Billie Holiday and Her Song “Strange Fruit”

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Eleanora Fagan was born in 1915 in Philadelphia. Her childhood was difficult, as she was growing without a father and with her mother spending most of her time at work. In 1929, Eleanora moved to her mom in Harlem, chose her pseudonym, and started performing in local nightclubs. Ten years later, Eleanora had toured with Count Basie and Artie Shaw, was heard on the radio, had several hits, and became an established artist in the industry (Savage 40). In the 1940s, Holiday’s success grew, as she recorded some of her most well-known and popular songs, and in 1947 she reached her commercial peak. However, at the same time, her problems with drugs became more serious, and she was arrested twice (Perez & McKee 32). During the 1950s, both Holiday’s health and her financial wealth deteriorated, leading to her death in 1959 due to cirrhosis.

Billie Holiday released numerous songs during her lifetime, but I have chosen “Strange Fruit” since it still remains one of the most prominent ones in her catalog. The song was Holiday’s biggest-selling recording in 1939 as it reached more than 1 million sold copies eventually (Zirpolo). The genres of the song are blues and jazz, and it was written to protest the lynching of Black Americans, which peaked at that time in the South (Zirpolo). The song was based on the poem written by Abel Meeropol in 1937, and Billie Holiday recorded it in 1939. “Strange Fruit” was recorded at Commodore label as a single, therefore it did not have an album (Zirpolo). The musical arrangement for the song was created by a band who used a trumpet, saxophones, a piano, a guitar, drums, and a bass.

Comparing “Strange Fruit” with other songs of the genre at that time, it does noticeably stand out. Despite the fact that “Strange Fruit” was not the first song discussing and protesting racial issues, it was the first one to do so and become the greatest hit. The song was popular for decades and was named the song of the century by Time magazine in 1999 (Finley 175). For Holiday, the song was special as it reflected her own experience – her father’s death due to medical treatment refusal based on racism. The way Eleanora performed indicated her strong emotions; for many years, she was closely associated with this song.

Deconstruct and Evaluate

The first element of music which will be analyzed in “Strange Fruit” is the texture which is particularly notable in the current recording. Despite the fact that several instruments are engaged in the performance of “Strange Fruit,” the piano dominates the landscape of the song at times, even sounding louder than Holiday’s vocals. The song has no additional effects, and the guitar used on the recording has a clean sound. The song’s texture is homophonic since both the voice and instruments play the same melody in unison which is representative of the blues genre.

The melody of Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” is also of great importance since it is unusual. Holiday creates a through-composed melody which means that she introduces different music in each stanza of the lyrics. “Strange Fruit” is performed in B-flat minor, which reflects the somber character of the recording. Yet, Holiday is constantly changing notes using F, the lowest note in the song, to add dramatic effect and then raising her vocals to the A-flat. Holiday uses slides and grace notes which reflect the blues tradition, and she breaks the melodic contour of the song in the third line by ascending minor thirds and then moving on the diminished chords at the end.

Finally, the duration of “Strange Fruit” also presents an interesting case for the listener and music experts. The song has a simple rhythmic pattern since it is based on a poem, and it follows the quadruple meter and the tempo of 58 BPM. The rhythmic movement of the song involves sequences of eighth and sixteenth notes, which are short-long and long-short. Holiday also incorporates contrasting triplet rhythms at phrase beginnings and occasionally for textual emphasis.

Works Cited

Laura L. Finley. Violence in Popular Culture: American and Global Perspectives. ABC-CLIO, 2018.

Perez, Michael V. & Jessica McKee. Billie Holiday: Essays on the Artistry and Legacy. McFarland, 2019.

Savage, Ann M. Women’s Rights: Reflections in Popular Culture. ABC-CLIO, 2017.

Zirpolo, Mike. ‘“Strange Fruit” (1939) Billie Holiday.’ Swing & Beyond.

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Billie Holiday and Her Song “Strange Fruit”

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