,125
♪ Southern trees ♪
626
00:39:17,291 --> 00:39:22,625
♪ Bear a strange fruit ♪
627
00:39:25,166 --> 00:39:28,333
♪ Blood on the leaves ♪
628
00:39:30,250 --> 00:39:33,333
♪ And blood at the root ♪
629
00:39:35,166 --> 00:39:37,875
♪ Black bodies swingin' ♪
630
00:39:39,708 --> 00:39:42,750
♪ In the southern breeze ♪
631
00:39:44,333 --> 00:39:46,958
♪ Strange fruit hangin' ♪
632
00:39:48,583 --> 00:39:52,833
♪ From the poplar trees ♪
633
00:39:55,250 --> 00:39:59,166
Around '39, she
actually was a Columbia artist
634
00:39:59,708 --> 00:40:02,750
and they gave me permission
to record "Strange Fruit"...
635
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:05,625
which they didn't want
to record.
636
00:40:06,208 --> 00:40:07,208
:
Why not?
637
00:40:07,625 --> 00:40:09,458
:
Because of the social content
638
00:40:09,541 --> 00:40:10,708
of it, I guess.
639
00:40:12,125 --> 00:40:16,208
And how unusual
it was to do a protest song.
640
00:40:19,208 --> 00:40:23,125
That was the thing that made
all the publicity and noise.
641
00:40:23,958 --> 00:40:26,208
♪ Pastoral scene ♪
642
00:40:27,708 --> 00:40:30,916
♪ Of the gallant South ♪
643
00:40:32,416 --> 00:40:36,208
♪ The bulging eyes ♪
644
00:40:37,375 --> 00:40:40,291
♪ And the twisted mouth ♪
645
00:40:41,875 --> 00:40:43,458
:
It was actually a shocking
646
00:40:43,541 --> 00:40:44,458
piece of material.
647
00:40:45,208 --> 00:40:46,708
She would come close
to breaking up
648
00:40:46,791 --> 00:40:48,500
when she was singing
"Strange Fruit".
649
00:40:48,958 --> 00:40:51,000
You can hear the crack
in the voice, huh?
650
00:40:51,541 --> 00:40:53,625
Yeah, yeah,
also in the eyes.
651
00:40:53,708 --> 00:40:56,250
And almost a reflection
of what she had had to do
652
00:40:56,333 --> 00:40:58,791
in her lifetime
in order to make it.
653
00:41:00,625 --> 00:41:04,291
The fact that negroes did not
have equal chances...
654
00:41:05,291 --> 00:41:07,375
this was something that
she felt very deeply...
655
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,125
and about the only way
she could really
656
00:41:10,208 --> 00:41:11,750
crusade or bring these
thoughts together
657
00:41:11,833 --> 00:41:13,666
would be to sing
songs like that.
658
00:41:15,416 --> 00:41:18,416
♪ Scent of magnolia ♪
659
00:41:20,083 --> 00:41:23,208
♪ Sweet and fresh ♪
660
00:41:25,833 --> 00:41:29,916
♪ Then the sudden smell ♪
661
00:41:31,666 --> 00:41:35,958
♪ Of burning flesh ♪
662
00:41:38,375 --> 00:41:40,833
♪ Here is a fruit ♪
663
00:41:42,750 --> 00:41:46,250
♪ For the crows to pluck ♪
664
00:41:48,791 --> 00:41:51,916
♪ For the rain to gather ♪
665
00:41:55,041 --> 00:41:58,666
♪ For the wind to suck ♪
666
00:42:00,708 --> 00:42:04,125
♪ For the sun to rot ♪
667
00:42:06,041 --> 00:42:08,958
♪ For the tree... ♪
668
00:42:10,750 --> 00:42:18,125
♪ ...to drop ♪
669
00:42:19,875 --> 00:42:22,791
♪ Here is a strange... ♪
670
00:42:24,333 --> 00:42:26,791
♪ ...and bitter... ♪
671
00:42:29,541 --> 00:42:35,791
♪ ...crop ♪
672
00:42:43,291 --> 00:42:45,291
Do you remember
the first time she sang
673
00:42:45,375 --> 00:42:46,666
that song at Café Society?
674
00:42:46,750 --> 00:42:49,083
Sure, it's unforgettable.
675
00:42:49,166 --> 00:42:51,208
Every time she sang,
it was unforgettable.
676
00:42:51,833 --> 00:42:54,666
:
♪ Scent of magnolia... ♪
677
00:42:56,416 --> 00:42:59,208
♪ Sweet and fresh ♪
678
00:42:59,625 --> 00:43:02,208
Soon after
the Time Magazine appeared
679
00:43:02,291 --> 00:43:03,708
and the caption read...
680
00:43:03,791 --> 00:43:06,583
"Most unusual song ever
to be heard in a night club".
681
00:43:07,416 --> 00:43:11,375
:
♪ Of burning flesh ♪
682
00:43:12,083 --> 00:43:13,916
:
When she sang "Strange Fruit"
683
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:14,916
she never moved.
684
00:43:15,416 --> 00:43:16,750
Billie stood there...
685
00:43:17,458 --> 00:43:20,250
all service stopped
at the bar, everywhere.
686
00:43:20,708 --> 00:43:22,750
Can you remember
any time where anybody
687
00:43:22,833 --> 00:43:25,083
might have caused any commotion?
- Oh, yes.
688
00:43:25,583 --> 00:43:26,791
I had people walk out.
689
00:43:26,875 --> 00:43:29,250
These are white people?
- White people.
690
00:43:29,375 --> 00:43:30,916
One party after another...
691
00:43:31,541 --> 00:43:33,833
"We come to your nightclub
to be entertained...
692
00:43:34,416 --> 00:43:36,083
and we don't call this
entertainment".
693
00:43:39,583 --> 00:43:41,083
:
"Strange Fruit"...
694
00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:43,916
What is that, man?
695
00:44:05,625 --> 00:44:09,791
The Treasury Department intends
to pursue a relentless warfare
696
00:44:10,166 --> 00:44:13,833
against the despicable
dope peddling vulture
697
00:44:13,916 --> 00:44:15,041
and public enemies.
698
00:44:15,416 --> 00:44:18,166
And we hope to place
the drug addicts arrested
699
00:44:18,791 --> 00:44:20,541
under institutional care.
700
00:44:26,166 --> 00:44:28,166
:
It was Billie's interpretation
701
00:44:28,250 --> 00:44:29,541
of "Strange Fruit"
702
00:44:30,208 --> 00:44:33,083
not the song itself
that changed the direction
703
00:44:33,166 --> 00:44:34,375
of American music.
704
00:44:37,291 --> 00:44:40,958
But not everyone stood
to applaud her primal howl
705
00:44:41,041 --> 00:44:43,458
against the bloody history
of white America.
706
00:44:46,166 --> 00:44:48,291
And her refusal
to stop singing it...
707
00:44:49,333 --> 00:44:51,958
would give vindication
to those powerful men
708
00:44:52,875 --> 00:44:56,291
already circling the decadent
world of jazz
709
00:44:56,583 --> 00:44:58,625
in search
of a high-profile target
710
00:44:59,166 --> 00:45:01,125
to burnish their reputation.
711
00:45:03,083 --> 00:45:06,125
And now that Billie's star shone
so brightly...
712
00:45:07,125 --> 00:45:10,583
she could not easily retreat
back into the night.
713
00:45:16,625 --> 00:45:18,583
I ought to
get myself ready for this.
