Lady sings the blues is the fiercely honest, noholdsbarred autobiography of billie holiday, the legendary jazz, swing, and standards singing sensation. His favorite meals consisted of brown rice and steamed vegetables, rooks said. At 76, gloria swanson has a new crusadeand a new mate to. William dufty interesting stories about famous people. And sugar blues, inspired by the crusade of hollywood legend gloria swanson, is the classic, bestselling expose that unmasks our generations greatest medical killer and shows how a revitalizing, sugarfree diet can not only change lives, but quite possibly save them. In the mid 1950s, dufty worked with his friend, jazz singer billie holiday, to create her famous autobiography, lady sings the blues. At 76, gloria swanson has a new crusadeand a new mate to go with it at 76, gloria swanson has a new crusadeand a new mate to go with it by christopher p. Holidays health began to fail because of drug and alcohol abuse, and she died in 1959. All of this is told in holidays tart, streetwise style and hip patois that makes it read as if it were written. In 1956 she wrote an autobiography, lady sings the blues with william dufty, that was made into a motion picture starring diana ross in 1972. Lady sings the blues by billie holiday, william dufty.
Billie holidays bio, lady sings the blues, may be full of. Lady sings the blues billie holiday, william dufty. Delving into earlier drafts of lady sings the blues and other. Ask for it at your local bookstore, or order it online. Refined sugar the sweetest poison of all by william dufty. The book is currently published by warner usa as a paperback.
Duftys highly readable autobiography of billie holiday, lady sings the blues 1956, began with the striking opening lines mom and pop were. The lady sings the blues poem by james casey poem hunter. See more ideas about lady sings the blues, lady and billie holiday. One of the major themes has to do with the difficulties of being a. William dufty was born on february 2, 1916 in grand rapids, michigan, usa. Lady sings the blues is an autobiography by jazz singer billie holiday, which was coauthored by william dufty.
Dufty s highly readable autobiography of billie holiday, lady sings the blues 1956, began with the striking opening lines mom and pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. Buy a cheap copy of sugar blues book by william dufty. Lady sings the blues billie holiday, william dufty lady sings the blues is the fiercely honest, noholdsbarred autobiography of billie holiday, the legendary jazz, swing, and standards singing sensation. He was married to gloria swanson and maely bartholomew. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Ghostwritten by the late newspaperman and author william dufty, the father of san francisco supervisor bevan dufty, lady sings the blues was published three years before holiday died in a new. One of the major themes has to do with the difficulties of being a black jazz artist in. Lady sings the blues is a patchwork quilt of anecdotes with no consistent thesis holding it together. Including ghostwriting, he wrote approximately 40 books. Lady sings the blues is ostensibly billie holidays autobiography. This article was most recently revised and updated by alicja zelazko, assistant editor. Duftys writing style is good enough to make the reader feel they are reading lady day telling us her story. Dufty was an organizer for the united auto workers, wrote speeches for former uaw president walter reuther, edited michigan congress of industrial organizations cio news and handled publicity for americans for democratic action.
Dr tintera finally insisted that all his patients submit to a fourhour glucose tolerance test gtt to find out whether or not they could handle sugar. Lady sings the blues a poem by lorettayoung all poetry. This book is not scientific many others books have info for that. Taken with a grain of salt or sugar this is a very informational book, though a little dated having been written in 1975. Dufty published the holiday book in 1956, and at her death in 1959. Extracted from nexus magazine, volume 7, number 1 december 1999 january 2000. Aug 07, 2012 sugar blues by william dufty is a gamechanger. All of this is told in holidays tart, streetwise style and hip patois that makes it read as if it were written yesterday. Billie holidays autobiography, lady sings the blues, begins with one of the. The author goes a little over the top, basically blaming every human dis.
