Question 1

True or false: Billie Holiday had no formal vocal training and never learned to read sheet music.

Accepted Answer

True. She learned by ear from jazz records and relied on her raw emotional instinct, never reading music.

Question 2

True or false: Billie Holiday was born in Philadelphia but grew up in Baltimore, where she began singing in nightclubs as a teenager.

Accepted Answer

True. She was born in Philadelphia in 1915, raised in Baltimore, and started singing in Harlem clubs at age 17.

Question 3

True or false: Billie Holiday died with only 70 cents in the bank, and a copy of her autobiography under her pillow.

Accepted Answer

False. She died with little money, but the '70 cents and autobiography' story is a romanticized myth from her 1959 death.

Question 4

True or false: Billie Holiday co-wrote many of her most famous songs, including 'God Bless the Child' and 'Lady Sings the Blues'.

Accepted Answer

True. She co-wrote 'God Bless the Child' with Arthur Herzog Jr. and 'Lady Sings the Blues' with Herbie Nichols.

Question 5

True or false: Billie Holiday's nickname 'Lady Day' was given to her by saxophonist Lester Young because of her refined, elegant style.

Accepted Answer

True. Lester Young called her 'Lady Day' as a mark of respect, and she called him 'Prez' in return.

Question 6

True or false: Billie Holiday's signature song 'Strange Fruit' was originally a poem about lynching written by a Jewish schoolteacher.

Accepted Answer

True. Abel Meeropol wrote 'Strange Fruit' as a poem in 1937; Holiday later made it her haunting, iconic protest anthem.

Question 7

True or false: Billie Holiday was married to legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong for a brief period in the 1940s.

Accepted Answer

False. They were close friends and performed together, but never married. Holiday had three husbands, none of them Armstrong.

Question 8

True or false: Billie Holiday was the first African American woman to perform with a white orchestra on a major US radio broadcast.

Accepted Answer

False. That milestone belongs to Ella Fitzgerald or others; Holiday did break barriers, but this specific claim is overstated.

Billie Holiday Trivia Questions