714
00:45:18,666 --> 00:45:20,541
You know, I'd better have
a couple of drinks
715
00:45:20,625 --> 00:45:22,791
cos if gonna talk about her,
I wanna feel good.
716
00:45:23,583 --> 00:45:27,208
She's something else,
she was really something.
717
00:45:28,750 --> 00:45:30,375
:
When did you first meet her?
718
00:45:30,791 --> 00:45:34,208
:
I met her in 1942.
719
00:45:34,958 --> 00:45:37,333
I was just a kid,
I was only, like, 20 years old.
720
00:45:38,791 --> 00:45:40,333
She used to call me
in there, and...
721
00:45:40,416 --> 00:45:42,416
"You gotta write out the chords
to this tune".
722
00:45:42,833 --> 00:45:44,625
Where was this,
in her dressing room?
723
00:45:44,666 --> 00:45:45,791
:
Yeah!
724
00:45:45,875 --> 00:45:47,125
And she'd stand there
with nothing
725
00:45:47,208 --> 00:45:48,250
but a pair of shoes on.
726
00:45:48,791 --> 00:45:49,791
That was it!
727
00:45:51,083 --> 00:45:52,166
No clothes.
728
00:45:54,958 --> 00:45:57,166
♪ My man don't love me ♪
729
00:45:58,750 --> 00:46:01,666
♪ He treats me oh so mean ♪
730
00:46:05,833 --> 00:46:09,750
♪ My man, he don't love me ♪
731
00:46:11,166 --> 00:46:15,041
♪ He treats me awful mean ♪
732
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:21,875
♪ He's the lowest man ♪
733
00:46:23,791 --> 00:46:27,166
♪ That I've ever seen ♪
734
00:46:28,083 --> 00:46:29,958
:
Her boy was Lester Young...
735
00:46:31,291 --> 00:46:33,125
cos she was always happy
736
00:46:33,208 --> 00:46:35,791
when she knew Pres
was playing for her.
737
00:46:40,875 --> 00:46:42,333
The way he played behind her...
738
00:46:43,166 --> 00:46:46,458
she was just like
she was in her mother's arms.
739
00:46:50,916 --> 00:46:53,791
I liked Lester's
feeling, you know.
740
00:46:54,250 --> 00:46:55,958
When he first started
741
00:46:56,041 --> 00:46:59,458
everyone felt his tone
is too thin
742
00:47:00,166 --> 00:47:02,916
but I told him it doesn't matter
because, you watch
743
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,458
after a while, everybody's gonna
to be copying you.
744
00:47:06,375 --> 00:47:08,625
♪ He wears high-draped pants ♪
745
00:47:10,958 --> 00:47:14,833
♪ Stripes are really yellow ♪
746
00:47:15,416 --> 00:47:17,083
:
They had the funniest way
747
00:47:17,166 --> 00:47:18,416
of loving each other.
748
00:47:18,875 --> 00:47:21,750
It was brother and sister,
but it was another thing.
749
00:47:21,958 --> 00:47:23,666
♪ ...fine and mellow ♪
750
00:47:24,208 --> 00:47:25,875
Anybody that ever knew him
would tell you
751
00:47:25,958 --> 00:47:27,791
he's one of the strangest people
on earth.
752
00:47:29,083 --> 00:47:31,333
He was like a visitor, really.
753
00:47:32,375 --> 00:47:35,333
And she was too, so you can
figure the two of 'em together
754
00:47:35,416 --> 00:47:36,625
is pretty wild.
755
00:47:37,041 --> 00:47:38,583
That was the way it was,
all the time.
756
00:47:40,250 --> 00:47:42,166
But everybody loves
a wild woman.
757
00:47:46,083 --> 00:47:49,375
♪ But you're so mean
to me, baby ♪
758
00:47:50,791 --> 00:47:54,416
♪ I know you gonna
drive me away ♪
759
00:47:54,958 --> 00:47:56,750
:
She sang from her crotch.
760
00:47:58,291 --> 00:48:00,833
You bet she had the greatest
crotch in life!
761
00:48:02,291 --> 00:48:05,125
And, now that I look
back, I'm sorry I missed it.
762
00:48:10,333 --> 00:48:12,125
How do you envision
her sex life?
763
00:48:13,291 --> 00:48:15,583
It had an awful lot
to do with the way she was
764
00:48:15,666 --> 00:48:16,916
with everything she did.
765
00:48:17,625 --> 00:48:19,583
So, you look at Lady Day,
you've gotta include
766
00:48:19,666 --> 00:48:21,458
her sex life,
or you don't look at her.
767
00:48:24,333 --> 00:48:27,833
♪ Sometimes when you think
it's on, baby ♪
768
00:48:29,166 --> 00:48:32,916
♪ It has turned off and gone ♪
769
00:48:46,916 --> 00:48:49,125
:
770
00:49:24,708 --> 00:49:26,708
I know a couple
of good friends of yours
771
00:49:26,791 --> 00:49:28,000
who are not musicians.
772
00:49:28,458 --> 00:49:30,958
Orson Well... Tallulah Bankhead.
773
00:49:31,291 --> 00:49:33,583
:
774
00:49:34,500 --> 00:49:36,625
:
775
00:49:38,125 --> 00:49:41,875
:
776
00:49:45,875 --> 00:49:48,958
:
777
00:49:59,791 --> 00:50:01,916
:
The bar used to be packed
778
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:04,041
with hero-worshippers.
779
00:50:06,750 --> 00:50:08,166
She looked like a panther...
780
00:50:08,458 --> 00:50:09,958
is the only way
I can describe her
781
00:50:10,041 --> 00:50:13,083
with the most unbelievable
face in the world.
782
00:50:15,625 --> 00:50:17,333
She really dug being high
783
00:50:17,416 --> 00:50:19,166
that's one thing
I've got to say.
784
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:22,291
But I never knew anyone
with such a capacity.
785
00:50:25,833 --> 00:50:27,458
:
All the doormen
786
00:50:27,541 --> 00:50:29,500
along 52nd Street
787
00:50:29,583 --> 00:50:31,083
had what Lady needed.
788
00:50:32,500 --> 00:50:33,458
:
Like what?
789
00:50:33,625 --> 00:50:34,958
:
Like pot.
790
00:50:37,958 --> 00:50:42,833
:
791
00:51:20,333 --> 00:51:21,250
:
Why?
792
00:51:21,958 --> 00:51:23,666
Why all those extremes?
793
00:51:24,375 --> 00:51:25,250
Why?
794
00:51:26,125 --> 00:51:29,541
:
795
00:51:30,416 --> 00:51:31,833
:
And why shouldn't she?
796
00:51:39,250 --> 00:51:43,333
:
797
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:20,625
:
798
00:52:21,083 --> 00:52:23,041
:
799
00:52:32,875 --> 00:52:37,541
:
800
00:52:38,750 --> 00:52:42,750
:
801
00:52:44,000 --> 00:52:47,875
:
802
00:52:48,541 --> 00:52:50,916
:
803
00:52:53,916 --> 00:52:56,291
And would you say
Billie was extremely smart
804
00:52:56,375 --> 00:52:57,541
in protecting herself?
805
00:52:58,250 --> 00:53:01,250
:
806
00:53:07,833 --> 00:53:11,416
:
807
00:53:13,416 --> 00:53:17,750
:
808
00:54:00,750 --> 00:54:03,791
:
809
00:54:04,166 --> 00:54:05,208
:
810
00:54:06,333 --> 00:54:10,541
:
811
00:54:55,166 --> 00:54:56,875
:
And she was in the hotel?
