With Billie (46 page)

A
bove all I am indebted to Linda Kuehl for the perseverance she showed in making contact with so many men and women who had known Billie Holiday and for listening carefully to what they had to say.

While I was in America I had the pleasure of meeting Billie’s pianist, Bobby Tucker, whose vivid memories of Billie were filled with humour and wisdom.

I became friends with the distinguished singer and actress, Yolande Bavan, who got to know Billie when they met in Paris in the late 1950s. Yolande had many insights on Billie’s character and especially her professionalism.

Robert O’Meally, Professor of English at Columbia University and author of the book
The Many Faces of Lady Day
and the screenplay for the documentary film version, shared his understanding of Billie’s music and the world she lived in.

Farah Jasmine Griffin, visiting professor at Columbia University and author of
If You Can’t Be Free, Be a Mystery
also gave me many valuable insights into Billie’s life.

Dan Morgenstern, the Director of the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies in New Jersey, helped me to find my way
around the Archive and told me of his own fascinating memories of meeting Billie in the 1950s.

The collector of Charlie Parker memorabilia, Norman R. Saks, kindly sent me a tape recording of a long interview he had made with Billie’s secretary, Alice Vrbsky.

On my second visit to New York, my husband and I stayed at Lenny and Elka’s New York Guest House in Harlem and they were charming and friendly hosts.

In England I am indebted to David Nathan at the Loughton Jazz Archive, and to Stuart Nicholson who made several suggestions for initial lines of research and whose Billie Holiday biography helped to steer me through some of the complexities of Billie’s life, especially during her final years.

Dr Ditti Smitt van Damme of the HKPD gave me valuable information on the nature of addiction.

The documentary film maker John Jeremy, who made the wonderful
Long Night of Lady Day
, gave me access to transcript interviews from his film and his private jazz archive. He also lent me a number of very useful and hard-to-find books.

My English editor, Dan Franklin, did a Mohammed-to-the-mountain journey when I could not get to London for the editing and he, along with my American editor Dan Frank, made it possible to carry this book through its final stages.

My agent and dear friend, Toby Eady, has followed
With Billie
right from the beginning.

My husband and first reader, Herman Makkink, has kept close to this book, throughout the stages of its development.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following to reprint previously published material:

Campbell Connelly & Co. Ltd.: Excerpt from the song lyric “Fine and Mellow” words and music by Billie Holiday. Copyright © 1939 by Edward B. Marks Music Company. Copyright renewed. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Campbell Connelly & Co. Ltd. on behalf of Edward B. Marks Music Company.

International Music Publications Ltd: Excerpt from the song lyric “I Cover the Waterfront” words by Edward Heyman, music by Johnny Green. Copyright © 1933 by Harms Inc., U.S.A., Warner Chappell Music Ltd., London W6 8BS. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of International Music Publications Ltd.

International Music Publications Ltd and Music Sales Corporation: Excerpt from the song lyric “Pennies From Heaven” words by Johnny Burke, music by Arthur Johnston. Copyright © 1936 & 1964 by Select Music Publishing, U.S.A./Santly Joy Music Incorporated/Anne-Rachel Music Corporation, USA. Campbell Connolly & Company Limited. Warner/Chappell North America Ltd., London W6 8BS(for World excl. Argentina, Australasia, Benelux, Brazil, British Commonwealth (but inc. Canada), Chile, Cuba, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Monaco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland & Uruguay). International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of International Music Publications Ltd and Music Sales Corporation.

Music Sales Corporation: Excerpt from the song lyric “Strange Fruit” words and music by Lewis Allan. Copyright © 1939 (Renewed) by Music Sales Corporation (ASCAP) International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Music Sales Corporation.

Random House, Inc.: Excerpt from
Sleepless Nights
by Elizabeth Hardwick. Copyright © 1979 by Elizabeth Hardwick. Reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc.