The Voice of Billie Holiday Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Paper

The Voice of Billie vacation A woman stands before you, and although she isnt a politician, she expresses her moving thoughts on issues that affect all Americans. Her voice isnt gravelly or demanding in tone. Her stature is slender and traced in a shimmer of light that reflects from her dress. A southern magnolia is lying comfortably above her ear. She sings. She sings of incomprehension, of hate, and of a races pain. She sings wretched and confused. She sings as Our Lady of Sorrow(Davis 1), a representation of a whole people torn and discriminated against. And though her speech is not spoken, she moves a crowd, one that gathers into many. Billie Holiday comes to prove that one womans voice, singing one song, that calls awareness to one issue of society, can change the world. Music has come to shape our views of society, love, race, and creed. We can all toy with a time when a song evoked an emotion. The song seemed to express every feeling within us. The artist sang the words we longed to say, and the music evince all the things we couldnt speak. At the same time, music can help express the things we dont understand in life, creating a bridge between differences. Music of a assorted artist can represent the point of view of someone that you dont understand, that looks at you funny, dresses different, speaks oddly, and believes something you dont. Music can express the emotions you feel, and the emotions that someone else feels.. Ray Charles once said, Thank matinee idol for music, it was a salvation(Keep on Pushing). Music is emotion whether rage, love, lust, hate or confusion, music teaches us that our views fall within the same staff as the views of those we dont understand. ... ... <www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/08/reviews/980.08davist.html.>. Davis, Francis. Our Lady of Sorrows. 2000. 9 Nov. 2001. <www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/11/davis.htm>. Ellis, James. Black Female Jazz Artists and Race and Gender Consciou s Protest Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald. 12 Nov 2001. <www.wam.edu/ellisj/news_femalejazz.htm>. Foley, Jack. David Marolick, Strange Fruit Billy Holiday, Caf Society, and an proterozoic Cry for Civil Rights. The Alsop Review. Running Press. 9 Nov. 2001. <www.alsopreview.com/foley/jfmargolick.html>. Keep on Pushing Say it Loud. VH1 Productions, 2001. Margolick, David. Strange Fruit A Song that Reverberates in the American Soul. 14 Nov. 2001. <www.qkw.com/racematters/nytarchjb218.htm>.