812
00:54:57,583 --> 00:55:00,875
:
813
00:55:18,291 --> 00:55:21,791
:
814
00:55:28,166 --> 00:55:31,625
:
815
00:55:34,041 --> 00:55:38,208
:
816
00:55:51,250 --> 00:55:52,916
:
Here at Alderson...
817
00:55:53,000 --> 00:55:55,541
the system was that
when a person came in
818
00:55:55,666 --> 00:55:58,166
who was on drugs at the time
819
00:55:58,250 --> 00:56:00,208
that they were sent
to the hospital
820
00:56:00,625 --> 00:56:02,791
and remained there
until they were drug free.
821
00:56:04,458 --> 00:56:07,375
This prison was segregated
as to race.
822
00:56:10,208 --> 00:56:12,291
She really went into
the woodwork here.
823
00:56:13,166 --> 00:56:15,666
She had made up her mind
that she was just going
824
00:56:15,750 --> 00:56:18,750
to do her time and get out
as fast as she could.
825
00:56:20,875 --> 00:56:23,458
:
This was the room she occupied.
826
00:56:24,375 --> 00:56:26,500
She certainly was
no trouble ever.
827
00:56:26,583 --> 00:56:27,458
She was a...
828
00:56:28,291 --> 00:56:31,208
generous person,
I'd say, uh...
829
00:56:32,375 --> 00:56:33,750
in thought, anyway.
830
00:56:33,833 --> 00:56:36,208
She never bothered anybody.
831
00:56:37,666 --> 00:56:39,500
:
It's almost impossible
832
00:56:39,583 --> 00:56:41,041
to say how quiet she was.
833
00:56:42,291 --> 00:56:44,750
To my knowledge,
she never sang a note.
834
00:56:59,250 --> 00:57:02,125
It took Linda
a long time to work on the book.
835
00:57:03,500 --> 00:57:04,875
Eight years of her life.
836
00:57:06,541 --> 00:57:09,333
She had some bad times,
and, uh, we would get calls
837
00:57:09,416 --> 00:57:10,833
in the middle of the night.
838
00:57:12,833 --> 00:57:14,875
:
I just don't feel like doing it.
839
00:57:15,500 --> 00:57:18,083
All this shoulda been done
about this woman before she died
840
00:57:18,166 --> 00:57:19,833
not after she's dead,
and everybody's...
841
00:57:20,291 --> 00:57:22,625
just going through all kinds
of shit about it now
842
00:57:22,708 --> 00:57:24,708
cos I've had it up to here
with that shit.
843
00:57:26,708 --> 00:57:28,875
As the time
went on, she kept pushing
844
00:57:28,958 --> 00:57:31,625
her own set deadline
further and further.
845
00:57:33,708 --> 00:57:36,416
At one point, I remember
we had a discussion
846
00:57:36,541 --> 00:57:38,583
and I said, "You know,
maybe it's just time
847
00:57:38,666 --> 00:57:41,166
to finish it, and to leave it
imperfect".
848
00:57:41,833 --> 00:57:45,291
But she couldn't,
it was so much part of her.
849
00:57:47,083 --> 00:57:49,208
The reason that Linda struggled
so much
850
00:57:49,541 --> 00:57:52,000
was that inside her own head
851
00:57:52,083 --> 00:57:55,000
she heard the voice that
she wanted Billie to have...
852
00:57:55,875 --> 00:57:59,250
but she couldn't get
that correct voice on paper.
853
00:58:02,791 --> 00:58:07,625
♪ Just one more chance ♪
854
00:58:10,666 --> 00:58:12,708
♪ I've learned the meaning... ♪
855
00:58:12,916 --> 00:58:15,041
Haven't you gotta
find a piano man
856
00:58:15,125 --> 00:58:16,500
of your own
that you bring in there?
857
00:58:16,583 --> 00:58:18,000
Yes, he goes
everywhere with me.
858
00:58:18,083 --> 00:58:19,541
His name is Bobby Tucker.
859
00:58:19,666 --> 00:58:23,083
Bobby's been with me four years,
and he's a very great musician.
860
00:58:24,583 --> 00:58:26,375
:
After she came out of jail
861
00:58:26,458 --> 00:58:28,541
she was so glad to get back
862
00:58:28,625 --> 00:58:31,708
and she was so amazed that
people hadn't forgotten her.
863
00:58:34,833 --> 00:58:36,458
♪ Still I'm hoping... ♪
864
00:58:36,666 --> 00:58:39,375
:
We did Carnegie Concert Hall.
865
00:58:41,416 --> 00:58:42,625
I remember opening night.
866
00:58:42,708 --> 00:58:44,458
There was a line
around the block
867
00:58:44,500 --> 00:58:46,833
and the people were standing
out there in really waiting
868
00:58:46,916 --> 00:58:48,916
to see what a women prisoner
looked like.
869
00:58:52,041 --> 00:58:53,916
What happened
in Carnegie Hall?
870
00:58:54,000 --> 00:58:54,958
Were you frightened?
871
00:58:55,041 --> 00:58:56,625
:
Oh, I was scared to death.
872
00:58:56,708 --> 00:58:58,166
I waited until the last minute
873
00:58:58,250 --> 00:58:59,666
and I said I wasn't going
to go on.
874
00:58:59,708 --> 00:59:01,708
There's too many people.
875
00:59:02,500 --> 00:59:04,583
And I couldn't control my knees!
876
00:59:05,250 --> 00:59:07,541
Boy, you could see my knees
is going
877
00:59:07,625 --> 00:59:10,000
and people didn't know
if I was going to dance or sing.
878
00:59:16,083 --> 00:59:18,500
♪ Still I'm hoping... ♪
879
00:59:19,333 --> 00:59:21,083
:
She would walk out
880
00:59:21,166 --> 00:59:23,833
and before she opens her mouth
881
00:59:24,708 --> 00:59:27,416
she had everybody in the place.
882
00:59:27,833 --> 00:59:29,583
♪ ...somewhere... ♪
883
00:59:32,416 --> 00:59:34,625
♪ I said that I... ♪
884
00:59:34,708 --> 00:59:36,291
She didn't
really think that she was
885
00:59:36,375 --> 00:59:37,708
a very good singer.
886
00:59:37,791 --> 00:59:39,666
She could tell a story.
887
00:59:40,541 --> 00:59:42,500
She had no confidence
in her voice?
888
00:59:42,583 --> 00:59:44,500
No.
- None at all?
889
00:59:45,791 --> 00:59:48,250
Actresses, artists,
I look at them
890
00:59:48,375 --> 00:59:49,500
like "woah".
891
00:59:49,583 --> 00:59:50,750
:
And you don't consider yourself
892
00:59:50,833 --> 00:59:51,833
in the same league?
893
00:59:51,916 --> 00:59:53,375
:
No, my God, no!
894
00:59:53,458 --> 00:59:54,500
:
Why not?
895
00:59:54,583 --> 00:59:55,958
You've thought as much about it.
896
00:59:56,083 --> 00:59:58,291
You have developed a style,
a technique, just as much
897
00:59:58,375 --> 01:00:00,833
as they have done,
you please just as many people
898
01:00:00,916 --> 01:00:02,833
so, why are you not just
as much an artiste
899
01:00:02,916 --> 01:00:04,125
as any one of them?
