"The strange story behind 'Strange Fruit'"

The story behind Strange Fruit––one of my favorite songs of all time (I make a brief case for it here)––despite its subject matter, is a rather sweet one. Go to the NPR page here: http://www.npr.org/2012/09/05/158933012/the-strange-story-of-the-man-behind-strange-fruit

If you haven't seen the video of Billie Holiday singing this make sure you do, it's moving. (See it at the above link.) The way she snarls her lips at the right moments and absorbs some of the pain of the lynched into her face, it's something. Holiday fan Joni Mitchell said, "many of the so-called great singers love their notes more than their text..." Maybe, but Billie loved them both.

Here's another story NPR did on the emotional power of a Billie Holiday song: http://www.npr.org/2010/11/19/131451449/billie-holiday-emotional-power-through-song