Billie Holiday: The Long Night of Lady Day

The 90-minute documentary uses archival footage, old photographs, and interviews to chronicle the tragic life of the openly bisexual blues singer Billie Holiday.

Carmen Mercedes McRae

She was a jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Also known as "The Singer's Singer", McRae was considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century.  Although McRae never reached the heights of popularity attained by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday, she was widely regarded as their artistic equal. 

The daughter of Jamaican immigrants, Carmen was known for her impeccable phrasing, melodic invention, and dramatic interpretation of lyrics. McRae absorbed the influences of Billie Holiday and bebop to establish her own distinctive style.

Also an actress, her film appearances include The Square Jungle (1955), The Subterraneans (1960), Hotel (1967), and Jojo Dancer, Your Life is Calling (1986), as well as one episode of the television series Roots (1978) and the documentaries Tribute to Billie Holiday (1979), Thelonious Monk: Music in Monk’s Time (1985), and Carmen McRae—Live (1986).

She believed sexuality was fluid, and was often seen in public with “female companions,” having had experiences with both men and women but resisting any official label. Many have speculated that she even had a sexual encounter with Billie Holiday.

McRae was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards, recorded more than 60 albums, and all told spent fifty years performing in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Sadly, McRae died from complications of a stroke suffered a month earlier. Still she inspired many young jazz singers, and musicians and critics alike recognized her superb musicianship and evocative interpretation of lyrics.

Billie Holiday

Also known as "Lady Day", Holiday  was an American jazz musician, singer, and songwriter with a lengthy career. Her most popular songs included “Strange Fruit” and “God Bless the Child”. Throughout her career, Holiday was openly bisexual. She was even rumored to have had romantic entanglements with a remarkable number of actresses including Tallulah Bankhead.