Becoming Billie Holiday
As a young teen, Holiday found herself singing in nightclubs. In those days, she spelled her last name, “Halliday,” which was her father’s surname at birth, but she later changed it to “Holiday,” which was his performing name. Clarence Holiday had a career in music, playing rhythm guitar and banjo as a member of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra between 1928 and 1933.
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Billie teamed up with her neighbor Kenneth Holland who was a tenor saxophone player. They played together from 1929 to 1931, performing at clubs like Grey Dawn, Pod’s and Jerry’s (on 133rd Street), and the Brooklyn Elks’ Club. Billie was starting to feel like a different person like this is what home feels like. And her talent wasn’t going unnoticed.