Strange Fruit
Encyclopedia
"Strange Fruit" is a song performed most famously by Billie Holiday
, who released her first recording of it in 1939, the year she first sang it. Written by the teacher Abel Meeropol
as a poem, it exposed American racism
, particularly the lynching
of African American
s. Such lynchings had occurred chiefly in the South
but also in all other regions of the United States. The writer, Abel, set it to music and with his wife and the singer Laura Duncan, performed it as a protest song
in New York venues, including Madison Square Garden
.
The song has been covered by numerous artists, as well as inspiring novels, other poems and other creative works. In 1978 Holiday's version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century
, by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts
.
, a Jewish high-school teacher from the Bronx, about the lynching of two black men. He published under the pen name Lewis Allan, derived from two children he lost in their infancy.
In the poem, Meeropol expressed his horror at lynchings, possibly after having seen Lawrence Beitler
's photograph of the 1930 lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana
. He published the poem in 1936 in The New York Teacher, a union
magazine. Though Meeropol/Allan had often asked others (notably Earl Robinson
) to set his poems to music, he set "Strange Fruit" to music himself. The piece gained a certain success as a protest song in and around New York. Meeropol, his wife, and black vocalist Laura Duncan performed it at Madison Square Garden
. (Meeropol and his wife later adopted Robert
and Michael
, sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
, who were convicted of espionage and executed by the United States.)
Barney Josephson
, the founder of Cafe Society
in Greenwich Village, New York's first integrated
nightclub, heard the song and introduced it to Billie Holiday
. Other reports say that Robert Gordon, who was directing Billie Holiday's show at Cafe Society, heard the song at Madison Square Garden and introduced it to her. Holiday first performed the song at Cafe Society in 1939. She said that singing it made her fearful of retaliation, but because its imagery reminded her of her father, she continued to sing it. She made the piece a regular part of her live performances. Because of the poignancy of the song, Josephson drew up some rules: Holiday would close with it; second, the waiters would stop all service in advance; the room would be in darkness except for a spotlight on Holiday's face; and there would be no encore.
Holiday approached her recording label, Columbia, about the song, but the company feared reaction by record retailers in the South
, as well as negative reaction from affiliates of its co-owned radio network, CBS
. Even John Hammond
, Holiday's producer, refused. She turned to friend Milt Gabler
, whose Commodore
label produced alternative jazz. Holiday sang "Strange Fruit" for him a cappella, and moved him to tears. Columbia allowed Holiday a one-session release from her contract in order to record it. Frankie Newton's eight-piece Cafe Society Band was used for the session. Because he was worried that the song was too short, Gabler asked pianist Sonny White to improvise an introduction. Consequently Holiday doesn't start singing until after 70 seconds. Gabler worked out a special arrangement with Vocalion Records to record and distribute the song.
She recorded two major sessions at Commodore, one in 1939 and one in 1944. "Strange Fruit" was highly regarded. In time, it became Holiday's biggest-selling record. Though the song became a staple of her live performances, Holiday's accompanist Bobby Tucker recalled that Holiday would break down every time after she sang it.
In her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues
, Holiday suggested that she, together with Lewis Allan, her accompanist Sonny White
, and arranger Danny Mendelsohn, set the poem to music. The writers David Margolick and Hilton Als dismissed that claim in their work, Strange Fruit: The Biography of a Song. They wrote that hers was "an account that may set a record for most misinformation per column inch". When challenged, Holiday—whose autobiography had been ghostwritten
by William Dufty—claimed, "I ain't never read that book."
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, who released her first recording of it in 1939, the year she first sang it. Written by the teacher Abel Meeropol
Abel Meeropol
Abel Meeropol was an American writer and song-writer, best known under his pseudonym Lewis Allan and as the adoptive father of the young sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.-Biography:...
as a poem, it exposed American racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, particularly the lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s. Such lynchings had occurred chiefly in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
but also in all other regions of the United States. The writer, Abel, set it to music and with his wife and the singer Laura Duncan, performed it as a protest song
Protest song
A protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...
in New York venues, including Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
The song has been covered by numerous artists, as well as inspiring novels, other poems and other creative works. In 1978 Holiday's version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century
Songs of the Century
The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America , the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage" in American schools...
