Despite Billie Holiday’s successful career, she died with less than a dollar in her bank account.
The legendary singer died on July 17, 1959 after years of contributing her soulful voice to the charts. She was just 44 years old when she passed from cirrhosis, which is a severe scarring of the liver. The chronic disease is a typical result of alcoholism, which Billie allegedly struggled with in the last decade of her life.
Billie’s battle with drugs and alcohol could have contributed to her dwindling funds at the end of her career. She is reported to have had just 70 cents in her bank account at the time of her death.
Her dire finances caused a wealthy fan to step forward at the final hour and pay for her funeral service, which was attended by thousands of people.
After the memorial, she didn’t have a tombstone for almost a year after her death.
Although she had little to her name, her recording royalties, images and publishing rights were still considered valuable assets. Billie hadn’t established a will prior to her death, leading to her abusive third husband, Louis McKay, to acquire everything, including her entire estate.
In 1941, she married the McKay. During her time with McKay, she reportedly began taking opium and eventually succumbed to heroin usage.
“It’s not right that someone who was as awful to Billie Holiday as Louis McKay was would then have control of her likeness and her money,” Danyel Smith, the author of the book Shine Bright: A Personal History of Black Women in Pop, told Billboard.
Billie allegedly spent vast amounts of money on drugs, causing a high-profile legal issue in the 1940s.
While cooperating with law enforcement during a drug bust involving Louis Armstrong, her manager, Joe Glaser, disclosed that she was in possession. She was subsequently arrested on drug charges in 1947 and sentenced to one year and one day at the Federal Reformatory for Women in Alderson, West Virginia.
Her short time in custody had a lasting effect on her career. The singer was barred from performing in venues that served alcohol.
She was arrested again in May 1959, just weeks before her death.
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Billie was first discovered around 1931 when she was performing in Harlem nightclubs in New York City. Her popularity with the local crowds eventually caught the attention of record producer John Hammond.
He had arranged her first ever recording session in November 1933 with Benny Goodman.
During their time in the studio, they recorded Your Mother’s Son-in-law and Riffin’ the Scotch, which became her first widely recognized hit.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