Dufty s writing style is good enough to make the reader feel they are reading lady day telling us her story. Dufty died at age 86 on june 28, 2002, at his home in birmingham, michigan. Jul 18, 2017 lady sings the blues is an autobiography by jazz singer billie holiday, which was coauthored by william dufty. So much of what we know about lady day comes from her own words, as captured in her 1956 autobiography lady sings the blues, and as told to journalist william dufty. William franci s duf ty february 2, 1916 june 28, 2002 was an american writer, musician, and activis t du fty was a supporter of trade union ism. Sugar blues is a book by william dufty that was released in 1975 and has become a dietary classic. Lady sings the blues autobiography by holiday britannica. Lady sings the blues by billie holliday and william dufty. Lady sings the blues by billie holiday and william dufty. Police officers were stationed at the door to her room. Lady sings the blues 1956 is an autobiography by jazz singer billie holiday, which was coauthored by william dufty. William francis dufty was an american writer, musician, and activist. I had never heard the term sugar blues despite having suffered it a few times.
Sugar blues, an account by william dufty of the devastating health effects of refined sugar, created quite a splash when it was first published in 1975. It is based on billie holidays reminiscences as told to collaborator. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read lady sings the blues. I vividly remember how energetically i avoided the book. Taking the reader on a fastmoving journey from holidays roughandtumble baltimore childhood where she ran errands at a whorehouse in exchange for the chance to listen to louis armstrong and bessie smith. Lady sings the blues book lady sings the blues 1956 is an autobiography by jazz singer billie holiday, which was coauthored by william dufty. Billie holiday lady sings the blues lyrics genius lyrics. Lady sings the blues poem abel meeropol poems best poems. Lady sings the blues billie holiday, william dufty lady sings the blues is the fiercely honest, noholdsbarred autobiography of billie holiday, the legendary jazz, swing, and. Its a prime ingredient in countless substances from cereal to soup, f. Sugar blues by william dufty, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. In the 1960s dufty became inspired by macrobiotic guru george ohsawas book, zen macrobiotics, and swore off sugar, meat, and processed food in favor of whole grains and vegetables. The book was first published by the chilton book company, padnor, pa, usa. The performance, documented on a live album, continued a curious promotional effort on behalf of lady sings the blues, one that relied on holidays drug addiction and frequent arrests to authenticate the books shocking content and characterize the subject, in critic gerald earlys estimation, as a onedimensional pulp heroine 428.
Lady sings the blues is a very loosely constructed autobiography arranged in chronological order but leaving many gaps. Taking the reader on a fastmoving journey from holidays roughandtumble baltimore childhood where she ran errands at a whorehouse in exchange for the chance to listen to louis armstrong and bessie smith albums, to her emergence on harlems club scene, to soldout performances with the count basie orchestra and with artie shaw and. Coauthor william dufty 19162002 was a music enthusiast, freelance. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Szwed makes a strong case for the autobiographys authenticityif not. This book does not give you implicit instructions on how to kick sugar, processed food. The book formed the basis of the 1972 film lady sings the blues starring diana ross. Dufty died friday of natural causes at his home in birmingham, mich. Billie holidays bio, lady sings the blues, may be full of lies, but it. This book is great fantastic insight into the history of sugar and makes you wonder why we. Lady sings the blues by holiday, billie and duffy, william and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Dufty was the ghostwriter of holidays autobiography lady sings the blues in 1956, which in turn was made into a 1972 movie starring diana ross in the title role. Ghostwritten by the late newspaperman and author william dufty, the. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Interesting that the arrangement was also sung by billie. The memoir punctuates the tragic life of jazzs melancholy song bird and now years on it is seen as being just as murky as the details about her early life. However, it was actually ghostwritten by william dufty. Reading this book has inspired me to rethink the role of sugar in my life and check out a couple other books on sugar to gain an ever greater understanding of the concepts and history presented in dufty s book. The performance, documented on a live album, continued a curious promotional effort on behalf of lady sings the blues, one that relied on holidays drug addiction and frequent arrests to authenticate the book s shocking content and characterize the subject, in critic gerald earlys estimation, as a onedimensional pulp heroine 428. Mary boren this is a stirring tribute, loretta, as well as a sad commentary on the price of success, or rather the price of the quest for success. I feel like i have to put everything on hold until finish reading and processing the information this book presents.