, by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
.
Author
"Strange Fruit" was a poem written by Abel MeeropolAbel Meeropol
Abel Meeropol was an American writer and song-writer, best known under his pseudonym Lewis Allan and as the adoptive father of the young sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.-Biography:...
, a Jewish high-school teacher from the Bronx, about the lynching of two black men. He published under the pen name Lewis Allan, derived from two children he lost in their infancy.
In the poem, Meeropol expressed his horror at lynchings, possibly after having seen Lawrence Beitler
Lawrence Beitler
Lawrence Beitler was a studio photographer who on August 7, 1930, took a photograph of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith. The photograph later sold thousands of copies and inspired the political poem "Strange Fruit" by the Jewish poet Abel Meeropol. The poem was later transformed into...
's photograph of the 1930 lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana
Marion, Indiana
Marion is a city in Grant County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,948 as of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Grant County...
. He published the poem in 1936 in The New York Teacher, a union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
magazine. Though Meeropol/Allan had often asked others (notably Earl Robinson
Earl Robinson
Earl Hawley Robinson was a singer-songwriter and composer from Seattle, Washington. Robinson is probably as well remembered for his left-leaning political views as he is for his music, including the songs "Joe Hill", "Black and White", and the cantata "Ballad for Americans"...
) to set his poems to music, he set "Strange Fruit" to music himself. The piece gained a certain success as a protest song in and around New York. Meeropol, his wife, and black vocalist Laura Duncan performed it at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
. (Meeropol and his wife later adopted Robert
Robert Meeropol
Robert Meeropol is the younger son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Meeropol was born in New York City. His father Julius was an electrical engineer and a member of the Communist Party. His mother Ethel , a union organizer, was also active in the Communist Party...
and Michael
Michael Meeropol
Michael Meeropol is a retired professor of economics. He is the older son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Born in New York City, as Michael Rosenberg, Meeropol spent his early childhood living in New York and attending local school there. His father Julius, an electrical engineer, was a member of...
, sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg were American communists who were convicted and executed in 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage during a time of war. The charges related to their passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union...
, who were convicted of espionage and executed by the United States.)
Barney Josephson
Barney Josephson
Barney Josephson was the founder of Café Society in Greenwich Village, New York’s first integrated nightclub. It was opened in 1938 by, among others, Billie Holiday and it was here that the singer first publicly performed the song Strange Fruit in 1939.-Early Years:Josephson was born and raised in...
, the founder of Cafe Society
Café Society
Café society was the collective description for the so-called "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafes and restaurants in New York, Paris, and London beginning in the late 19th century...
in Greenwich Village, New York's first integrated
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
nightclub, heard the song and introduced it to Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. Other reports say that Robert Gordon, who was directing Billie Holiday's show at Cafe Society, heard the song at Madison Square Garden and introduced it to her. Holiday first performed the song at Cafe Society in 1939. She said that singing it made her fearful of retaliation, but because its imagery reminded her of her father, she continued to sing it. She made the piece a regular part of her live performances. Because of the poignancy of the song, Josephson drew up some rules: Holiday would close with it; second, the waiters would stop all service in advance; the room would be in darkness except for a spotlight on Holiday's face; and there would be no encore.
Holiday approached her recording label, Columbia, about the song, but the company feared reaction by record retailers in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, as well as negative reaction from affiliates of its co-owned radio network, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Even John Hammond
John H. Hammond
John Henry Hammond II was an American record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s...
, Holiday's producer, refused. She turned to friend Milt Gabler
Milt Gabler
Milton Gabler was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century.-Early life:...
