Wishing on the Moon
- Author Donald Clarke
- Narrator Anna Fields
- Publisher Blackstone Publishing
- Run Time 17 hours and 46 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Biography: arts and entertainment, Biography: general, Composers and songwriters, Ethnic studies, Gender studies: women and girls, History of music, Music reviews and criticism, Musicians, singers, bands and groups, Popular music.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- €9.95
- €8.95
- €7.95
- €6.95
- €5.95
Listen to a sample
What to expect
No singer has been more mythologized and more misunderstood than jazz legend Billie Holiday, who helped to create much of the mystique herself with her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues. This authentic biography sets the record straight. Donald Clarke was given unrivaled access to a treasure trove of interviews from the 1970s with those who knew Lady Day in all stages of her short, tragic life—from her childhood in the streets and good-time houses of Baltimore, through the early days of success in New York and the years of fame, to her tragic decline and death at the age of forty-four. This biography separates fact from fiction to reveal the true Billie Holiday.
Critics Review
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“May be the most thorough and valuable of the many books on Holiday.”
New York Times Book Review -
“A thoroughly riveting account of Holiday and her milieu.”
Newsday (Long Island, NY) -
“Finally sets us straight about the late singer, evoking her world in all of its anguish, triumph, force, and irony. It’s a remarkable story, and long overdue.”
Seattle Times -
“We should probably have to wait a long time for another life of Billie Holiday to supersede Donald Clarke’s achievement.”
JazzTimes -
“In Clarke’s remarkably insightful biography, a joy to read, the singer emerges as a vulnerable woman who had unrewarding affairs with unsuitable men out of her fear of deeper love…This marvelously evocative portrait places her performances firmly in the African American subculture from which they sprang…Crammed with jazz history and lore and sketches of legendary musicians, this biography will have great appeal for Holiday fans and jazz followers.”
Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Numerous quoted characters offer vivid anecdotes. Fields emphasizes their contributions with thoughtfulness and precision. Her voice asserts ample personality when necessary and explicit description is needed. Emerging from this profile is a complex story of race relations, drug abuse, discography, and a legendary jazz singer.”
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