Lady Sings the Blues (Paperback)

by Billie Holiday (Author), William Dufty (Author)
Key Phrases: New York, Joe Glaser, John Levy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This work presents the Billie Holiday story - her rise to the top from the slums and the streets, to the eventual slide down.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (March 6, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140067620
• ISBN-13: 978-0140067620
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #228,711 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the good, the bad & the ugly...beautifully recounted, March 13, 2000

By	Johnny Roulette (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

I picked this book up because the woman's voice moves me. I wanted to learn more about her; wanted to know where all of the pain and dignity came from. I'll admit that I was apprehensive...I was certain that her version of the story would be sugar-coated. My fears were unfounded. Billie doesn't leave anything out. She seems to understand that darker points of her life were where the gift was coming from. She candidly discusses her heroin & alcohol addictions, as well as a brief bout of prostitution. She was as interesting as she was talented. Hers is assuredly a harrowing tale, but it is tempered with dignity, honesty & intelligence. She possessed a wisdom that can only derive from a lifetime of tragic mistakes. My one complaint would be that the disturbing chain of events leading to her death aren't covered here. But, alas, this is an autobiography & death can't really be covered in an autobiography. Get her life from her...try Donald Clarke's Wishing On The Moon: The Life & Times Of Billie Holiday(Viking/1994) for adequate coverage of her untimely death. There is enough trgedy and triumph in Lady Sings to satisfy the strongest craving. Ms. Holiday & Mr. Duffy educated me about jazz and its lifestyle, but, more than that, they made me want to know more...to experience more. Lady Sings The Blues is an amazing chronicle of one of music's most gifted and soulful human beings. If you have the slightest spark of interest, you would be cheating yourself by passing on this wonderfully haunting book. Billie Holiday saw that her story's value was dependent upon absolute honesty on her part. This book would mean nothing without it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Glimpse into a unique life, July 7, 2004

By	R. J. Marsella (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Other reviewers have made the case that this autobiography is less than accurate. That may be true however I believe the book captures the spirit of Billie Holiday as well as the tenor of the times in which she lived and consequently it is an important and very interesting book.

The tragedy surrounding Holiday's life and struggle with addiction is well known and yet here it is dealt with in such a gripping and personal way that the story is moving and emotionally wrenching. Billie Holiday emerges from this book as a warm living human being with a remarkable amount of wisdom regarding her own struggles and failings. One would expect an autobiography to seek to afix blame elsewhere or excuse shortcomings. None of that is found here. This was an inteligent, wise and obviously talented though flawed woman whose story deserves to be told.
Reading this has rekindled my interest in her music and that alone was a great benefit I received from this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant, October 13, 2004

By	J. Brady (PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is everything Aretha Franklin's autobiography should have been but wasn't. It is brutally frank, almost scary in its honesty. Nothing is glossed over, including her relationships with men ( and women ) her heroin addiction and her experiences with sexism and racism , both in and out of the music industry. I read this book in one weekend, I just couldn't put it down.