, whose Commodore
Commodore Records
Commodore Records was a United States-based independent record label known for issuing many well regarded recordings of jazz and swing music....
label produced alternative jazz. Holiday sang "Strange Fruit" for him a cappella, and moved him to tears. Columbia allowed Holiday a one-session release from her contract in order to record it. Frankie Newton's eight-piece Cafe Society Band was used for the session. Because he was worried that the song was too short, Gabler asked pianist Sonny White to improvise an introduction. Consequently Holiday doesn't start singing until after 70 seconds. Gabler worked out a special arrangement with Vocalion Records to record and distribute the song.
She recorded two major sessions at Commodore, one in 1939 and one in 1944. "Strange Fruit" was highly regarded. In time, it became Holiday's biggest-selling record. Though the song became a staple of her live performances, Holiday's accompanist Bobby Tucker recalled that Holiday would break down every time after she sang it.
In her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues
Lady Sings the Blues (book)
Lady Sings the Blues is an autobiography novel by jazz singer Billie Holiday, it was co-authored by William Dufty.The book was the basis of the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues starring Diana Ross.-Overview:...
, Holiday suggested that she, together with Lewis Allan, her accompanist Sonny White
Sonny White
Ellerton Oswald, better known as Sonny White was a jazz pianist who spend most of his life in America....
, and arranger Danny Mendelsohn, set the poem to music. The writers David Margolick and Hilton Als dismissed that claim in their work, Strange Fruit: The Biography of a Song. They wrote that hers was "an account that may set a record for most misinformation per column inch". When challenged, Holiday—whose autobiography had been ghostwritten
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
by William Dufty—claimed, "I ain't never read that book."
Impact
Barney Josephson recognized the power of the song and insisted that Holiday close all her shows with it. When she was ready to begin it, waiters stopped serving, the lights in the club were turned off, and a single pin spotlight illuminated Holiday on stage. During the musical introduction, Holiday would stand with her eyes closed, as if she were evoking a prayer. Numerous other singers have performed the work. In October 1939, Samuel Grafton of The New York Post described "Strange Fruit": "If the anger of the exploited ever mounts high enough in the South, it now has its 'Marseillaise'."Honors
- 1999, TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine called it the song of the century.
- 2002, the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
honored the song as one of 50 recordings chosen that year to be added to the National Recording RegistryNational Recording RegistryThe National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, which created the National Recording...
.
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution listed the song as Number One on "100 Songs of the South".
- Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
cited "Strange Fruit" as an influence in the 2005 documentary No Direction HomeNo Direction HomeNo Direction Home is a documentary film by Martin Scorsese that traces the life of Bob Dylan, and his impact on 20th century American popular music and culture. The film does not cover Dylan's entire career; it concentrates on the period between Dylan's arrival in New York in January 1961 and his...
. - SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n rock musician, journalist and writer Dejan CukićDejan CukicDejan Cukić is a Serbian rock musician, journalist and writer.During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Cukić was the frontman of the New Wave band Bulevar, releasing two albums with the band. After Bulevar disbanded in 1982, he retired from music...
wrote about "Strange Fruit" as among 45 songs that changed the history of popular musicPopular musicPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
in his book 45 obrtaja: Priče o pesmama45 obrtaja: Price o pesmama45 obrtaja: Priče o pesmama is a book by Serbian rock musician, journalist and writer Dejan Cukić published in 2007, compiled mostly of his articles previously published in Politikin Zabavnik magazine.The book features biographies of forty-five different music artists, as well as...
.
- 2010, the New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
listed it as one of the “Top 20 Political Songs”.
In popular culture
- The 1944 novel Strange FruitStrange Fruit (novel)Strange Fruit is a novel by American author Lillian Smith that was published in 1944, about the then-forbidden and controversial theme of interracial romance. It was banned in Boston....
by author Lillian SmithLillian Smith (author)Lillian Eugenia Smith was a writer and social critic of the Southern United States, known best for her best-selling novel Strange Fruit...
, was said to have been inspired by Holiday's version of the song.
- The short film, Strange Fruit, written and directed by Christopher BrowneChristopher BrowneChristopher Browne is a documentary film maker/director in the USA.He is noted for directing the ten-pin bowling sports documentary A League of Ordinary Gentlemen.Browne is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania....
.
- The Seattle literary magazine the strange fruit is named after the song.
