Singer-songwriter and musician Elanora Fagan famously known as “Billie Holiday” was born April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

According to author Alex Haley, like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday was from Irish-Afro-American ancestry, a distinction the two singers share with President Obama.

(Some day our history will catch up with our reality.)

After a very difficult childhood, she began performing in Harlem nightclubs as a young teenager. John Hammond discovered her and arranged for her to make her first recording at 18.

One of the most beloved of all the figures of the jazz pantheon, Holiday was dubbed “Lady Day” by her longtime friend and colleague Lester Young.