Finding Her Voice
Preston hired Billie to perform at $18 a week, and this was how she started to develop her voice. She chose to go by the stage name Billie after the film star Billie Dove. And she would try to emulate the singer Bessie Smith, whose music she adored. It didn’t take long for her to become a well-known name around Harlem.
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Billie was known for her distinct vocal style, something most listeners weren’t even able to describe. She only referenced Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong when speaking of her influences. She had limited range, and her voice didn’t always project, but her intonation, phrasing, and emotion were unmatched. Her vocal shortcomings were later made all too apparent in her later career when drugs got the best of her…