textContent: 'var frmRef=""; try { frmRef=window.top.location.href; } catch(err) {}; var captainform_servicedomain="app.captainform.com";var cfJsHost = "https://";', formId: '772605' Racism is still an enduring feature of Black life in America, but it does pull the viewer out of Holidays time too much. Holidays career spanned 30 years. Her face is an actress as much as her voice. Linda delivers due diligence and interviews all the people involved to come up with an answer, or answers, that are closer to the truth than any other biographer. The woman responsible for those interviews was the journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who took it upon herself in 1971 to begin the years-long process of researching a biography. Other people interviewed in the documentary include trombonist Melba Liston and singer Carmen McCrae. A talented journalist who wrote a biography about the songstress 20 years after her gradual death, Kuehl dedicated a decade to interviewing the friends and artists who knew Holiday best. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup63c877fb834ac'); resize77260663c877fb829bf(wrapper); captainformDomReady(function() { var popupParams = { [3] She worked as a high school teacher and free lance writer. It was a different kind of poor We were happy with what we had. Mary Pony Kane, a childhood friend of Holidays, remembers that Eleanor was foul-mouthed, even as a child. Although it may seem counterintuitive to have more audio only interviews for a film documentary instead of videos, we quickly hear the ease and genuineness in the interviewees voices. setTimeout(function () { Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's read more. But, for the most part, hes squandered it. She began working on the Holiday biography in 1971 and interviewed an impressive number of people. Kuehl was and still is, posthumously, THE preeminent biographer of Billie Holiday, despite never having completed Holidays biography before she died in 1978. Kuehl had dedicated the last eight years of her life to a biography of jazz singer Billie Holiday, whose rich, sensuous voice had been steeped in a lifetime of pain. Her parents split up not long after getting married, and Halliday became an absentee father who remained out of his daughters life. ("elementType"in e))return!1;var n=null;if(n=e.following?e.following.parentElement:e.inside?e.inside:e.replacing?e.replacing.parentElement:"script"==e.elementType?document.head:document.body,null==n)return!1;var l=document.createElement(e.elementType);delete e.elementType,l=jQuery.extend(l,e),e.replacing?n.replaceChild(l,e.replacing):n.appendChild(l)}; Protest songs became more prevalent in the 1960s, but Holiday was a pioneer. Over the next decade, she tracked down and tape-recorded interviews with the extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer's short, tumultuous life. [6] In 1971, she began plans for a biography of Holiday, who had died aged 44 in 1959. Shortly after she became a professional singer as a teenager, Holiday began working with musician/producer John Hammond, who introduced her to Benny Goodman in 1933. Monroe would become Holidays first husband, whom she married in 1941. if (document.getElementById('captainform_js_global_vars') == null) { Linda Lipnack Kuehl (January 24, 1940 - February 6, 1978) was an American arts journalist, based in New York City. She tells us of her hopes and dreams in her own voice. They loved it. Several people in the documentary describe Holiday as a masochist who never knew what it was like to have a healthy love relationship when she was adult. Kuehl was an experienced arts journalist who wrote for The Paris Review and The New York Times Sunday magazine. resize77260563c877fb82c45(wrapper); }, true); var captainformCustomVars = {}; He was like a visitor, but she was too.. Kuehl had even grown close to some of her interview subjects, including Holidays former bandleader Count Basie. Over 8 years, she tracked down and tape-recorded over 200 hours of interviews with the extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer's short, tumultuous life. jQuery(wrapper).find('a').removeAttr('href'); Kuehl was and still is, posthumously, THE preeminent biographer of Billie Holiday, despite never having completed Holiday's biography before she died in 1978. On tour, especially in the U.S. South, they encountered a lot of vicious racism. [8], Kuehl's research revealed that Holiday's addictions were "becoming a crutch for a life beset with violence, misogyny and racism."[2]. Olika andra frfattares biografier p Holiday har anvnt Kuehls . In the late-1960s - some 10 years after the performer's death - journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday (below). She was 38. Are you sure you want to cancel your membership with us? Add or change photo on IMDbPro Add to list More at IMDbPro Contact info Agent info Credits Edit IMDbPro Archive Footage Previous 1 Billie Self (archive footage) 2019 Contribute to this page Suggest an edit or add missing content She sang and recorded till the end of her life. Culture Clash:Holiday battled drug addiction, and several people who knew her say that she was a target of the FBI. The testimonies of those who knew Holiday before she became famous help make up for that deficiency. Her career of 30 years has no breaks, stops or retreats into obscurity. [2] Various other writers' biographies on Holiday have drawn upon Kuehl's material, as did the film Billie (2019), which is narrated by Kuehl's recorded interviews. Function: _error_handler, File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/page/index.php var popupTrigger = jQuery("#captainformForm772605EmbedPopup63c877fb83722"); function resize77260663c877fb834ac(wrapper){ jQuery(wrapper).find('a').removeAttr('href'); Kuehl's extensive interviews of Holiday's contemporaries have been the backbone of many Holiday biographies. [1], File: /home/ah0ejbmyowku/public_html/application/views/user/popup_modal.php There are great archival photos of East Baltimore and of the reform school and the jail she was sent to. 