The first popular jazz singer to move audiences with the intense, personal feeling of classic blues, Billie Holiday changed the art of American pop vocals forever.
It is undeniable that Billie Holiday's singing changed in her later years. Her voice darkened an shifted to a lower range. Her economy of means distilled her sound to its expressive essence – a kind of heightened speech. The classic LP Songs For Distingué Lovers, has also deepened and become burnished with time. Maybe it's that still-arresting word distingué; maybe it's that iconic, tinted image of Lady Day on the cover. This legendary recording features the singer's best studio work of the Fifties.
The first popular jazz singer to move audiences with the intense, personal feeling of classic blues, Billie Holiday changed the art of American pop vocals forever.