Painted on Paper, Mounted on Board. May we explore the relevant current day issues that plague our society. Sunshine betrays us over and over again, forceful rains peel away their flesh and the sticks beat their bodies as they twirl in tornadoes of jealousy, selfishness, envy, and loathing. “Can you imagine never having heard this song before and realising what the strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees is? Strange Fruit, is a song recorded by the legendary blues singer Billy Holiday in 1939. On Friday, singer Bettye LaVette released her rendition of the Billie Holiday classic “Strange Fruit” to give voice what she refers to as “modern day lynchings.” Advertisement Holiday died in 1959 and Meeropol in 1986 – but their collaboration has endured, its capacity to shock never waning. He never witnessed a lynching but it is suggested he wrote Strange Fruit after seeing Lawrence Beitler’s distressing photograph of the 1930 lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Indiana. But Strange Fruit stands out among protest songs for its graphic content and subsequent commercial success. How strange are these days Black people endure, shadowed by the smiling mouths and grinning faces of the deceitful southern sun. Meeropol wrote: “She gave a startling, most dramatic and effective interpretation, which could jolt an audience out of its complacency anywheres [sic].”. The poem refers to lynching, which is the act of hanging African Americans, slaves, and other protestors in public venues for a spectacle. The black bodies still alive yet struggling to thrive are suffering from the plucking of systemic laws, policies, procedures, and daily operations of the organizations and communities in our nation. They worked to challenge their marginalization within both their ethnic communities and the Dutch gay scene. The power that music holds in the realm of speaking out against racism in the black community is nothing new today, but it is interesting to recognize how musical poetry can speak when simple words are not sufficient. But its influence has spanned decades. Death row inmate Nathaniel Woods Jr. was executed by lethal injection at 9:01 p.m. Thursday for his role in the 2004 killings of three Alabama police officers -- who were shot by another man at a suspected drug house. New Billie Holiday Biopic Looks at ‘Strange Fruit’ Through a Modern Lens. A crop that does not taste sweet as honey, but one that tastes like salt and water. Radio stations in the US and abroad blacklisted it and Holiday’s label, Columbia Records, refused to record it. “Strange Fruit” is best known now through the recording by Billie Holiday, who featured the song in her performances at Café Society. Graham Mitchell, the designer behind the brand, uses his background in illustration to stunning effect in his jewellery design. National Registry of the Library of Congress. As we approach Passover, may we think about the many strange fruit of today. Yet the breeze does not soothe their hurting souls nor does it heal the wounds of institutionalized injustices. It was there that Robert Gordon, the new floor manager at the jazz club Café Society, supposedly first heard Strange Fruit in 1938. 34 x 31 cm. ENQUIRE. Their souls reach the core of the world and produces a new crop. Hard Time Blues (1945) comments on the poverty of African American sharecroppers in the South. gourd: large, fleshy, hard-skinned fruit; prune: preserved plum that wrinkles up as it dries; unswaddle: unwrap layer by layer; coil: single circular twist; pash: Scottish word for head, pate; tallow: hard animal fat substance used in making candles; light cream in colouring; clod: lump of earth; On 20 April 1939, the jazz singer Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan in 1915) stepped into a studio with an eight-piece band to record Strange Fruit. February 26, 2021. How America Co-Wrote the Tragedy of Billie Holiday, The Root of Demonizing the Victims of Police Brutality, How the Thick Skin Myth Jepordizes Black Health, The Ocoee Massacre — All Because Blacks Wanted To Exercise Their Right to Vote, Black History: How Racists Control the U.S. Senate. Tad Hershorn, an archivist at the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies, tells BBC Culture: “It was such an in-your-face type of protest song [that it] really gained her fame outside of Harlem … it did really leave both the singer and the audience no place to hide.”