Strange Fruit

by David Margolick and Hilton Als

Book Overview

Learn the story behind the song performed by Andra Day in United States vs. Billie Holiday now on Hulu

Recorded by jazz legend Billie Holiday in 1939, "Strange Fruit" is considered the first significant song of the Civil Rights movement and the first direct assault against racial lynchings in the South. First sung in New York's Caf Society, these revolutionary lyrics have taken up a life of their own, as David Margolick...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060959568
• ISBN13: 9780060959562
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Elegant Portrait

This book is an elegant portrait of a song, the woman who sang it, and the man who wrote it. It is a poignant look at the interplay between them all.I am not a student of jazz, and yet I found this book to be fascinating. It is as much about civil rights and human dignity as it is about music. Margolick is an amazingly astute observer of events, and he has an uncanny ability to describe what he sees in beautiful, elegant prose. This book would make a wonderful gift to anyone interested in jazz; interested in the civil rights movement; interested in Billie Holiday; or just interested in a little known profile in courage. Read it and savor it!

Strange Fruit, like Billie Holiday's Song, Moved Me!

Strange Fruit : The Biography of a Song by David Margolick, Hilton Als, moved me! I think Margolick did a great job of ferreting out and marrying an extensive array of first person accounts of people's experiences listening to Billie Holiday sing her heartbreaking ballad, enough so that I almost felt like I was there too at times! Margolick doesn't pretend his book is a historical analysis - it's a biography, and a short one at that. As such, it does it's job and will resonate with me, as does Billie's song. It would be to the historians that I would look for analysis of its effects on society - anyone listening? The book adds another layer of fine patina to an historical moment in musical history and illustrates how brave Billie Holiday must have been!

The lyrics are enough for me at the moment.

I came to this book from references made to the song in "Without Sanctuary". I also recall references in "The Debt", and "The Unsteady March".The title of this review only reflects a need to absorb what I have read, and also to take a pause. This subject is so grim it almost defies imagining. Even the song "Strange Fruit" stops everything when it is sung, causes controversy to this day, and has only been attempted by a handful of singers in it's 60 year history.Mr. Margolick imparts a great deal of information in what is a brief work. It cannot be complete, but it is outstanding for what he does shed light on. Ms. Holliday had a very complex and tragic life, but was certainly loved by virtually all who knew her. She died quite young and the causes are all there for the reader to measure.There is always some bit of fascinating human irony that comes with a story such as this. The quote that follows is from the book."Khallil Abdul Muhammad, Louis Farrakhan's notoriously anti-Semitic disciple and maestro of the "Million Man March", has quoted it (the song) in his speeches assailing American racism-unaware, apparently, that the song was written by a white Jewish school-teacher from New York City".I mean no offense to anyone by highlighting that quote. For me it is another example of the root causes of the racial problems we face. We fear what we don't know, and we often don't take the time to learn the truth, and prevent our fear.A great book, should be a part of your Civil Rights library and all libraries for that matter.

This book is a gem

It's rare that a nonfiction book can move me to tears the way Strange Fruit has done. But the story is so compelling, and the tragedies it describes--both of Billie Holiday's life and of reaction to the horrific lynchings that were once commonplace in parts of America--are beautifully balanced by the hopefulness of the song's continued popularity. Indeed, it is a kind of miracle that the song exists at all. I found it fascinating to read about the world of Cafe Society, and to learn more about this period of American social history. I believe Strange Fruit is also an important book because of the subject it addresses--albeit in a stylish and entertaining way. Oprah should put this in her book club so it receives the wide audience it deserves. After all, it's not as if racism is a thing of the past in America.

Strange and beautiful fruit.

David Margolick, a well published writer and journalist, has gathered the threads of an amazing story in STRANGE FRUIT. He deftly weaves together a sort biography of Billie Holiday, that gifted and troubled singer, with the story of her most famous song, a disturbing reference to the lynching of African Americans in the early 20th Century South. While many others recorded STRANGE FRUIT (a handy discography is included at book's end), Billie's moving version has remained the standard. The author also goes into the story of Lewis Allan, aka Abel Meeropol, the song's author and political maverick. Margolick draws upon a wide array of documentary sources and interviews to capture the song's and singer's dynamics, including numerous quotes and also a smattering of photos. I was thoroughly informed and impressed, as will be all readers.