- A 2005 episode of the crime drama series Cold Case bears the title "Strange Fruit". The plot concerns the murder of a young African-American man in the 1963 who was very active in the civil rights movement.
- The opera Strange Fruit was adapted from the novel by Lillian Smith (above). A commissioned work, it premiered on June 15, 2007 at the Long Leaf Opera Festival in Chapel Hill, North CarolinaChapel Hill, North CarolinaChapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
starring: Charles Stanton, Baritone and Erina Newkirk, Soprano. Chandler Carter was the composer and Joan Ross Sorkin was the librettist.
- The British playwright Caryl PhillipsCaryl PhillipsCaryl Phillips is a British writer with a Caribbean background, best known as a novelist. He is now professor at Yale University and a visiting professor at Barnard College of Columbia University.-Life:...
' named his first play after the song.
- Strange Fruit the novel, by Avenda Burnell Walsh was inspired by the song.
- The song, "Strange Fruit", written and performed by Common and John Legend. Produced by Kanye WestKanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
.
- The choral song "Ain'tcha Gotta Right to the Tree of Life?", by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory, includes the lines, "Once upon a time the trees bore strange fruit / but then a dream of justice came and it took root."
- The poem "Strange Fruit" by the Irish poet Seamus HeaneySeamus HeaneySeamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
.
- The poem "Strange Fruit" by Joy HarjoJoy HarjoJoy Harjo is a Native American poet, musician, and author of ancestry. Known primarily as a poet, Harjo has also taught at the college level, played alto saxophone with a band called Poetic Justice, edited literary journals, and written screenplays. She is a member of the Muscogee Nation and...
.
- The song "Strange Fruit" produced by Pete Rock performed by Tragedy Khadafi, Cappadonna & Sticky Fingaz
- The song "Strange Fruit" by ZombyZombyZomby is a dubstep producer who began releasing music in 2007. He has released music on the likes of Hyperdub and Werk Discs. In 2008, he released a full length album, Where Were U in '92?, inspired by the rave scene of the early 1990s...
. Related in name only.
- The song "Strange Fruit", performed by Katey SagalKatey SagalCatherine Louise "Katey" Sagal is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first achieved widespread fame as Peggy Bundy on the long-running Fox comedy series Married.....
, was featured in a montage on the TV show Sons of AnarchySons of AnarchySons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...
. The episode was also titled "Fruit for the Crows" - which was in the lyrics of the song.
- The song "Strange Fruit" is played on the radio in the second volume "Arctic Nation" of the graphic novel "Blacksad"
Covers
- Nina SimoneNina SimoneEunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
's album Pastel BluesPastel BluesPastel Blues is a studio album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone . It was recorded in 1964 and 1965 in New York City and released in 1965 by Philips Records...
released in 1965 includes her version of the song. - Reggae group UB40UB40UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
covered the song on their 1980 album Signing OffSigning OffSide TwoEP Side OneEP Side Two-Cassette:Side OneSide Two-CD:- Personnel :* Astro – Voices* Neil Black – Assistant Engineer* Jim Brown – Drums, Group Member* Ali Campbell – Rhythm Guitar, Vocals...
. - In 2007, Mojo magazine selected Siouxsie and the Banshees's version from their Through the Looking Glass album, for a CD called Music Is Love: 15 Tracks That Changed The World Recovered By....
- Tori AmosTori AmosTori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
recorded it as a B-side to her 1994 single "Cornflake GirlCornflake Girl"Cornflake Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter and musician Tori Amos. It was released as the first single from her second studio album Under the Pink. It was released on January 10, 1994 by EastWest Records in the UK and on May 5 by Atlantic Records in North America...
". - Cocteau TwinsCocteau TwinsCocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...
sang it as a BBC session recording. - The Twilight SingersThe Twilight SingersThe Twilight Singers is an American indie rock band. The group was initially formed as a side project of The Afghan Whigs leader Greg Dulli in 1997...
included it in their 20042004 in musicSee also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....
cover album She Loves YouShe Loves You (Twilight Singers album)She Loves You is the third full length album by The Twilight Singers and their first cover album. It contains covers from various kinds of music, ranging from Jazz and Blues to Soul and R&B to Rock and Trip hop, and by artists John Coltrane, Skip James, Marvin Gaye, Mary J...