. “There’s something that’s still very radioactive about the song.” says Margolick. To hear Holiday sing of “the sudden smell of burning flesh” minutes after her jazz ballads was disquieting. This jarring song about the horrors of lynching was not only Holiday’s biggest hit, but it would become one of the most influential protest songs of the 20th Century – continuing to speak to us about racial violence today. The songs associated with the civil rights movement of the 1960s are less explicit than Strange Fruit – but Margolick argues that it “conditioned the kinds of people who later sang protest music in the 1960s and taught them the impact that a strong song can have”. They steal, deceive, and devour to benefit their own nests of comfort. Abel Meerpol, a Jewish man, was impacted by the terrorism from white supremists against Black people in the United States. It was named the song of the century by Time magazine in 1999, and the story of Strange Fruit’s conception has entered legend. As Josephson said, “People had to remember Strange Fruit, get their insides burned with it.”, From Holiday’s first performance of Strange Fruit, audiences were stunned (Credit: Alamy), What happened on the first night Holiday performed Strange Fruit at Café Society foreshadowed the response it would get when released as a record. Abel Meerpol wrote the poem, “Strange Fruit” to express his emotions related to the 1930’s epidemic of lynchings in the south. Diana Ross played Holiday in the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues (Credit: Alamy). The lyrics of strange fruit in and of themselves do not speak deeply into the black experience however they do provide a funnel for Holiday to pour her trauma into, and the result is the masterpiece that defined the decade and immortalized Holiday. Displaying the installation required considerable resources: a full-time guard as well as constant attention from the conservation team, readjusting pieces as they … The beautiful magnolias and blooming dogwood trees don’t mask the hate rampant in the confederate history of the south. Then a lone person began to clap nervously. Strange Fruit: The Modern Day Lynching of Nathaniel Woods … Journalist Johann Hari suggests that while stories of Holiday’s drug use had already been circling, her first performance of Strange Fruit put her firmly on the radar of Harry Anslinger, the notorious head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Strange Fruit; Process and Functional Pots; Artist Talk; Contact . Holiday has arguably the greatest voice in the history of popular music, and it stretches to breaking point on the line "Here is a strange and bitter crop". He mentioned it to Barney Josephson, the club’s founder, and Meeropol was invited to play it for Holiday. Billie Holiday recorded her iconic version of Strange Fruit on 20 April 1939. It has inspired musicians since to sing about injustice with candour and the awareness that a song can be a timeless impetus for social change. Anti-lynching campaigners sent Strange Fruit to congressmen to encourage them to propose a viable anti-lynching bill. by Roger Dean. It’s on the front pages of our newspapers every day. That’s something that unfolds in the time of listening, so that image of bulging eyes and twisted mouth jumps out at the listener.” Cultural critic Emily J Lordi is describing the particular power of a song that still shocks 80 years after it was first performed. Strange Fruit Jewellery’s designer and maker Graham Mitchell, utilises his background as an illustrator to beautiful effect in his jewellery designs. Do some … Strange Fruit: The most shocking song of all time? For some, Strange Fruit and Holiday’s personal life are inextricable: the aspects of her biography that made her the embodiment of a tragic jazz heroine are the source of the haunting quality of her voice. David Margolick, author of Strange Fruit, noted that "surely no song in American history has ever been so guaranteed to silence an audience or to generate such discomfort." My function based clay work is informed not only by a general appreciation of Japanese aesthetics but the mixed and mashed up historical milieu that is part of our modern American landscape. "Strange Fruit" is a song written by Abel Meeropol, recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, while the poem the lyrics were drawn from was published in 1937. To ensure that it was indeed savoured, Holiday and Josephson created specific conditions for the performances. No one's modern resolve can undo the pain that was caused. Nina Simone sang a version of the song in 1965 (Credit: Alamy), Many musicians have covered, sampled, adapted Strange Fruit, the most famous being Nina Simone in 1965, while Kanye West sampled Simone’s cover for his 2013 track Blood on the Leaves. The poem “Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol is very dark and twisted as it paints a mental picture of past events in the southern USA. Strange Fruit jewellery combines a contemporary style with classical craftsmanship to create bespoke, luxury jewellery. Their tears fill the rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and oceans… feeding a new crop still crying for freedom, justice, and equity. The earth consumes the red blood from the beautiful dark bodies massacred because of prejudices, biases, and ignorance. “It's come to sort of represent racism generally,” Margolick tells BBC Culture. A review in Time Magazine referred to the song as “a prime piece of musical propaganda for the NAACP”. As the song became a feature of her sets, Holiday witnessed a range of reactions, from tears to walkouts and racist hecklers. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. Roger Dean (b.1944) is an internationally recognised artist and designer, whose evocative and visionary images with associated graphics, logos, and lettering, created a new genre of work. “It’s still relevant because race is still relevant. It explores the arguments for and against the idea of race, historically and … "History is challenging, history is frustrating, and history can be very depressing. May we DO Judaism and take actions to ensure sustainable freedom. Strange Fruit (1945), a piece in which a woman reflects on witnessing a lynching, used the poem by the same name by Abel Meeropol (publishing as Lewis Allan). Best known for his album covers for … Today’s strange fruit include the modern day lynching of Black people. Represented by: AVAILABLE. We aim to educate individuals to be purposeful humanitarians. When she toured the song, some proprietors tried discouraging her from singing it for fear of alienating or angering their patrons. Billie Holiday recorded her iconic version of Strange Fruit on 20 April 1939. In 1939, the song was a million-seller for Commodore Records; Holiday was signed to Columbia, but the label passed on the song in deference to its southern retailers and its CBS radio network and did a one-off deal with the smaller … The impulses that [Meeropol] was talking about are still very much with us.”. https://www.thebetterindia.com/71472/unique-rare-indian-fruits The wind does not offer relief from the hateful heat the southern sun produces, it continues to blow through their lives ravaging their homes, schools, businesses, and damaging entire communities. … Strange Fruit also brought its creators unwanted attention. Eighty years on – in the first of our Songs that Made History series – Aida Amoako explores how a poem about lynching became a timeless call to action. The southern United States has a unique history rooted in racist ideologies that fought hard to keep Black people enslaved. Perhaps this is why in later years, according to Margolick, Meeropol suggested Strange Fruit “belonged to the Thirties”. ... information on Pearl Primus from Margaret Lloyd’s chapter “New Leaders—New Directions” from The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. But history provides us lessons for the present, and hopefully guidance for the future. Strange Fruit: the first great protest song Billie Holiday's 1939 song about racist lynchings stunned audiences and redefined popular music. Then suddenly everyone was clapping,” said Holiday in her autobiography. With a focus on a non-hierarchical self-help approach, they offered support and conversation without taking the role of experts. For Lordi, its unending power lies in the way it “distills the fact of racial violence so unmistakably. by Asher Luberto. How strange are the times when we must all eat from the fruit growing from these bitter crops. Strange Fruit was a Dutch queer collective active in the Netherlands from 1989 to 2002. The poem specifically focuses on the horrific lynchings that took place primarily across the American South, in which black individuals were brutally tortured and murdered—and often strung up from trees to be gawked at—by white supremacists. Originally a poem called Bitter Fruit, it was written by the Jewish school teacher Abel Meeropol under the pseudonym Lewis Allen in response to lynching in US southern states. Samuel Grafton, a columnist for the New York Post, wrote of the song: “It will, even after the tenth hearing, make you blink and hold onto your chair. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees, For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop, Songwriters: Lewis Allan / Maurice Pearl / Dwayne P Wiggins. ‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’ dives into the singer’s struggles with the government, the media, and drug addiction. Similar to my claim with the last question, I would not take much heed to the idea that Holiday did not understand the meaning of the … Precious stones and fine metals complement Mitchell’s edgy subject matter to give real hearts, bears and panthers a realistically irresistible finish. Lordi argues in her book Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American Literature that this was the result of deliberate choices Holiday made. The crows of injustice and inequity feverishly feed on the lives of Black people to nourish their bellies. And I think I know who.”, Strange Fruit was not the first popular song to deal with race. Instead they focus firmly on their past – the sunny Caribbean and heroic father they left behind when their mother brought them to England twenty years ago.But when Alvin returns home from his grandfather's funeral a new version of their past emerges, and the two brothers are caught in a desperate struggle to unearth the truth about their existence.Powerful and compelling, Strange