The Feds vs. the Activists | Billie Holiday | 1
American Scandal
Audible
4.5 • 19.6K Ratings
🗓️ 20 October 2020
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Billie Holiday makes a decision. The jazz singer will perform "Strange Fruit," the protest song about lynchings, no matter what happens to her—and no matter how many times law enforcement tells her to stay quiet. But that puts her in the crosshairs of one federal official, who uses any means necessary to silence Holiday.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to American Scandal add-free on Amazon Music, download the app today. |
| 0:07.0 | A listener note, this episode contains references to sexual assault and racial violence and may not be suitable for younger listeners. |
| 0:14.0 | It's January 1939 in New York City. |
| 0:28.0 | Tonight, Billy Holiday stands backstage at the Cafe Society Club in Greenwich Village. It's 9pm and time for her to go on stage. |
| 0:36.0 | Holiday runs her fingers along her forearms. Her skin is covered in goose bumps. |
| 0:41.0 | That's not because of the cold winter air that's leaking into the club. |
| 0:45.0 | Tonight, Holiday is supposed to sing a brand new song, one that could get her into big trouble. |
| 0:51.0 | Normally, she wouldn't worry about a single song. Holiday is 23 years old, but already, she's toured with jazz grates like Count Basie and Arty Shaw. |
| 0:59.0 | She loves dazzling audiences with her voice, and long ago she learned that the stage was the one place where she felt safe. |
| 1:06.0 | But tonight is different. The song she's about to perform could destroy her career. |
| 1:11.0 | It's the type of song that makes record producers tear up contracts and club owners cancel bookings. |
| 1:17.0 | And Holiday knows it's also the kind of song that brings the police knocking on your door. |
| 1:22.0 | Holiday takes a sip of water and shakes her head. Performing this song is a major risk, and she's not certain it's worth it, no matter how strong that she feels about the song's message. |
| 1:33.0 | Just then she hears footsteps. She turns to see Barney Josephson, the owner of the club. |
| 1:40.0 | He slender, well dressed, with dark, slicked back hair. He smiles. |
| 1:44.0 | You look gorgeous, Billy. Ready to knock your socks off? |
| 1:47.0 | Holiday pauses. And then she makes a quick decision. |
| 1:51.0 | Change the plans. We don't need that last song. Oh no, Billy, that's a big mistake. |
| 1:56.0 | I think doing the song is the mistake, Barney. Trust me, those people out there, they don't want to hear all that. |
| 2:01.0 | Well, who cares what they want to hear? It's what they need to hear. |
| 2:05.0 | That's what you think, but you're not me, and you don't have to live with that decision. |
| 2:10.0 | I'm just not singing it, okay? If you don't sing that song tonight, you'll never forgive yourself. |
... |
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