And then there are books about Billie Holiday, whose life, myth, and music have been attracting and eluding writers since she began making records in 1933. Perhaps, that’s why we read this kind of book, to dispel the myths and justify our love. Such books strive to bring us close to the person who is the artist, so that we may listen with new familiarity to music of the one who moves us so deeply. They indulge our desire to know what made them tick, what inspired them.
What is the relationship between the actual lives of musicians, the larger-than-life myths that often surround them, and the music that touches us personally as listeners? And how does a biographer make meaningful sense of these interconnections? Most musical biographies try to present a fuller picture of the artist as a human being, with all the failings, regrets, and unique qualities associated with that condition. John Szwed (2015, Viking) 230 pages including endnotes and index Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth
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