900
01:00:04,375 --> 01:00:07,875
:
901
01:00:13,833 --> 01:00:15,250
:
Oh, I think you do.
902
01:00:15,375 --> 01:00:16,583
I think you do know that.
903
01:00:17,375 --> 01:00:19,583
What was the difference
between what Ella did
904
01:00:19,666 --> 01:00:20,708
and Billie?
905
01:00:21,166 --> 01:00:23,416
:
906
01:00:38,208 --> 01:00:40,250
She taught me
that if you almost
907
01:00:40,333 --> 01:00:41,583
laugh out loud
908
01:00:41,666 --> 01:00:44,250
but never quite make it,
the audience will laugh.
909
01:00:45,750 --> 01:00:48,541
If you almost cry,
but never quite make it
910
01:00:48,666 --> 01:00:50,083
the audience will cry.
911
01:00:52,833 --> 01:00:54,041
:
When would she cry?
912
01:00:54,458 --> 01:00:56,250
:
She'd cry about a lot of things
913
01:00:56,333 --> 01:00:59,041
but never when she thought
anybody was watching her.
914
01:00:59,250 --> 01:01:01,500
♪ ...to cry my heart out ♪
915
01:01:03,375 --> 01:01:05,291
♪ For just... ♪
916
01:01:05,833 --> 01:01:07,958
:
Nobody could sing like Lady.
917
01:01:08,041 --> 01:01:09,041
Not ever.
918
01:01:10,708 --> 01:01:12,625
We worked
the Club Ebony together.
919
01:01:14,333 --> 01:01:16,916
That's when John Levy
came into the spotlight.
920
01:01:26,541 --> 01:01:28,083
:
John became manager
921
01:01:28,875 --> 01:01:30,875
sometimes called
"husband-manager"...
922
01:01:32,166 --> 01:01:33,375
though he never married her
923
01:01:33,458 --> 01:01:35,500
because he was already married
and had a son.
924
01:01:37,541 --> 01:01:39,208
But Billie did not care about
925
01:01:39,291 --> 01:01:41,125
such legal considerations,
anyway.
926
01:01:42,666 --> 01:01:44,791
She did not relate
to legal codes.
927
01:01:46,375 --> 01:01:50,041
She did what she wanted
to do with a vengeance.
928
01:01:55,250 --> 01:01:57,916
♪ It costs me lot ♪
929
01:02:00,291 --> 01:02:02,791
♪ But there's one thing ♪
930
01:02:03,916 --> 01:02:06,166
♪ That I've got ♪
931
01:02:07,666 --> 01:02:11,791
♪ It's my man ♪
932
01:02:12,458 --> 01:02:14,708
:
John Levy, right!
933
01:02:14,791 --> 01:02:15,875
The bastard!
934
01:02:15,958 --> 01:02:18,625
The dirty, rotten,
stinking bastard!
935
01:02:18,708 --> 01:02:21,166
There is nothing good
you could say about that man?
936
01:02:21,250 --> 01:02:22,458
:
Not one thing, sweetheart.
937
01:02:22,541 --> 01:02:24,125
I try to say something good
about, you know...
938
01:02:24,208 --> 01:02:25,750
There's no reason
to say anything good...
939
01:02:25,791 --> 01:02:27,708
No reason to say
anything good about him.
940
01:02:27,791 --> 01:02:31,416
♪ All of this I'll soon forget ♪
941
01:02:32,916 --> 01:02:36,166
♪ With my man ♪
942
01:02:36,625 --> 01:02:38,500
:
John Levy is a pimp.
943
01:02:39,083 --> 01:02:40,166
A parasite.
944
01:02:40,458 --> 01:02:42,916
I wouldn't wanna brush up
with him if I had overalls on.
945
01:02:43,541 --> 01:02:45,875
:
♪ He's no hero ♪
946
01:02:45,958 --> 01:02:47,875
:
See, these kind of guys
947
01:02:47,958 --> 01:02:50,166
with the Cadillac,
or whatever...
948
01:02:50,541 --> 01:02:52,166
they represented
something to Lady.
949
01:02:52,250 --> 01:02:54,208
They represented
what she came up for.
950
01:02:54,291 --> 01:02:55,291
:
Yeah.
951
01:02:55,416 --> 01:03:00,291
♪ Yes, I love him ♪
952
01:03:02,125 --> 01:03:06,041
♪ Two or three girls has he ♪
953
01:03:07,541 --> 01:03:11,708
♪ That he likes as well as me ♪
954
01:03:13,083 --> 01:03:15,458
♪ But I love him ♪
955
01:03:15,833 --> 01:03:18,166
I usually spit
after John Levy.
956
01:03:19,750 --> 01:03:21,958
If she'd ask him for 50 dollars,
he'd knock her down!
957
01:03:22,333 --> 01:03:23,625
:
How'd he knock her down?
958
01:03:23,708 --> 01:03:24,791
:
With his fist!
959
01:03:24,833 --> 01:03:26,000
:
His fist in her face?
960
01:03:26,083 --> 01:03:27,416
:
You darned right!
961
01:03:27,500 --> 01:03:29,541
In the stomach, anywhere.
962
01:03:30,458 --> 01:03:34,125
♪ He beats me too ♪
963
01:03:37,166 --> 01:03:42,458
♪ What can I do ♪
964
01:03:44,625 --> 01:03:46,958
If she was
hooked, she was hooked.
965
01:03:47,333 --> 01:03:48,666
And I mean on...
966
01:03:49,500 --> 01:03:52,083
men, chick, dope...
whatever it was.
967
01:03:53,125 --> 01:03:54,291
She was hooked.
968
01:03:55,750 --> 01:03:57,958
♪ But I don't care ♪
969
01:03:58,916 --> 01:04:02,208
♪ When he takes me in his arms ♪
970
01:04:03,958 --> 01:04:10,666
♪ The world is bright alright ♪
971
01:04:10,791 --> 01:04:13,125
:
She's up there singing "My Man".
972
01:04:13,583 --> 01:04:15,791
See, a masochist is what
she was.
973
01:04:17,250 --> 01:04:20,750
All she wanted was a guy
who'd tell her he loved her...
974
01:04:20,833 --> 01:04:22,958
you know, but not all the time
975
01:04:23,041 --> 01:04:24,750
because she digs punishment.
976
01:04:25,416 --> 01:04:26,666
So, when he does say it
977
01:04:26,750 --> 01:04:28,583
it's gotta mean something
real wild
978
01:04:28,708 --> 01:04:30,916
you know, like in the middle
of something crazy.
979
01:04:32,208 --> 01:04:36,625
♪ I'm his... ♪
980
01:04:37,375 --> 01:04:42,458
♪ ...forever... ♪
981
01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:49,416
♪ ...more ♪
982
01:04:53,833 --> 01:05:00,000
:
983
01:05:00,708 --> 01:05:04,166
:
984
01:05:36,791 --> 01:05:42,958
:
985
01:05:47,375 --> 01:05:49,208
:
986
01:05:50,208 --> 01:05:53,458
:
987
01:05:53,708 --> 01:05:56,500
:
988
01:06:11,875 --> 01:06:14,791
:
989
01:06:22,541 --> 01:06:25,750
:
990
01:06:25,833 --> 01:06:26,833
:
Why not?
991
01:06:27,625 --> 01:06:30,541
:
992
01:07:36,583 --> 01:07:40,458
:
993
01:07:40,875 --> 01:07:43,875
:
994
01:07:45,375 --> 01:07:46,500
:
995
01:07:47,750 --> 01:07:49,750
:
996
01:07:58,875 --> 01:08:00,541
:
Billie was indicted.