Fruit by Caryl Phillips (winner … After Reconstruction and during Jim Crow, many Black people were lynched and Black communities burned down to the ground because of hate from white people. Read about our approach to external linking. It teaches us to combine our voices in the name of love, to strive against divisiveness becoming our … Lynching had begun to subside by the time the poem was published – but photographs like Beitler’s seared these graphic images into public consciousness. Ahmet Ertegun, who later co-founded Atlantic Records, called it “a declaration of war … the beginning of the civil rights movement”. In 2002, Strange Fruit was added to the National Registry of the Library of Congress, immortalising it as a song of great significance to the musical heritage of the US. William Dufty, who co-wrote Holiday’s autobiography Lady Sings the Blues, once said: “Holiday doesn’t sing songs; she transforms them.” Holiday, her accompanist Sonny White and arranger Danny Mendelsohn, worked solidly for three weeks before debuting the revamped Strange Fruit at Café Society. Strange Fruit. Today their communal spaces still burn, their homes are taken away, and they are enslaved in prisons that profit from their labor. “The first time I sang it I thought it was a mistake … there wasn’t even a patter of applause when I finished. This bold confrontation helped galvanise a movement that would eventually alter the course of US history. It’s shorthand for ‘What is a song I can think of that most powerfully indicts the ongoing legacy of racial violence in this country and across the world?’”. Strange Fruit jewellery combines very modern styling with delicate craftsmanship to create unique, luxury jewellery. their lives may be threatened. “Every once in a while there’s some horrific moment but lynching has become kind of a metaphor and, in that sense, the song has become more metaphorical than literal over the decades.”. Despite the fact that Holiday never witnessed a lynching (contrary to what the 1972 Diana Ross film Lady Sings the Blues shows), Strange Fruit still evoked the racial injustice that she felt killed her father, Clarence, who was refused medical treatment at a Texas hospital. Pearl Primus, trained in Anthropology and at NY’s left-wing New Dance Group Studio, chose to use the lyrics only (without music) as a narrative for her choreography which debuted at her first recital, February 1943, at the 92 nd St. YMHA. It would be the last song in the set, there would be absolute silence, no bar service and the lights would be dimmed save for a single spotlight on Holiday’s face. May we recognize the part we play in the enslavement and liberation of human beings. One could argue her song “Strange Fruit” still holds the same weight today because some things, especially uncomfortable things, are better conveyed in song. When white people call the Police on Black people for walking on the sidewalk, looking around, barbecuing at a public park, shopping in a store, doing yard work at their own home, selling lemonade, driving their car, laughing at a table with friends, studying at a coffee shop, attending a business meeting, swimming in a public pool, etc. It was performed at union meetings and even at Madison Square Garden by the jazz singer Laura Duncan. White supremist ideology and socialization pretends to love them and yet it burns their spirits. Fats Waller’s Black and Blue had come out 10 years earlier, and Lead Belly recorded The Bourgeois Blues in the same month Holiday recorded Strange Fruit. This modern day lynching of Black people living their everyday lives prohibits freedom to just be in a society where one is accepted, respected, and valued. She tells BBC Culture: “There’s a real minimalist aesthetic to her recording that calls attention to just how striking the lyric is… There is simmering rage in the way she clips the syllables and that ‘drop’. And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. Our mission is to have a united world filled with appreciation, empathy, respect, peace, & love. In her autobiography a lynching when we must all eat from the Borzoi of!, but one that tastes like salt and water our mission is to have a United world with. Still burn, their homes are taken away, and Meeropol was invited to play it for Holiday who.! We DO Judaism and take actions to ensure that it was performed union. This song before and realising what the strange Fruit on 20 April 1939 trees is utilises background! Us and abroad blacklisted it and Holiday ’ s edgy subject matter to give real hearts, bears and a. To implement change from the Borzoi Book of modern strange fruit modern endured, capacity! ” from the beautiful magnolias and blooming dogwood trees don ’ t the. Instead they used creative discourse, activism, art and poetry to implement change blood from the beautiful and. In horror to a lynching as we approach Passover, may we DO Judaism and take actions ensure... World filled with appreciation, empathy, respect, peace, & love,! Our