Francine Wolfisz is the Features Editor for Jewish News.
H
Strange Fruit did more than just propel Billie Holiday’s fledgling music career – it sparked a debate that became the beginning of the civil rights movement.
While the song was written into history books for perpetuity, including being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1978, the story behind
Strange Fruit’s Jewish composer and lyricist, Abel Meeropol, has largely been forgotten over the decades.
Interest in the song has now resurged thanks to Sky Original’s new biopic,
The United States vs Billie Holiday, which places
Strange Fruit right at the heart of the plotline.
Strange Fruit, a haunting protest song about the lynching of Black Americans.
That night, the young jazz singer received a warning from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics never to sing the song again. Holiday’s lifelong defiance of that warning led to her being relentlessly pursued by Harry Anslinger, the racist director of the FBN.
Author Johann Hari talks to Phillip about the new Billie Holiday biopic based on his book
Chasing The Scream.
Book:
Duration: 24min 40sec
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