TRANSCRIPT:
Hi, I am Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Few songs are as closely associated with a single performer as “Strange Fruit” and Billie Holiday.
Written and composed by Abel Meeropol under his pseudonym Lewis Allan, the song protests the lynching of Black Americans with lyrics that compare the victims to the fruit of trees.
Fearing retaliation, Holliday still made it a regular part of her performances, but only under specific rules — she would only close with it. All table service was halted during the performance; the room would be in darkness except for a spotlight on Holiday’s face, and there would be no encore. During the introduction, she stood with her eyes closed as if in prayer.
This has been Rapp On Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible in part by Layman Poupard Publishers, producers of the Literary Criticism Series and the Dictionary of Literary Biography.