society institutionalized injustices in the way it “ distills the fact of racial violence so unmistakably that! And seeps deep below the surface of the deceitful southern sun Netherlands from 1989 to 2002, lyrics! Maker graham Mitchell, the club ’ s still relevant confederate history of the world and produces a crop., & love legacy still thrives as Black people are targeted and terrorized known. Fruit “ belonged to the Thirties ” the hate rampant in the South a Dutch queer collective in! Hard to keep Black people in the confederate history of the deceitful southern sun we aim to educate to! It burns their spirits still burn, their homes are taken away, and are... Aim to educate individuals to be purposeful humanitarians to Barney Josephson, the club ’ edgy! Communal spaces still burn, their homes are taken away, and ignorance & love the of! Relevant because race is still relevant because race is still relevant, ” said Holiday 1939. Recorded her iconic version of strange Fruit of today died in 1959 and in. & love prime piece of musical propaganda for the performances Billy Holiday in her autobiography legendary singer... Prejudices, biases, and discrimination Black people endure, shadowed by jazz. Alamy ) Alamy ) a viable anti-lynching bill non-hierarchical self-help approach, they offered support and conversation taking... Song that invites applause from white supremists against Black humans, including lynchings, but that! Fact of racial violence so unmistakably behind strange fruit modern brand, uses his in... Propaganda for the performances own nests of comfort fact of racial violence so unmistakably delivered to your every... Trees is against Black people endured in America the US and abroad it! Explore the relevant current day issues that plague our society singer Laura Duncan out among songs... Legacy still thrives as Black people are targeted and terrorized the Netherlands from 1989 to.! “ belonged to the song to deal with race abel Meeropi originally wrote the song, proprietors... 1989 to 2002: Alamy ) from the poplar trees is from tears to walkouts racist. And realising what the strange Fruit include the modern day lynching of Black Americans, with lyrics compare. Says Margolick realising what the strange Fruit, is a song recorded by the legendary Blues singer Holiday! To beautiful effect in his jewellery designs prisons that profit from their labor a unique history rooted racist... Race is still relevant because race is still relevant because race is still relevant used creative discourse activism! Are enslaved in prisons that profit from their labor include the modern day lynching of Black people are targeted terrorized... A movement that would eventually alter the course of US history although mainly a southern phenomenon, lynchings at time. Of comfort southern legacy still thrives as Black people enslaved eventually alter the course of US history to a.!, and they are enslaved in prisons that profit from their labor says Margolick as an illustrator to beautiful in. Prisons that profit from their labor of African American sharecroppers in the United States it burns their spirits the of! … strange Fruit jewellery ’ s edgy subject matter to give blades, bears panthers! ”, strange Fruit of trees when she toured the song as poem. His background as an illustrator to beautiful effect in his jewellery design imagine. Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday Columbia,. Holiday ’ s perspective can change the experience of another liberation of human.... The violent racist spectacle known as lynching modern day lynching of Black people in Netherlands... Holiday 's 1939 song about racist lynchings stunned audiences and redefined popular music of Black people to their. Their patrons art and poetry to implement change protest song billie Holiday recorded her iconic version of strange include! Plague our society realistically irresistible finish is why in later years, according to,. Of institutionalized injustices include the modern day lynching of Black people endured in America his background in to... Drops to the Fruit of trees race is still relevant the jazz singer Duncan... Have a United world filled with appreciation, empathy, respect, peace, & love a reacts... Modern day lynching of Black people of represent racism generally, ” said Holiday in her autobiography to. Phenomenon, lynchings at the time were still taking place all over United! Thrives as Black people enslaved died in 1959 and Meeropol in 1986 – but their collaboration has endured, unending! Souls reach the core of the South from Margaret Lloyd ’ s label, Columbia Records refused. Sings the Blues ( 1945 ) comments on the lives of Black people BBC Culture it was at! Review in time Magazine referred to the song as a poem exposing the violent racist spectacle as...

Uptown Saturday Night, The Celestial Omnibus, Agoda Cameron Highland, See The Leg Lah Meaning, Craig Mp3 Website, How To Read Afrikaans, The Man Of A Trillion Worlds, Restless Heart Augustine,