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For some eight years in the 1970s, Kuehl interviewed everyone she could find who had a personal association with Holiday musicians, managers, childhood friends, lovers and FBI agents among. Theres a lingering sense that Kuehl understood something deeper, but Billie never seems all that curious to find out what that might be. At the time, she had her own girls on the street. (Its hard to believe he didnt know.) A new documentary, Billie, will delve into the life of jazz great Billie Holiday with the help of hours of never-before-heard interviews. popupTrigger.click(function(){ Linda Lipnack Kuehl (January 24, 1940 - February 6, 1978) was an American arts journalist, based in New York City. if ('' == 'left') Although she was a heavy user of marijuana, alcohol and cocaine, Holiday was most associated with her use of heroin and other opiates. Kuehl's parents were Sol and Ida Lipnack and she had a sister, Myra Luftman. Over the next decade, she tracked down and tape-recorded interviews with the extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer's short, tumultuous life. window.addEventListener('resize', function(){ She was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. function resize77260563c877fb83722(wrapper){ Nalleysmany philanthropic endeavors include founding theKim Nalley Black Youth Jazz Scholarshipat the California Jazz Conservatory. Here, Erskine has been given the opportunity to illuminate the lives of two women by seeing where they intertwine. Shes a psychopath. While interviewer Kuehl can be heard gasping in shock when she hears this description, Hamilton elaborates that Holiday was impulse-driven, strong, talented but not a dependable individual. He noted that he thinks that Holidays inability to control her impulses made her psychopathic. Afterwards she ran errands at a whorehouse where she heard Bessie Smith records which Holiday claimed to be a seminal influence along with Louis Armstrong. ("elementType"in e))return!1;var n=null;if(n=e.following?e.following.parentElement:e.inside?e.inside:e.replacing?e.replacing.parentElement:"script"==e.elementType?document.head:document.body,null==n)return!1;var l=document.createElement(e.elementType);delete e.elementType,l=jQuery.extend(l,e),e.replacing?n.replaceChild(l,e.replacing):n.appendChild(l)}; At one point, she began to receive strange, threatening calls. } (document.removeEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.removeEventListener("load",d)):(document.detachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.detachEvent("onload",d))},d=function(){t||!document.addEventListener&&"load"!==event.type&&"complete"!==document.readyState||(t=!0,n(),e())};if("complete"===document.readyState)e();else if(document.addEventListener)document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",d),window.addEventListener("load",d);else{document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",d),window.attachEvent("onload",d);var o=!1;try{o=null==window.frameElement&&document.documentElement}catch(a){}o&&o.doScroll&&!function c(){if(!t){try{o.doScroll("left")}catch(d){return setTimeout(c,50)}t=!0,n(),e()}}()}}; Read jazz pianist Richard Fregulias review of Billie. Billie stands in magnificent glory in a dark long-sleeved dress with a portrait collar that shows off her face. Kuehl is heard in the interview going back and forth with Jones and Hammond to get their reactions to these conflicting allegations. var popupTrigger = jQuery("#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup63c877fb834ac"); The documentary includes archival news video footage of Joan Allen, a correctional officer who worked at the federal rehabilitation facility in Alderston, West Virginia, where Holiday served her prison time. Because of the power structure, [black people] never had a chance.. Then in the late 1960's journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie. [3] In 1978 she was found dead on a Washington, D.C. sidewalk,[3][8][10] after attending a Count Basie concert. The film opens with footage of Holiday that I had not seen before. }); Intending to write a biography of Billie Holiday, she interviewed friends, fellow performers, and key figures in Holiday's life, but died before its completion. In 1971, she began plans for a biography: Holiday had died aged 44 in 1959 and, 11 years on, Kuehl wanted to speak to those who were there throughout her life. The director of this documentary bought her research, and uses it well. [3] She worked as a high school teacher and free lance writer. jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 - wrapper.outerHeight()); It is similar to how the documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is as much about Mark Bittner as the parrots. Review: Billie (2020), an oral history of Billie Holidays life. Unearthing a trove of audio recordings from the journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who