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There is controversy regarding Holiday's paternity. This stems from a copy of her birth certificate in Baltimore archives that lists the father as a "Frank DeViese." Some historians consider this an anomaly, probably inserted by a hospital or government worker (See Donald Clarke, ''Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon'', ISBN 0306811367). Clarence Holiday accepted paternity, but was hardly a responsible father. In the rare times she did see him, she would shake him down for money by threatening to tell his then-girlfriend that he had a daughter.
==Early career successes==
Settling in [[Harlem]], Holiday began singing informally in numerous clubs. Around [[1932]] she was "discovered" by [[record producer]] [[John H. Hammond|John Hammond]] at a club called Monette's (there is still some dispute among historians about who was the first to hear and publicise her, although it is generally agreed that Hammond was the first.) Hammond arranged several sessions for her with [[Benny Goodman]]; her first-ever recording was "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" (1933).
It was around this time that Holiday had her first successes as a live dancer. On November 23, [[1934]], she performed at the [[Apollo Theater]] to glowing reviews. The performance, with pianist (and then-lover) [[Bobby Henderson]], did much to solidify her standing as a jazz and [[blues]] singer. Shortly thereafter, Holiday began performing regularly at numerous clubs on [[52nd Street (Manhattan)|52nd Street]] in [[Manhattan]].
Compared to other jazz singers, Holiday had a rather limited range of just over an [[octave]]. She more than compensated for this shortcoming, however, with impecable timing, nuanced phrasing, and emotional immediacy.
She later worked with such legends as [[Lester Young]], [[Count Basie]], and [[Artie Shaw]], breaking the [[Racial segregation|color barrier]] along the way by becoming one of the black jazz singers of that era to perform with white musicians. Nevertheless, she was still forced to use the back entrance and forced to wait in a dark room away from the audience before appearing on stage. Once before an audience, she was transformed into Lady Day with the white gardenia in her hair. She explained the sense of overpowering [[drama]] that featured in her songs, saying "I've lived songs like that." and she had.
==Later life and death==
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