Broadcast: February 9, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.
Listen to this episode: Click here
Episode 1 - Overview of the Series
In this first episode, we hear about Billie's early days in Baltimore before she moves with her mother to Harlem. At the age of 18, John Hammond hears Billie singing at a small club in Harlem and immediately arranges a recording session the then unknown Benny Goodman.
There's also discussion of the opening of the integrated club Cafe Society in Greenwich Village and her courageous decision to sing "Strange Fruit", an allegory about lynching. Other things the series dive into includes her work with the great Big Bands of the era, the evolution of her voice, her tragic early death at the age of 44 and much more.
This episode includes comments by Prof. Robert O'Meally, Angela Davis, Dr. Farah Jasmine Griffin, Karrin Allyson, Phil Schaap, Lara Downes, Rene Marie, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Cassandra Wilson.
Also included are archival interviews that include comments by Harry "Sweets" Edison, Vernon Alley, Billie Eckstine, Barney Kessel, Annie Ross, Count Basie, and Carl Drinkard.