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24 Hours With Andra Day: Afrobeat and the Nixon Tapes
At home in Los Angeles, the star of “United States vs. Billie Holiday” finds inspiration in African music and the autobiography of Assata Shakur.
Andra Day on hearing Billie Holiday’s voice for the first time: “It changed my idea of what a great singer was.”Credit.Phylicia J. L. Munn for The New York Times
March 2, 2021
The singer-songwriter Andra Day was 11 when she first heard Billie Holiday’s voice. “I heard ‘Sugar’ and I heard ‘Strange Fruit.’ It changed my idea of what a great singer was,” she said. When she began performing, she chose a stage name her given name is Cassandra Monique Batie that paid homage to Holiday’s sobriquet, the Lady Day. And a few years ago, when she learned Lee Daniels would soon direct a Holiday biopic, Day, who had never acted professionally before, knew that she had to audition.
Today’s highlight
Feb. 28, 2013: Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eight-year pontificate. (Benedict was succeeded the following month by Pope Francis.)
On this date
1784: John Wesley, the co-founder of Methodism, chartered the first Methodist Church in the United States in Leesburg, Virginia.
1844: A 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded as the ship was sailing on the Potomac River, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others.
1849: The California gold rush began in earnest as regular steamship service started bringing gold-seekers to San Francisco.
1953: Scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick announced they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.
February 27, 2021
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Today is Sunday, Feb. 28, the 59th day of 2021. There are 306 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Feb. 28, 2013, Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eight-year pontificate. (Benedict was succeeded the following month by Pope Francis.)
On this date:
In 1784, John Wesley, the co-founder of Methodism, chartered the first Methodist Church in the United States in Leesburg, Virginia.
In 1844, a 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded as the ship was sailing on the Potomac River, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others.
Almanacs are full of lists of global and national historic events. But “This Day in History” feature invites you to not just peruse a list, but to take a trip back in time to see how a significant event originally was reported in the Chicago Tribune.