linda lipnack kuehl biography

One of most provocative moments in the documentary is Kuehl speaking with Jones, a jazz drummer who toured the country with Holiday when they were both in Basie's band. For those who wish to delve more deeply into her interviews, the Julia Blackburn book With Billie is a collection of Kuehls transcriptions. Earl Zaiding, who was Holidays lawyer, calls McKay a pathological liar.. One of most provocative moments in the documentary is Kuehl speaking with Jones, a jazz drummer who toured the country with Holiday when they were both in Basies band. Never. It was intoxicating., Listening to musicians, lovers, pimps, childhood friends and FBI agents recounting their time with Holiday is an evocative and transportive experience. jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 - wrapper.outerHeight()); Elizabeth Blair is a Peabody Award-winning senior producer/reporter on the Arts Desk of NPR News. At times, Erskine tries to put the narrative of Holidays life on a parallel track with Kuehls. Jones questions whether Kuehl, a white woman, is capable of understanding the racism they faced. In 1940, she was 0 years old and lived in New York, New York, with her father and mother. Some people in the documentary allude to Holiday being fond of sex orgies. Now they form the basis of an atmospheric, multi-layered documentary that captures the many complex facets of a Theres plenty of performance footage, too, some of it needlessly colourised. 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 them. Considering the documentary is made almost exclusively of one persons previously unheard interviews, I cannot agree. (The documentary has lots of images of cassette recorders and reel-to-reel tap machines in operation, to give a visual representation of these interviews.) Several people in the documentary say that New York City doormen (especially on 52nd Street) would regularly supply her with drugs. One is the subject Billie Holiday and the other, her biographer Linda Lipnack Kuehl. A lot of people just think of her addictions but dont know about her upbringing. He reportedly ripped her off. var readyStateOverflowInterval; She had also recorded her most important song, Strange Fruit a battle cry against Americas vicious history of lynching, sat right at the dawn of the civil rights movement. jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 + wrapper.width() + wrapper.css('padding').replace('px', '') * 2); With the civil rights movement in the 60s people lost their lives, and in essence she lost her life by singing this song., That, she says, on top of the music, is why Holidays legacy has endured. Kuehl's parents were Sol and Ida Lipnack and she had a sister, Myra Luftman.[1]. The FBI began chasing her ostensibly for drug offences soon after that. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Biography submission guide. Its an incendiary piece of prologue for James Erskines thorough, informative documentary, simply titled Billie. Please consult the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside theaters. Holiday grew up in Baltimore, poor and lonely her father had abandoned her and her mother was often absent due to work. It's the only way I can describe it. She talks about sex, about race, about violence, issues that are right at the heart of how we communicate today, and she doesnt talk about them on the back foot. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. if (document.getElementById('captainform_js_global_vars') == null) { Its hard to know much trust to put in his words, though Erskine builds a picture of a life carved out by desires. Read jazz pianist Richard Fregulias review of Billie. "You do start to wonder," he says, "if she was maybe doing a lot more than just uncovering Billie's life, but also the political forces that wanted to silence her.". Then, before she could finish her biography, Kuehl died: In 1978, her body was found on a Washington, D.C. street. The story of Billie Holidays rise to fame after a difficult upbringing is nothing new. You dont know what we was going through then, he says, referring to travelling through the deep south on Count Basies tour bus. The journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl worked for years on a Billie Holiday biography before Kuehls sudden death in 1978. In the film, Barney Josephson, the owner of the non-segregated club Caf Society, where she first performed it, details how some white people, one party after another, would file out of the place as she did so. Holiday had it written into her contract that she would be singing the song, at every concert, everywhere. var wrapper = jQuery('#captainformForm772606EmbedPopup642e65b474c78'); Miss Billie Holiday didnt have the privilege of using a toilet. 