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Strange Fruit by NPR

Strange Fruit

from Throughline

by NPR

Published: Thu Aug 22 2019

Show Notes

Billie Holiday helped shape American popular music with her voice and unique style. But, her legacy extends way beyond music with one song in particular — "Strange Fruit." The song paints an unflinching picture of racial violence, and it was an unexpected hit. But singing it brought serious consequences.

In a special collaboration with NPR Music's Turningthe Tables Series, how "Strange Fruit" turned Billie Holiday into one of the first victims of the War on Drugs.

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