One of the most influential jazz singers in history, Billie Holiday---born Eleanora Fagan--had an art for graceful phrasing and a rough, distinctive voice that allowed her to interpret jazz songs about heartbreak, despair, and loneliness with a buoyancy that rose above the heavy sentimentality of the words. During her career, she recorded with top jazz artists, including Count Basie, Artie Shaw, and Teddy Wilson. In the late 1930s, Billie's many solo hits, such as God Bless the Child and Strange Fruit, became standard tunes for many generations of singers to follow.