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Billie Was a Black Woman

By: Rebecca Carroll, Paramount Audio
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  • Summary

  • Billie Was a Black Woman is a four-part podcast series that refracts Black womanhood through the prism of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday - widely considered to be one of the most innovative artists of all time. In partnership with the Lee Daniels film, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, in each episode acclaimed host and writer Rebecca Carroll dives into different facets of Billie’s life and legacy, exploring what it means to defy the narrow categorizations thrust upon Black artists, Black bodies, and Black women today.

    The full series will release on April 7, 2021.

    Billie Was a Black Woman was produced by Spoke Media in coordination with Paramount Audio.

    ©2021 Paramount Audio, a Division of Paramount Pictures Corporation (P)2021 Paramount Audio, a Division of Paramount Pictures Corporation
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Episodes
  • Trailer: Billie Was a Black Woman

    Trailer: Billie Was a Black Woman
    Mar 8 2021

    Billie Was a Black Woman is a four-part podcast series that refracts Black womanhood through the prism of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday - widely considered to be one of the most innovative artists of all time. In partnership with the Lee Daniels film, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, in each episode acclaimed host and writer Rebecca Carroll dives into different facets of Billie’s life and legacy, exploring what it means to defy the narrow categorizations thrust upon Black artists, Black bodies, and Black women today.

    The full series will release on April 7, 2021.

    Billie Was a Black Woman was produced by Spoke Media in coordination with Paramount Audio.

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    2 mins
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  • Episode 1: Andra & Billie

    Episode 1: Andra & Billie
    Apr 7 2021

    Jazz legend Billie Holiday meant a lot of things to a lot of people. But at the end of the day, Billie was a Black woman. Academy Award nominated actress and Grammy-award winning singer Andra Day, who plays the iconic songstress in the film The United States vs. Billie Holiday, talks with host Rebecca Carroll about what it was like to inhabit Billie’s universe, the power of her most famous song “Strange Fruit,” and the fullness of her complicated humanity.

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    33 mins
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  • Episode 2: Music as Salvation

    Episode 2: Music as Salvation
    Apr 7 2021
    For Billie Holiday, music extended far beyond the performance - it was who she was, what she became, and how she navigated an often hostile world. Host Rebecca Carroll sits down with multi-platinum recording artist Mariah Carey to discuss her deep affinity with Billie, and with The United States vs. Billie Holiday director Lee Daniels about the responsibility of bringing the singer’s story to life.
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    23 mins
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What listeners say about Billie Was a Black Woman

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Dan Sands

Excellent, great to listen to, 5/5, but...

This podcast investigated how Billie Holiday impacted several of the interviewees in their work (i.e. Mariah Carey, Dr Angela Davis, etc) and how she should be interpreted by history and the arts through the lense of being a black woman and all that entails.

Every episode brought a unique perspective with each of the individuals and their appreciation for Lady Day, accompanied by music and archival material of Holiday or people speaking about her, and it does a good job of promoting the new movie on Hulu which I will surely be watching the first chance I get.

HOWEVER.

There was no mention of the fact that Billie's childhood was made more difficult by the fact that her mothers mixed Irish and Catholic side of the family had historically been looked down on by their relatives.

When Mariah Carey talked about her experiences of growing up mixed race with an Irish mother this would have been an opportune moment to have brought up this fact, but it wasn't touched on.

I just wanted to highlight the fact that Eleanora Fagan/Billie Holiday can be looked at through more than just a black woman lense, and that she appeals to more persons across a wider variety of spectrums.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for TheZee

Rivetting

It's a great thing to learn the truth about the force of nature that was Billie Holiday. This podcast is a history and a celebration of black womanhood.

Absolutely rivetting!

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1 person found this helpful

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Profile Image for Julie

So interesting

I obviously don't know how it feels to be a black woman as I am white, but I certaining understand the woman bit, It must had been so hard for black women like Billie, she was up against white people, especially in America at the time, up against people not understanding her sexuality & on top of that Men. I have always so admired her tinasity, her Amazing voice & standing up for her right. I saw the West end show The Cotton Club in 1990 in London. I was hooked.

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4 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for JMD

Tedious

Mostly laking a coherent connecting argument. Some speakers made some interesting points. Angela Davis. Others seemed just wishy washy. Mariah Carey. Overall I would rather have listened to a chronological biography with a bit of context.

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