Religion and the Life, Times, and Music of Billie Holiday
About this episode
This episode explores the religious influences on the life and music of Billie Holiday.
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan Gough) was born on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. Enduring a turbulent childhood, she started singing in New York City in her teenage years, becoming an exceptionally talented, and then famous, jazz and swing singer in the 1930s and 40s. Billie won four Grammy Awards, all of them posthumously. We would like to investigate the religious influences on Billie Holiday’s life, times, and music. We believe that understanding this particular thread of the American fabric will make each of us more effective stewards of religion’s role in the ongoing American project. Season 4, Episode 17 – Religion and the Life, Times, and Music of Billie Holiday Guest Bio Tracy Fessenden has agreed to help us with this. Professor Tracy Fessenden is the Steve and Margaret Forster Professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Arizona State University and Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, where she also directs the Initiative in Spirituality and Public Life. Her work focuses on, among other things but most relevant for our topic today…
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