In all he collaborated on more than 40 books, including billie hollidays lady sings the blues in 1956. Mar 02, 2011 originally released by doubleday in 1956, harlem moon classics celebrates the publication with the fiftiethanniversary edition of billie holidays unforgettable and timeless memoir, updated with an insightful introduction and a revised discography, both written by celebrated music writer david ritz. For the two years i was in the band we had a book of a hundred songs, and every one of us carried every last damn note in our heads. According to william duffy in sugar blues the difference between sugar addiction and narcotic addiction is largely one of degree. The results were so startling that the laboratories doublechecked their techniques, then apologised for what they believed to be incorrect readings. In lady sings the blues, holiday recalls some of the most resonant memories of her turbulent past the good, the mostly bad and the frequently ugly. Dufty, who told billie holidays life story in lady sings the blues, helped popularize macrobiotics in america, wrote sugar blues. Lady sings the blues is the fiercely honest, noholdsbarred autobiography of billie holiday. However, sugar blues by william dufty is one that i would.
First, he establishes the bona fides of william dufty, holidays collaborator on the book. From the very start, billie holiday birth name eleanora fagan, born to thirteen year old sadie fagan and sixteen year old clarence holiday, had a very difficult life. To ask other readers questions about lady sings the blues, please sign up. Like other stories in this frank, funny and compelling book, whats on the. Refined sugar the sweetest poison of all a multitude of common physical and mental ailments are strongly linked to the consuming of pure, refined sugar. Its a prime ingredient in countless substances from cereal to soup, from cola to coffee. He was a writer, known for lady sings the blues 1972, round trip 1967 and reputations 1994. Dufty, who told billie holidays life story in lady sings the blues. John szweds briskly revealing book on billie holiday treats the writing of her. Since i started reading it last week i havent been able to eat any sugar and have been inspecting the ingredients of everything that i had used before. Dinah washington, betty roche blues 1959, vinyl discogs. Buy sugar blues warner books ed by dufty, william isbn. As you are reducing the amount of sugar also reduce the amount of meat you are eating. Sugar blues, inspired by the crusade of hollywood legend gloria swanson, is the william dufty has gloriously performed a service for us a fascinating story.
Sep 01, 2002 buy sugar blues warner books ed by dufty, william isbn. Billie holidays bio, lady sings the blues, may be full. Sugar blues by william dufty, 9780446343121, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Dufty, who told billie holidays life story in lady sings the blues, helped popularize macrobiotics in america, wrote sugar blues about the evils of processed sugar, and became the sixth and final husband of sugareschewing actress gloria swanson, has died.
William francis dufty february 2, 1916 june 28, 2002 was an american writer, musician, and activist dufty was a supporter of trade unionism. I had some one doing my laundry, she observes in her book, lady sings the blues, written with and considerably oversimpli fied by william dufty. She was busted for drug possession as she lay dying. Comments about the lady sings the blues by james casey kasia fedyk 5242012 5. Taking the reader on a fastmoving journey from holidays roughandtumble baltimore childhood where she ran errands at a whorehouse in exchange for the chance to listen to louis armstrong. Here are some suggestions to make the withdrawal easier. The 50thanniversay edition with a revised discography. Dive deep into william dufty, eleanora fagans lady sings the blues with extended analysis, commentary, and discussion. Mar 6, 2015 in 1977 donny picks up a book in the grocery store. Other articles where lady sings the blues is discussed. The life story of jazz singer billie holiday told in her own words. Consumed at the rate of one hundred pounds for every american every year. I think raw talent comes from a place so deep that most are afraid to confront it without some sort of emotional buffer, so its no accident that creative people are the most susceptible to overdosing on drugs. William dufty provided and the question of the veracity of the book, i was a bit.
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