997
01:08:02,625 --> 01:08:04,125
As soon as she was arrested
998
01:08:04,708 --> 01:08:07,041
I immediately put her
in Twin Pines
999
01:08:07,208 --> 01:08:09,666
kept her under
full psychiatric controls
1000
01:08:10,041 --> 01:08:11,916
for five days and proved
1001
01:08:12,000 --> 01:08:14,125
that she was not addicted
to an opiate.
1002
01:08:15,500 --> 01:08:17,083
:
Now, you made observations.
1003
01:08:17,166 --> 01:08:19,083
You have to, especially
if you're a psychiatrist.
1004
01:08:19,166 --> 01:08:20,750
But what's made her
the way she is?
1005
01:08:20,833 --> 01:08:24,250
What drove her to a series
of John Levys, to heroin?
1006
01:08:25,000 --> 01:08:27,041
:
I don't like to use this word
1007
01:08:27,125 --> 01:08:29,375
and it's not a good word, but...
1008
01:08:30,541 --> 01:08:32,083
she's really a psychopath.
1009
01:08:33,750 --> 01:08:35,000
:
A psychopath?
1010
01:08:37,041 --> 01:08:39,208
:
An impulse-driven...
1011
01:08:39,500 --> 01:08:41,916
strong, talented...
1012
01:08:42,500 --> 01:08:44,708
but not dependable individual...
1013
01:08:45,583 --> 01:08:49,625
who does this because this is
what she has the impulse to do
1014
01:08:49,708 --> 01:08:51,958
right now, and she gets
into all sorts of trouble.
1015
01:08:53,291 --> 01:08:54,416
:
A psychopath.
1016
01:08:56,833 --> 01:08:58,458
:
Key to this thing
1017
01:08:58,541 --> 01:08:59,916
is the impulse.
1018
01:09:01,208 --> 01:09:02,958
Was there
any perversity in this?
1019
01:09:04,208 --> 01:09:06,708
When I said "perversity",
I meant a demon.
1020
01:09:07,083 --> 01:09:09,833
You know, there's a demon
sometimes eating away at...
1021
01:09:10,750 --> 01:09:12,750
It kinda forces you to...
1022
01:09:13,083 --> 01:09:16,500
do something that's going to
illicit some kind of shock.
1023
01:09:18,875 --> 01:09:21,375
And this is something
I can identify with.
1024
01:09:28,041 --> 01:09:29,708
:
As Linda went on
1025
01:09:29,791 --> 01:09:32,333
the identification
became much more intense.
1026
01:09:34,666 --> 01:09:38,750
Like Billie, she was attracted
to men who were not bringing out
1027
01:09:38,833 --> 01:09:40,375
necessarily the best in her.
1028
01:09:41,833 --> 01:09:44,166
She was married twice,
and she was divorced twice.
1029
01:09:47,666 --> 01:09:49,000
While she was writing
the book...
1030
01:09:49,833 --> 01:09:52,916
Linda became close with some of
the people she interviewed.
1031
01:10:00,333 --> 01:10:02,083
One time we were in
our apartment
1032
01:10:02,291 --> 01:10:04,708
the phone rang,
and a man's voice said
1033
01:10:05,416 --> 01:10:06,708
"Can I speak to Linda?"
1034
01:10:07,041 --> 01:10:08,791
Of course I asked,
"Who's calling?"
1035
01:10:09,250 --> 01:10:10,916
and he said, "Well, it's Bill".
1036
01:10:13,083 --> 01:10:15,291
Linda said,
"Do you know who Bill is?"
1037
01:10:15,375 --> 01:10:16,875
I said, "No".
1038
01:10:16,958 --> 01:10:18,291
And she says,
"Well, you do
1039
01:10:18,375 --> 01:10:19,583
it's Count Basie".
1040
01:10:22,375 --> 01:10:24,083
:
Ask me a question about Billie.
1041
01:10:24,750 --> 01:10:27,041
:
1042
01:10:47,375 --> 01:10:50,000
:
1043
01:10:50,333 --> 01:10:51,875
:
1044
01:10:52,916 --> 01:10:55,625
:
1045
01:10:56,333 --> 01:10:57,791
:
1046
01:10:58,041 --> 01:11:01,166
:
1047
01:11:03,708 --> 01:11:06,208
I'm not sure
what Linda's relationship
1048
01:11:06,291 --> 01:11:08,208
with Basie actually was.
1049
01:11:11,583 --> 01:11:14,208
It's an impression that
there was a closeness
1050
01:11:14,708 --> 01:11:16,833
based on what she had said
to me.
1051
01:11:23,875 --> 01:11:26,041
I understand
that one of the reasons
1052
01:11:26,125 --> 01:11:28,458
for your present happiness
is your husband Louis.
1053
01:11:28,541 --> 01:11:31,166
How does he react to some
of your more suggestive things?
1054
01:11:31,250 --> 01:11:35,083
Ah, no, he tells me how to sing
and what to sing
1055
01:11:35,166 --> 01:11:37,041
and, oh, it's just getting
terrible.
1056
01:11:38,291 --> 01:11:39,666
Well,
your husband's right here
1057
01:11:39,750 --> 01:11:41,875
in the dressing room with us.
Mr Louis McKay.
1058
01:11:42,625 --> 01:11:44,458
:
Mr McKay, tell us something
1059
01:11:44,541 --> 01:11:46,375
about how you two work together.
1060
01:11:46,750 --> 01:11:48,166
Well, we have
something like
1061
01:11:48,250 --> 01:11:49,333
a private agreement.
1062
01:11:49,416 --> 01:11:52,250
I handle all the business,
she handles all the music.
1063
01:11:52,500 --> 01:11:53,750
Though she tells me
sometimes
1064
01:11:53,833 --> 01:11:55,166
"You stay outta my music".
1065
01:11:55,375 --> 01:11:57,083
And does she
stay out of the business?
1066
01:11:57,166 --> 01:11:59,166
Yes, she does.
- Then you'll get along fine.
1067
01:11:59,250 --> 01:12:01,125
What else are
you doing besides the records
1068
01:12:01,208 --> 01:12:02,708
and touring around the spots?
1069
01:12:03,041 --> 01:12:05,458
Well, 12th October,
my dream is
1070
01:12:05,541 --> 01:12:07,416
supposed to come true.
I'm going to Europe.
1071
01:12:07,541 --> 01:12:08,958
:
Oh, you've never been there?
1072
01:12:09,041 --> 01:12:10,333
No.
- Oh! Well...
1073
01:12:10,416 --> 01:12:11,916
:
I've always wanted to go.
1074
01:12:14,583 --> 01:12:16,875
Is this
a vacation trip to Europe, or?
1075
01:12:17,000 --> 01:12:20,833
No, honey,
no vacations, all work.