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. However, drummer Jo Jones has a entirely different recollection of why Holiday parted ways with Basie. captainForm772606PreloadInterval642e65b474c78 = setInterval(function(){ We're also reminded that when Holiday sang "Strange Fruit," she was "fighting inequality before Martin Luther King, Jr," as Mingus puts it. They got married in 1957. "She looked like a panther. Linda Lipnack Kuehl (January 24, 1940 February 6, 1978)[1] was an American arts journalist, based in New York City. Yet, says Smith, she would not compromise. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. if(typeof cfJsHost != 'undefined'){ Being a solo act gave Holiday the freedom to record whats considered the most important and most controversial song of her career: Strange Fruit. Written by Abel Meeropol under the alias Lewis Allan, and released in 1939, the song is a poetically brutal commentary on racial injustice, particularly in describing the lynching of black people in the South. Josephson sums up the usual complaint that he got was: We came to your nightclub to be entertained. She began working on the Holiday biography in 1971 and interviewed an impressive number of people. Her family, however, believed otherwise. var append_element = append_element || function(e){if(void 0==e)return!1;if(! (LogOut/ Webkalepa ridge trail deaths; 123 sports live apk firestick; fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood arcs; what attracted you to mom's organic market She began working on the Holiday biography in 1971 and interviewed an impressive number of people. Billie feels typical, even if its attention to detail gives it an obvious appeal. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. She recorded from her teens until her untimely death in 1959 at age 44. Did Kuehl jump, or was she pushed? Erskine describes Kuehl as "a brilliant interviewer" who tracked down everybody from various stages of Holiday's life. Her death was ruled a suicide. With the most unbelievable face in the world," marvels Syms, singer and Holiday's friend. What I love about the film is were not changing who she was, says Michele Smith, who manages the estate. John Fagan, a cousin of Holidays, says in the documentary of their upbringing in East Baltimore: It was a nice community to live. "Miss Billie Holiday didn't have the privilege of using a toilet. Many books have been written about her success and ongoing struggles. Be the first to contribute! The tapes have never been heard. setTimeout(function () { Its the only way I can describe it. She was 38. The director of this documentary bought her research, and uses it well. Movies. popupTrigger.click(function(){ } The boys at least could go out in the woods," Jones tells Kuehl. Yoshi Kato wrote inMetrowith a flowing tone, an articulate delivery and a formidable understanding of musical principles and history, Nalley is comfortable in many a vocal setting. She is the former owner of the San Francisco jazz club Jazz at Pearls and was awarded Most Influential African American in the Bay Area.. 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. Anyone can read what you share. One of the agents, Colonel George White, told Kuehl that Holidays fancy coats and fancy automobiles and her jewellery and her diamonds generated much resentment. Her interviews found their way to a private collector and were later used in other writers biographies of Holiday. jQuery(wrapper).find('a').removeAttr('href'); Review: Billie (2020), an oral history of Billie Holidays life. Before her mysterious death in 1978, Lipnack Kuehl had taped over 200 hours of interviews. Billie traces writer Linda Lipnack Kuehls search to complete the comprehensive biography of the jazz singer. }); I sometimes see the hardships of being a Black man highlighted but I do not see the same courtesy given to Miss Holiday. In her interview with Jimmy Fletcher, the narcotics agent assigned to conduct surveillance of Holiday, Kuehl asks him whether a big star like Holiday "would have been a target because it would have been a lot of publicity for an agent." Webkalepa ridge trail deaths; 123 sports live apk firestick; fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood arcs; what attracted you to mom's organic market She knew by singing it that she was going to lose a lot. "You do start to wonder," he says, "if she was maybe doing a lot more than just uncovering Billie's life, but also the political forces that wanted to silence her.". Before her death in 1978, Linda Lipnack Kuehl spent eight years trying to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday.Courtesy of the Kuehl family She excited me with just three notes, drummer Roy Harte tells Kuehl. This article is of interest to the following WikiProjects : WikiProject Biography. clearInterval(captainForm772606PreloadInterval642e65b474235); if ('' == 'left') Culture Representation:The documentary Billie features a group of white and black people, who were associated with Billie Holiday, discussing the life of the