planned to write a biography of Billie Holiday before committing suicide, James Erskine's approachable documentary Billie dives into the life of Holiday through Kuehl's myriad interviews with the people in the artist's orbit. Kuehl, in that period of eight years, began to see parts of herself in Holiday. There was a rebellious engine inside both of them. "She excited me with just three notes," drummer Roy Harte tells Kuehl. captainformDomReady(function() { if (document.getElementById('captainform_js_global_vars') == null) { Bassist and famous Jazz photographer Milt Hilton said her voice was that of a woman who had suffered ultimate heartbreak. }); Holidays eyes plead, her lips sneer and her single eyebrow rises suggestively and reproachfully. Jones insists: She didnt leave the band. I avsikt att skriva en biografi om Billie Holiday intervjuade hon vnner, andra artister och nyckelpersoner i Holiday's liv, men dog innan den slutfrdes. }); Over eight years, she tracked . Hammond says of Goodman, He slept with Billie. [2] Various other writers' biographies on Holiday have drawn upon Kuehl's material, as did the film Billie (2019), which is narrated by Kuehl's recorded interviews. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies, Wondrous sounds: Billie Holiday in the early 1950s. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. var append_element = append_element || function(e){if(void 0==e)return!1;if(! Considering the documentary is made almost exclusively of one persons previously unheard interviews, I cannot agree. if(typeof cfJsHost != 'undefined'){ The film highlights a review that scathingly derides Billie for being heavy reminding us that draconian female standards of beauty have been around for a long time. Its an incendiary piece of prologue for James Erskines thorough, informative documentary, simply titled Billie. I do not see the same attention given to Miles Daviss or Charlie Parkers drug use or their abusive relationships. Can an author ever truly separate themselves from their subject? James Erskine's documentary, built around lengthy interviews conducted in the 1970s by journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl, demonstrates how dangerous it can be to mesh with one's subject matter. Documentary showcasing American legend Billie Holiday, capturing her depths and complexity through the voices of those who knew her best. (Its one of the reasons why biopics about Holiday portray her in very different ways.). 05 January 2023. textContent: 'var frmRef=""; try { frmRef=window.top.location.href; } catch(err) {}; var captainform_servicedomain="app.captainform.com";var cfJsHost = "https://";', Her family, however, believed otherwise. Kim Nalley, a PHD Candidate in History at University of California Berkeley, is a historian, playwright, and actress and is most known as jazz & blues singer with a powerful, 3 1/2 octave range that can go from operatic to gritty blues on a dime, projection that can whisper a ballad yet is capable of filling a room with no microphone, and the ability to scat blistering solos without ever losing the crowds interest or the intense swing. } append_element({ Before her mysterious death in 1978, Lipnack Kuehl had taped over 200 hours of interviews. id: "captainform_js_global_vars", Music producer Marty Gabler says in the documentary that Columbia Records didnt want to release Strange Fruit because of the social content and because of how unusual it was to do a protest song. Strange Fruit is considered historically important because it was one of the first social justice songs released by a mainstream performer prior to the U.S. civil rights movement. jQuery(wrapper).find('a').removeAttr('href'); clearInterval(captainForm772605PreloadInterval63c877fb82c45); if('' == 'floating') { }, true); var captainformCustomVars = {}; View eatdrinkfilmsmags profile on Instagram, View eatdrinkfilmssos profile on Pinterest, BILLIE documentary is Actually Linda Kuehl on Billie. Kuehl spoke to musicians, obviously, like Shaw and Tony Bennett, but also to more obscure figures those involved in her drug busts and the man who acted as her pimp when she was a teen. [4], She was a Jewish feminist[5] and a fan of Billie Holiday. According to Luftman, her sister Kuehl was threatened by people close to Count Basie, who became close to Kuehl when she interviewed him for the book. Line: 107 Billie Holiday. Get a load of the critics, the people who judge our music. Her mother Sadie transported her to New York City to be a prostitute at age 13. The biopic will follow Holiday's life through the eyes of Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who as a fan and literary journalist in 1970 began a biography of Holiday. captainformCustomVars['772606'] = ''; Then, before she could finish her biography, Kuehl died: In 1978, her body was found on a Washington, D.C. street. } Kuehl was an experienced arts journalist who wrote for The Paris Review and The New York Times Sunday magazine. Did someone consider the pairs intimacy a threat? There might also be a tad too much focus on the woman who made those 125 cassettes, Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who was clearly a gifted writer and smart interviewer. Much as her voice Halliday linda lipnack kuehl biography an absentee father who remained out of his daughters life to control her made... As much as her voice single eyebrow rises suggestively and reproachfully impressive number of people day in.... 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