1076
01:12:22,458 --> 01:12:25,375
♪ Are the stars out tonight? ♪
1077
01:12:25,958 --> 01:12:28,625
♪ I don't know
if it's cloudy or bright ♪
1078
01:12:30,958 --> 01:12:34,750
♪ For I only have eyes
for you, dear ♪
1079
01:12:36,541 --> 01:12:38,541
♪ The moon may be high ♪
1080
01:12:38,833 --> 01:12:41,708
♪ Millions of people go by ♪
1081
01:12:42,916 --> 01:12:46,500
♪ But I only have eyes for you ♪
1082
01:12:48,416 --> 01:12:53,541
♪ I don't know
if we're in a garden ♪
1083
01:12:55,125 --> 01:12:58,875
♪ Or on a crowded avenue ♪
1084
01:12:59,791 --> 01:13:02,750
♪ You are here, so am I ♪
1085
01:13:03,666 --> 01:13:06,208
♪ Millions of people go by ♪
1086
01:13:07,625 --> 01:13:11,208
♪ But they all disappear
from view ♪
1087
01:13:12,458 --> 01:13:17,666
♪ And I only have eyes for you ♪
1088
01:13:18,708 --> 01:13:20,041
What is it that
you're after
1089
01:13:20,125 --> 01:13:21,083
out of life
yourself, Billie, now?
1090
01:13:21,208 --> 01:13:25,875
:
1091
01:13:31,208 --> 01:13:33,250
:
She'd always wanted children...
1092
01:13:33,333 --> 01:13:34,458
never able to have any.
1093
01:13:36,041 --> 01:13:38,166
I just had two girls then.
1094
01:13:39,916 --> 01:13:42,083
She used to love to paint
them fingernails.
1095
01:13:42,541 --> 01:13:44,250
And she would sing to 'em
1096
01:13:44,333 --> 01:13:46,208
and she would
take them shopping.
1097
01:13:47,458 --> 01:13:50,250
♪ You are here, so am I ♪
1098
01:13:50,916 --> 01:13:53,708
♪ Millions of people go by ♪
1099
01:13:55,041 --> 01:13:58,500
♪ But they all disappear
from view ♪
1100
01:13:59,916 --> 01:14:03,541
It was
her dream to retire someday
1101
01:14:03,833 --> 01:14:06,541
with enough money
to buy a big spread
1102
01:14:07,083 --> 01:14:10,458
and have a home for children
who had no mother and father.
1103
01:14:11,041 --> 01:14:13,541
♪ And I only have eyes ♪
1104
01:14:14,333 --> 01:14:16,666
♪ Big bulging eyes ♪
1105
01:14:17,833 --> 01:14:20,041
♪ Great big eyes ♪
1106
01:14:20,166 --> 01:14:22,125
♪ For you ♪
1107
01:14:22,208 --> 01:14:24,083
But he was
just using her
1108
01:14:24,166 --> 01:14:25,958
to get control of her money.
1109
01:14:36,958 --> 01:14:39,583
I was with her
during the return to New York.
1110
01:14:40,041 --> 01:14:42,125
This was a tremendously big
concert.
1111
01:14:42,625 --> 01:14:45,083
I'm sure you've been told
all the people that were on it.
1112
01:14:45,541 --> 01:14:50,000
Duke Ellington's orchestra,
Sarah Vaughan, Bird, Prez...
1113
01:14:50,833 --> 01:14:52,000
Count Basie.
1114
01:14:53,541 --> 01:14:55,666
But it seemed like
everybody there
1115
01:14:55,750 --> 01:14:57,750
had come to see one person.
1116
01:14:58,750 --> 01:15:00,375
And now I'd like
you to know America's
1117
01:15:00,458 --> 01:15:02,958
number one song stylist,
Miss Billie Holiday.
1118
01:15:06,250 --> 01:15:07,833
:
She closed the show.
1119
01:15:10,166 --> 01:15:14,000
And she sang encore
after encore after encore.
1120
01:15:14,083 --> 01:15:15,791
If we stayed on that stage
an hour...
1121
01:15:15,875 --> 01:15:17,875
we stayed on
an hour and 30 minutes.
1122
01:15:23,583 --> 01:15:26,541
Well, after the concert
was the fight.
1123
01:15:29,208 --> 01:15:33,500
Louis began to loudmouth,
and that started a big rumble...
1124
01:15:34,083 --> 01:15:36,666
which then we all ended up
out in the street...
1125
01:15:38,291 --> 01:15:41,625
and he literally knocked her
across the street.
1126
01:15:44,625 --> 01:15:46,208
But she loved that punishment.
1127
01:15:47,208 --> 01:15:49,166
This is the nature
of a masochist.
1128
01:15:51,125 --> 01:15:55,166
After he had just beaten her
severely and kicked her...
1129
01:15:55,291 --> 01:15:57,291
is that after they had gotten
the punishment
1130
01:15:57,375 --> 01:16:00,041
then they had been
so completely gratified
1131
01:16:00,125 --> 01:16:04,083
then they can just enter
into a sexual tryst.
1132
01:16:08,291 --> 01:16:12,458
Louis had a technique going
of trying to control her mind.
1133
01:16:13,083 --> 01:16:14,333
It was like hypnotism.
1134
01:16:14,500 --> 01:16:16,458
"You can't depend on anyone
but me".
1135
01:16:16,750 --> 01:16:19,625
"You have no friends but me,
you must stay in here
1136
01:16:19,708 --> 01:16:22,125
and keep yourself away
from everyone but me".
1137
01:16:24,875 --> 01:16:27,916
There were days when he just
kept her under lock and key.
1138
01:16:32,416 --> 01:16:33,833
He'd boss her around...
1139
01:16:34,666 --> 01:16:36,500
and tell her
she "couldn't do this"
1140
01:16:36,583 --> 01:16:37,791
she "couldn't do that".
1141
01:16:38,250 --> 01:16:40,083
And she wanted something
to eat, and he'd say
1142
01:16:40,166 --> 01:16:42,166
"Go on to bed, you don't need
anything to eat".
1143
01:16:44,250 --> 01:16:45,875
And she lost so much weight.
1144
01:16:47,083 --> 01:16:48,833
She looked like a skeleton.
1145
01:16:51,916 --> 01:16:53,958
:
If you were to talk to Louis
1146
01:16:54,041 --> 01:16:56,375
he would probably tell you
an entirely different story.
1147
01:16:56,458 --> 01:16:57,875
He's a pathological liar.
1148
01:17:00,708 --> 01:17:02,333
And he'd probably ask for money.
1149
01:17:04,000 --> 01:17:05,958
There was a time he came up
to the apartment
1150
01:17:06,041 --> 01:17:07,500
after he hit her on the head.
1151
01:17:07,750 --> 01:17:09,750
He said he hit her
on the head with a telephone?
1152
01:17:09,833 --> 01:17:11,958
Yeah,
I locked her in my bathroom.
1153
01:17:13,208 --> 01:17:15,916
He came and he said,
"I got a gun here".
1154
01:17:22,250 --> 01:17:23,958
:
See, I can't... I can't write
1155
01:17:24,041 --> 01:17:26,958
whether you're telling me
something about Louis or not.
1156
01:17:27,083 --> 01:17:29,000
I can't say it, write it
1157
01:17:29,083 --> 01:17:30,583
because I'm liable
1158
01:17:30,666 --> 01:17:32,916
and he's alive and he's tough.
- Yeah, mm-hm.
1159
01:17:33,750 --> 01:17:35,208
:
I'm in trouble, not you.
1160
01:17:43,666 --> 01:17:46,166
In the process
of interviewing for the book
1161
01:17:47,000 --> 01:17:48,583
Linda had been threatened...
1162
01:17:50,000 --> 01:17:52,875
by people within the world
that she was travelling.
1163
01:17:55,875 --> 01:17:57,791
I don't know why
she was threatened.
1164
01:17:58,458 --> 01:18:01,041
She was a journalist,
she was interviewing...