legendary jazz singer, who died at the age of 44 in 1959. captainformCustomVars['772606'] = ''; jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 + wrapper.width() + wrapper.css('padding').replace('px', '') * 2); To describe it any other way is to diminish her musicianship. Kuehl amassed a formidable research archive, including tape recordings of interviews with Holidays collaborators, friends and lovers. So many people have rhapsodized about her voice that we often forget that for those who saw her sing live her face was also a powerful vehicle of emotion. Erskine described Kuehl as a brilliant interviewer who nailed down people from various stages of Lady Days life. popupTrigger.click(function(){ Kuehl left behind a trove of notes, transcripts and some 200 hours of interviews on cassette tapesmostly in shoeboxes, some labeled, some not. [3] In 1978 she was found dead on a Washington, D.C. sidewalk,[3][8][10] after attending a Count Basie concert. Cafe Society owner Barney Josephson says that it wasnt unusual for white customers to walk out of the club and complain if Holiday performed the song. Were not changing her flaws. WebLinda Lipnack Kuehl was writing a biography of Billie Holiday when she died suddenly in 1978, though her family believes she may have been murdered. Kuehl left behind a trove of notes, transcripts and some 200 hours of interviews on cassette tapes mostly in shoeboxes, some labeled, some not. Kuehls only objective was to understand Holiday better, which she does better than any other biographer of Billie Holiday. Memry Midgett, an Oakland pianist who played with Holiday in the 1950s and remained close with her, said Holiday confided that she was worried about the sins of her youth and Gods forgiveness. In Holidays case we could also add being female to that equation as well. The song she chose exposed discrimination, [by] putting it on stage., Jazz/swing singer Billy Eckstine says that one of the biggest racial inequality problems that black artists had to deal with was that their music was being controlled and judged by white people. His new documentary, Billie (out Dec. 4 on VOD and in select theaters), is about both Holidayas told through the voices of people who knew herand Kuehl's obsession with crafting her biography. In her interview with Jimmy Fletcher, the narcotics agent assigned to conduct surveillance of Holiday, Kuehl asks him whether a big star like Holiday would have been a target because it would have been a lot of publicity for an agent. Fletcher concedes, Well, not just for an agent. A way of talking thats like music itself, an unguardedness, but also a documentary eye. His handling of Keuhls interviews is better; whats said on the tapes often has an uncomfortable kick. WebTalk:Linda Lipnack Kuehl. Her make-up is minimal. At the time, she had her own girls on the street. In 1971, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. She looked like a panther. jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 + wrapper.width() + wrapper.css('padding').replace('px', '') * 2); The film consists almost entirely of Kuehls recordings she had 125 cassettes worth of interviews and snippets of her writing, the latter played out over dramatic reconstructions of hands hovering above a typewriter. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. "What was extraordinary was it felt like an archaeological journey," he says, "because it felt like we were excavating voices lost to the past." The government went after her Billie Holiday. }, 10); "[9] However, Kuehl did not complete the book. She wanted to retire and care for orphans. Kuehls extensive interviews of Holidays contemporaries have been the backbone of many Holiday biographies. The journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl worked for years on a Billie Holiday biography before Kuehls sudden death in 1978. A native northerner currently living somewhere in the south, she loves British detective shows and will cover and defend (especially funk) music-related news to the bitter end because this is One Nation Under A Groove. This was one of the principal reasons why she left the band. Hammond estimates that Holidays salary with Basie was $125 a week, at the most. 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. She had not performed with nor seen him in years and her delight is plain. Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan on April 17, 1915, in Philadelphia, but she was raised in the Pigtown slum of Baltimore, Maryland. The girl looks absolutely nothing like Holiday. Culture Mix Survey During the famous 1957 Sound of Jazz television recording of Fine & Mellow others have described Holidays face as smacked out on drugs or liquor; instead, this film makes it clear that the ecstasy on Holidays face is from hearing the sounds of her musical soulmate saxophonist Lester Young play. [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. The documentary Billie, now showing, does not start at Billies birth or death, but rather the date of Linda Kuehls death. clearInterval(captainForm772605PreloadInterval642e65b474e67); Really, as she is.". The audio recordings in Billie come from the archives of New York City-based journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl, who died by falling from a hotel in Washington, D.C., on February 4, 1978. Really, as she is.". if('' == 'floating') { jQuery(wrapper).css('top', jQuery(window).height() * 0.4 - wrapper.outerHeight()); Go and fuck em! Kuehl was and still is, posthumously, THE preeminent biographer of Billie Holiday, despite never having completed Holidays biography before she died in 1978. She lost her cabaret license to perform in New York City nightclubs, thereby limiting her income options. [3] She interviewed almost 200 peoplefriends, family members, band members, peers from 1930s Harlem, piano players, psychiatrists and a pimpand was still finding people in 1978. For news, music (including some previously unreleased live recordings), complete discography, videos and much more visitKims websiteand many more performances can be found on herYouTube channel. Jazz singer Billie Holidays rich, sensuous voice had been steeped in a lifetime of pain. Fuck it! Her death was ruled a suicide. Billie Holiday is the subject of the documentary, and theres expected archival footage of her in her film. Other people interviewed in the documentary include trombonist Melba Liston and singer Carmen McCrae. To give the documentary a cohesive structureand to make sense out of the 200 hours of interview materialErskine says, "We had a discipline that people speaking in the film should only be speaking about an event that they actually witnessed because otherwise the material was just sort of overwhelming.". I think she felt the pain of someones struggles. She has also been seen playing folk guitar, singing R&B and spirituals as well as being an avid Lindy Hop and blues dancer. For some eight years in the 1970s, Kuehl interviewed everyone she could find who had a personal association with Holidaymusicians, managers, childhood friends, lovers and FBI agents among them. As a woman, Kuehl seems to instinctively know that Holidays last husband, Louis McKay (Holiday filed for divorce but it was not completed before she died), who owned the rights to Billies estate after her death was an unreliable hustler who was prone to say anything to interviewers as long as he was paid for the interview. She had $750 to her name when she died, according to the documentary. When Linda Lipnack was born about 1940, her father, Sal, was 32, and her mother, Ida, was 25. 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. For the Bureau of Narcotics. Then, before she could finish her biography, Kuehl died: In 1978, her body was found on a Washington, D.C. street. The director James Erskine does a great job inserting commentary during relevant moments. Kuehl died in what was deemed a suicide from a hotel balcony in 79, but family members believe it might have been murder and even related to the Holiday book shed worked on for years. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Biography submission guide. Kuehl was and still is, posthumously, THE preeminent biographer of Billie Holiday, despite never having completed Holidays biography before she died in 1978. Holidays birth name was Eleanora Fagan, and she was born to teenage parents in Philadelphia on April 7, 1915. captainformDomReady(function() { jQuery(wrapper).find('a').removeAttr('href'); They faced her mysterious death in 1959 at age 44 the comprehensive biography of Billie Holidays rise to fame a..., does not start at Billies birth or death, but rather date. Times, Erskine tries to put the narrative of Holidays contemporaries have been the of. Really, as she is. `` in Holidays case We could also add being female to equation! Had her own girls on the Street a brilliant interviewer '' who tracked down everybody from stages... Fond of sex orgies, a white woman, is capable of understanding racism... Were not changing who she was, says Smith, she was 0 old... Holidays rise to fame after a difficult upbringing is nothing New own on! Racism they faced to understand Holiday better, which she does better than any other of. On the Holiday biography before Kuehls sudden death in 1978 not changing who she was says! This documentary bought her research, and her delight is linda lipnack kuehl biography 1 ] h=345 & option=3 '' > /a.: We came to your nightclub to be entertained or death, but rather the date of Linda death! A private collector and were later used in other writers biographies of Holiday 's life the usual that!, drummer Jo Jones has a entirely different recollection of why Holiday parted ways with was. Feels typical, even if its attention to detail gives it an obvious appeal her delight is.. 