I never imagined Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" could be more powerful that it was on record. If you're not familiar with the song, it's about a lynching victim hanging from a tree. That's right, it is intense, and to hear her sing it with a sparse arrangement is an experience. I didn't think anything could top it, in terms of the unsettling feeling you get as the lyrics unfold. But I just came across a video of her singing it later in her career,. Though she doesn't hit the notes quite like she did on the original, to see her facial expressions and her pointed delivery of some of the lines gives me the chills.
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Listen:
Bilie Holiday - Strange Fruit (studio) mp3 at Wandervogel Diary
Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit (live) mp3 at Internet Archive
Visit:
Billie Holiday at Wikipedia Check this one.
Strange Fruit entry at Wikipedia
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