1165
01:18:02,333 --> 01:18:05,208
but I think the threat
was personally motivated.
1166
01:18:08,916 --> 01:18:11,625
At times, she said there was
discomfort
1167
01:18:11,708 --> 01:18:13,958
with how she was spoken to
1168
01:18:14,041 --> 01:18:18,208
in terms of having
a relationship with Basie.
1169
01:18:21,083 --> 01:18:23,791
I don't know whether it was
because of the age.
1170
01:18:23,875 --> 01:18:26,083
I just know she had been
threatened.
1171
01:18:26,916 --> 01:18:31,541
Not by Basie, but by some
of the people surrounding him.
1172
01:18:33,166 --> 01:18:34,791
:
OK, uh...
1173
01:18:34,875 --> 01:18:37,208
I guess we're gonna end now.
Do you know something?
1174
01:18:37,291 --> 01:18:39,083
This is the end
of our interview.
1175
01:18:43,416 --> 01:18:47,208
♪ I'll never smile again ♪
1176
01:18:50,750 --> 01:18:54,916
♪ Until I smile at you ♪
1177
01:19:00,041 --> 01:19:03,666
♪ I'll never laugh again ♪
1178
01:19:06,583 --> 01:19:08,333
♪ What good would it do? ♪
1179
01:19:08,500 --> 01:19:13,458
:
1180
01:19:20,500 --> 01:19:21,916
I was in love with Billie...
1181
01:19:22,791 --> 01:19:25,250
not necessarily Billie,
but somebody.
1182
01:19:26,125 --> 01:19:27,916
That voice, it turned me on.
1183
01:19:30,125 --> 01:19:32,208
But when I met her,
she was a repulsive.
1184
01:19:33,916 --> 01:19:36,166
She looked a little scabby,
a little dirty.
1185
01:19:43,625 --> 01:19:45,916
Poor Billie,
her heart was just broken.
1186
01:20:32,166 --> 01:20:34,833
Of all the songs
you've written, Billie Holiday
1187
01:20:34,916 --> 01:20:37,458
which one most clearly tells
your story?
1188
01:20:38,458 --> 01:20:40,458
:
Oh, I think "Don't Explain".
1189
01:20:40,541 --> 01:20:42,416
Did you write
the words and the music?
1190
01:20:42,500 --> 01:20:43,666
Yes.
- Both of them?
1191
01:20:43,750 --> 01:20:45,083
:
I had help with it.
1192
01:20:45,416 --> 01:20:48,333
Close your eyes
and speak the words like a poet.
1193
01:20:50,750 --> 01:20:54,583
:
Um, hush now, don't explain.
1194
01:20:55,875 --> 01:20:58,000
I know you raised Cain.
1195
01:20:59,083 --> 01:21:00,791
I'm glad that you're back.
1196
01:21:01,458 --> 01:21:02,666
Don't explain.
1197
01:21:04,291 --> 01:21:06,541
Quiet, don't explain.
1198
01:21:07,458 --> 01:21:09,916
You mixed with some dame.
1199
01:21:11,083 --> 01:21:12,666
Skip that lipstick.
1200
01:21:13,458 --> 01:21:14,833
Don't explain.
1201
01:21:17,416 --> 01:21:21,458
♪ You know that I love you ♪
1202
01:21:22,333 --> 01:21:26,666
♪ And what love endures ♪
1203
01:21:28,583 --> 01:21:33,041
♪ All my thoughts are of you ♪
1204
01:21:34,291 --> 01:21:39,500
♪ For I'm so completely yours ♪
1205
01:21:40,291 --> 01:21:42,708
She would call
me up maybe three
1206
01:21:42,791 --> 01:21:44,708
three thirty, four o'clock
in the morning...
1207
01:21:45,375 --> 01:21:46,958
and it seemed like she was...
1208
01:21:47,666 --> 01:21:49,250
almost hallucinating...
1209
01:21:49,916 --> 01:21:51,833
and she would say,
"Oh, I'm so scared
1210
01:21:51,916 --> 01:21:53,541
I'm here all by myself".
1211
01:21:55,666 --> 01:21:57,833
But she would talk to me
for hours
1212
01:21:57,916 --> 01:22:01,166
and tell me about how
she got started in prostitution.
1213
01:22:02,125 --> 01:22:03,708
She was 13 years old
1214
01:22:04,125 --> 01:22:07,125
and at that time, she had
her own girls on the street.
1215
01:22:09,166 --> 01:22:11,208
She was terribly worried
1216
01:22:11,291 --> 01:22:13,458
about whether or not
God would forgive her.
1217
01:22:15,875 --> 01:22:19,000
♪ My life ♪
1218
01:22:20,541 --> 01:22:24,791
♪ Yours, love ♪
1219
01:22:26,875 --> 01:22:28,458
♪ Don't explain ♪
1220
01:22:33,666 --> 01:22:35,458
:
1221
01:22:49,625 --> 01:22:51,208
:
1222
01:22:51,916 --> 01:22:54,833
:
1223
01:23:02,250 --> 01:23:04,000
:
As far as I'm concerned
1224
01:23:04,541 --> 01:23:10,583
her use of narcotics was just
another way of self-punishment.
1225
01:23:14,000 --> 01:23:16,458
She told me
that when she was a little girl
1226
01:23:16,791 --> 01:23:18,166
down in her hometown...
1227
01:23:19,208 --> 01:23:20,333
she was raped.
1228
01:23:23,458 --> 01:23:25,166
- Who raped her?
1229
01:23:25,833 --> 01:23:27,208
:
She didn't tell me.
1230
01:23:28,166 --> 01:23:30,000
There were tears in her eyes.
1231
01:23:36,791 --> 01:23:40,125
She was always
a vulnerable child to me.
1232
01:23:42,500 --> 01:23:45,916
I don't think she was ever
really in love in her life.
1233
01:23:47,625 --> 01:23:50,125
Nor ever knew what it was.
1234
01:23:52,291 --> 01:23:53,666
She just suffered.
1235
01:24:00,625 --> 01:24:03,416
:
1236
01:24:46,666 --> 01:24:48,375
She went to hospital
on the Sunday.
1237
01:24:49,541 --> 01:24:50,958
She knew she was dying.
1238
01:24:53,041 --> 01:24:54,250
That damn hospital.
1239
01:24:55,416 --> 01:24:58,458
They had her under arrest,
this woman laying in bed.
1240
01:25:04,375 --> 01:25:06,291
:
But she did tell me one time
1241
01:25:06,375 --> 01:25:08,125
that if they ever
arrested her again
1242
01:25:08,625 --> 01:25:10,583
that she couldn't go through
that experience
1243
01:25:10,666 --> 01:25:11,875
and she'd rather be dead.
1244
01:25:18,625 --> 01:25:20,958
:
1245
01:25:24,041 --> 01:25:26,000
No innovator was like her,
nobody!
1246
01:25:31,166 --> 01:25:32,875
And all she wanted
to do was sing.
1247
01:25:34,916 --> 01:25:36,583
She ain't bothering nobody.
1248
01:25:39,708 --> 01:25:42,125
Billie had a Cadillac
and a mink, so what?
1249
01:25:44,208 --> 01:25:45,583
What's wrong with that?
1250
01:25:46,500 --> 01:25:48,333
Wasn't she entitled
to have a Cadillac?
1251
01:25:48,458 --> 01:25:49,791
Wasn't she entitled
to have her mink?
1252
01:25:50,125 --> 01:25:51,916
Wasn't she entitled
to have diamonds?