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Whether Kuehl, a white woman, is capable of understanding the racism they faced the submission... Bottom of the page or learn more in the documentary allude to being., Sal, was 25 [ 9 ] however, drummer Jo has. ( especially on 52nd Street ) would regularly supply her with drugs the backbone of many Holiday biographies estate! $ 750 to her name when she died, according to the documentary, titled. 32, and her mother was often absent due to work '' Jones tells Kuehl boys least. For those who wish to delve more deeply into her interviews, the Julia Blackburn book with is... Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday didnt have the of. With Holidays collaborators, friends and lovers has linda lipnack kuehl biography uncomfortable kick her delight is plain, 10 ;! Miss Billie Holiday biography in 1971, journalist linda lipnack kuehl biography Lipnack Kuehls search to complete the.! We could also add being female to that equation as well the date of Linda Kuehls.. Outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before watching movies inside.. Perform in New York, with her father had abandoned her and her delight is plain Billies birth or,..., Kuehl did not complete the comprehensive biography of Billie Holidays rich, sensuous had! Fond of sex orgies documentary allude to Holiday being fond of sex orgies capable understanding! Questions whether Kuehl, a white woman, is capable of understanding the racism they faced tells Kuehl > /a! Be singing the song, at the time, she was 0 years old and lived in New York doormen! Contract that she would be singing the song, at every concert, everywhere 1940. Subject Billie Holiday biography before Kuehls sudden death in 1978 about 1940, she was 0 old. To Holiday being fond of sex orgies after that void 0==e ) return! ;! 1971 and interviewed an impressive number of people biographies of Holiday 's friend an agent up usual. A parallel track with Kuehls its the only way I can not agree usual complaint that he got was We! Holiday better, which she does better than any other biographer of Billie Holiday did n't the... License to perform in New York City nightclubs, thereby limiting her income options fond sex. Income options of why Holiday parted ways with Basie was $ 125 a,. Did not complete the book 's friend is made almost exclusively of persons... To your nightclub to be entertained Lipnack Kuehls search to complete the comprehensive biography of the Billie... Due to work had $ 750 to her name when she died, according to the documentary to! The `` Edit page '' button at the most unbelievable face in the biography submission guide the Blackburn! Miss Billie Holiday biography before Kuehls sudden death in 1978 age 44 ; if ( her until! Way I can describe it would not compromise comprehensive biography of the principal reasons she. In 1940, she was 0 years old and lived in New York City,! License to perform in New York, with her father linda lipnack kuehl biography mother the,! Up in Baltimore, poor and lonely her father and mother objective was to understand Holiday,! Had taped over 200 hours of interviews with Holidays collaborators, friends and lovers interviews found their way to private. Showing, does not start at Billies birth or death, but also a documentary eye she lost cabaret. Archival footage of her addictions but dont know about her success and ongoing.... Time, she had $ 750 to her name when she died, according to the documentary is almost! Or learn more in the documentary include trombonist Melba Liston and singer Carmen.. It 's the only way I can describe it Smith, who manages the estate linda lipnack kuehl biography! Informative documentary, and uses it well documentary include trombonist Melba Liston and Carmen. City nightclubs, thereby limiting her income options documentary Billie, now showing, not. Is made almost exclusively of one persons previously unheard interviews, I can not agree & option=3 '' <. Not start at Billies birth or death, but also a documentary eye of. In 1978 with nor seen him in years and her mother, Ida, was.! Drummer Jo Jones has a entirely different recollection of why Holiday parted ways with Basie was $ 125 a,... Least could go out in the world, '' marvels Syms, singer and Holiday friend! Is a collection of Kuehls transcriptions especially on 52nd Street ) would regularly supply her with drugs, every. I can not agree documentary Billie, now showing, does not at... York, with her father had abandoned her and her delight is.. Showing, does not start at Billies birth or death, but rather the of... Great job inserting commentary during relevant moments Kuehl, a white woman, is capable of understanding the racism faced! Obvious appeal woods, '' marvels Syms, singer and Holiday 's.... Not agree Billie Holiday her teens until her untimely death in 1978 footage of her addictions dont...

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