1253
01:25:53,291 --> 01:25:55,000
"Oh, you ain't supposed
to have that...
1254
01:25:55,875 --> 01:25:57,083
you're a negro!
1255
01:25:57,750 --> 01:25:59,500
Stay in your place, you know".
1256
01:26:03,333 --> 01:26:05,916
All y'all need to do is get some
black-eyed peas and rice
1257
01:26:06,000 --> 01:26:07,458
and that's all ya'll need.
1258
01:26:09,583 --> 01:26:11,291
I'm talking about
what we went through.
1259
01:26:13,833 --> 01:26:16,791
No vocalist had ever went
through what she went through.
1260
01:26:20,583 --> 01:26:21,875
"Greatest country in the world".
1261
01:26:22,333 --> 01:26:25,916
The most stupid, most
prejudiced, racial people...
1262
01:26:26,916 --> 01:26:28,166
even as of today.
1263
01:26:31,625 --> 01:26:33,208
I'm leaving, quick as I can.
1264
01:26:34,291 --> 01:26:36,416
I will not be a part
of this farce.
1265
01:26:44,333 --> 01:26:45,750
July the 17th.
1266
01:26:47,041 --> 01:26:48,375
That's when she died.
1267
01:27:02,958 --> 01:27:05,250
I closed up
Miss Billie Holiday's casket...
1268
01:27:06,666 --> 01:27:08,166
and put two flowers on it.
1269
01:27:25,958 --> 01:27:28,125
And the question,
Billie, that I was going to ask
1270
01:27:28,208 --> 01:27:33,208
was that why so many jazz greats
seem to die so early?
1271
01:27:37,083 --> 01:27:39,416
The only way I can
answer that question is...
1272
01:27:40,583 --> 01:27:43,291
we try to live
one hundred days in one day.
1273
01:27:47,791 --> 01:27:50,875
I, myself, try to please
so many people.
1274
01:27:54,125 --> 01:27:55,666
I guess we all suffer.
1275
01:28:34,833 --> 01:28:36,708
It was
in the middle of the blizzard
1276
01:28:36,791 --> 01:28:38,000
of 1978.
1277
01:28:38,291 --> 01:28:40,416
Linda was going to
Washington D.C.
1278
01:28:40,500 --> 01:28:42,250
for a Basie concert.
1279
01:28:45,583 --> 01:28:49,666
And, um, we received
a phone call from my mother...
1280
01:28:50,833 --> 01:28:51,875
and...
1281
01:28:55,208 --> 01:28:57,750
she said you have to
come home, Linda just died.
1282
01:29:01,208 --> 01:29:04,333
The police told my parents
that she had committed suicide
1283
01:29:04,416 --> 01:29:05,791
and jumped out of the window
1284
01:29:06,250 --> 01:29:09,000
and we were just devastated.
1285
01:29:12,250 --> 01:29:13,291
And also...
1286
01:29:13,583 --> 01:29:15,458
yeah, unsure that that...
1287
01:29:16,333 --> 01:29:17,500
was how she died.
1288
01:29:20,541 --> 01:29:22,333
To our knowledge,
there was no note.
1289
01:29:23,916 --> 01:29:26,250
She was a writer,
and there never was a letter.
1290
01:29:30,958 --> 01:29:33,416
At the time,
the Washington D.C. police
1291
01:29:33,500 --> 01:29:35,708
did not have
a great reputation
1292
01:29:35,791 --> 01:29:39,333
for integrity,
and we really questioned
1293
01:29:39,416 --> 01:29:43,000
how much they had actually
investigated Linda's death.
1294
01:29:47,500 --> 01:29:49,208
My thought is that, uh...
1295
01:29:50,208 --> 01:29:51,458
somebody had pushed her.
1296
01:29:52,458 --> 01:29:53,500
Uh...
1297
01:29:54,208 --> 01:29:58,041
I have absolutely no
evidence of it...
1298
01:29:59,458 --> 01:30:02,083
only what I know of Linda,
and, um...
1299
01:30:03,291 --> 01:30:04,875
the surrounding situations.
1300
01:30:07,708 --> 01:30:11,416
When Linda died, it appeared
that she had been getting ready
1301
01:30:11,500 --> 01:30:14,125
to go to sleep,
because one of her rituals
1302
01:30:14,250 --> 01:30:15,833
was to put on a facemask.
1303
01:30:16,583 --> 01:30:19,291
When she was found,
she had the facemask on.
1304
01:30:24,958 --> 01:30:28,416
♪ I love you Porgy ♪
1305
01:30:30,375 --> 01:30:33,291
♪ Don't let him take me ♪
1306
01:30:35,291 --> 01:30:37,750
♪ Don't let him handle me ♪
1307
01:30:39,583 --> 01:30:41,875
♪ And drive me mad ♪
1308
01:30:43,958 --> 01:30:46,250
♪ If you can keep me ♪
1309
01:30:47,916 --> 01:30:50,333
♪ I wanna stay here ♪
1310
01:30:52,083 --> 01:30:54,416
♪ With you forever ♪
1311
01:30:55,875 --> 01:30:58,625
♪ I've got my man ♪
1312
01:31:00,958 --> 01:31:02,458
:
I just thank the Lord
1313
01:31:02,541 --> 01:31:04,291
that I did know this girl
1314
01:31:04,500 --> 01:31:05,875
when things were different.
1315
01:31:05,958 --> 01:31:08,500
:
♪ I know he's coming ♪
1316
01:31:08,875 --> 01:31:13,500
And I would pray
that she'd come back.
1317
01:31:14,166 --> 01:31:18,541
♪ He's going to handle
me and... ♪
1318
01:31:19,041 --> 01:31:21,291
Wouldn't that
be nice, just one day?
1319
01:31:21,375 --> 01:31:23,083
♪ ...told me so... ♪
1320
01:31:23,166 --> 01:31:24,916
But you had
to get a good ticket
1321
01:31:25,000 --> 01:31:26,041
to get there.
1322
01:31:26,125 --> 01:31:29,333
♪ It's going to be... ♪
1323
01:31:30,625 --> 01:31:32,791
♪ Like dying ♪
1324
01:31:33,041 --> 01:31:34,958
:
I can't cry about Billie now.
1325
01:31:35,125 --> 01:31:37,333
I don't even cry about her
when I listen to her.
1326
01:31:38,625 --> 01:31:41,083
She makes me smile, even sadly.
1327
01:31:43,166 --> 01:31:45,458
And it's just too bad that it
took all this time
1328
01:31:45,541 --> 01:31:47,791
for all of this shit
to come up.
1329
01:31:48,541 --> 01:31:53,625
♪ I'll have to go ♪
1330
01:31:56,000 --> 01:32:00,500
♪ I love you Porgy ♪
1331
01:32:02,375 --> 01:32:05,375
♪ Don't let him take me ♪
1332
01:32:06,750 --> 01:32:09,833
♪ Don't let him handle me ♪
1333
01:32:11,750 --> 01:32:14,875
♪ And drive me mad ♪
1334
01:32:16,041 --> 01:32:18,416
♪ If you can keep me ♪
1335
01:32:20,208 --> 01:32:22,333
♪ I've gotta stay here ♪
1336
01:32:24,375 --> 01:32:27,541
♪ With you forever ♪
1337
01:32:29,625 --> 01:32:32,500
♪ I've got my... ♪
1338
01:32:33,625 --> 01:32:38,083
♪ ...man ♪
95920
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