. - Folk Punk ensemble This Bike Is A Pipe BombThis Bike Is a Pipe BombThis Bike Is a Pipe Bomb was a folk-punk band from Pensacola, Florida, USA. Their first recording was released in 1997 on Ghostmeat Records. Their later releases have been on Plan It X Records and No Idea Records, but now appear on their own label Plan-It X South. This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb...
covers the song in their 2008 album ConvertibleConvertibleA convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
. - John Martyn included it on his album The Church with One BellThe Church with One BellThe Church with One Bell is a 1998 covers album by John Martyn. It was recorded in one week at CaVa Sound Studios, Glasgow, Scotland. The CD has a hidden bonus track after a 50 seconds break attached to the last track...
. - Robert WyattRobert WyattRobert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
sings it on his album Nothing Can Stop UsNothing Can Stop UsNothing Can Stop Us is a compilation album by Robert Wyatt released in 1982.-Concept:Consisting primarily of tracks released as singles and B-sides during the late 1970s and early '80s, it only contains one Wyatt composition...
. - Jeff BuckleyJeff BuckleyJeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
sang a live version on his album Live at Sin-é (Legacy edition)Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition)Live at Sin-é is a 2003 live double album by Jeff Buckley. It is the extended version of Buckley's 1993 EP Live at Sin-é, released by Columbia Records. Recorded over two afternoons at Sin-é, the Legacy Edition is a two-disc set , plus a ten-minute bonus DVD containing brief excerpts of Jeff... - Diana RossDiana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
covers this song on both the soundtrack of her 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues and on her live album Stolen MomentsStolen Moments: The Lady Sings... Jazz and Blues"Stolen Moments: The Lady Sings... Jazz and Blues" is a 1993 live album by Diana Ross released on the Motown label.The album was recorded at the Ritz Theatre in New York City on December 4, 1992...
(1992). - KarateKarate (band)Karate was an American band, formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1993 by Geoff Farina, Eamonn Vitt and Gavin McCarthy. In 1995, Jeff Goddard joined the band as bass player, and Vitt moved to second guitar...
covers this song in their album In the Fishtank 12In The Fishtank 12In the Fishtank 12 is an EP released in 2005 and recorded by the Boston-based band Karate. Part of the In the Fishtank series released by Dutch music distributor Konkurrent, it would prove to be Karate's last studio recording. Karate broke up later that year due to frontman Geoff Farina's...
. - Cassandra WilsonCassandra WilsonCassandra Wilson is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field" by incorporating country, blues and folk music into her...
covered it on her album New Moon DaughterNew Moon DaughterNew Moon Daughter is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, released in 1995 on Blue Note. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart in 1996.-Reception:...
(1995). - Karan CaseyKaran CaseyKaran Casey is an Irish folk singer, and a former member of the Irish band Solas.-Early years:Casey was born in Ballyduff Lower, Kilmeaden, County Waterford, Ireland. Her family encouraged her to sing in the house, in a church choir and at school. At Waterford Regional Technical College she...
covered it on her album The Winds Begin To Sing (2001). - The Gun Club on the live bonus edition of their Death Party EP.
- Lou RawlsLou RawlsLouis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
on the album Black and Blue and Tobacco Road. - Sting and Gil EvansGil EvansGil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
performed the song together and it appears on the live album Last Session (1987). - SnowmanSnowman (band)Snowman were a band originally from Perth, Western Australia. They relocated to London in 2008, and disbanded in 2011.-History:Snowman began playing together in various incarnations and under different names during their high school years. Joseph McKee and Andy Citawarman met when they were...
covered the song for Triple J's Like a VersionLike A VersionLike a Version is a segment on the Australian radio station Triple J. It was created by Mel Bampton as part of the Mel in the Morning program. Currently the segment pops up whenever artists are available and willing to do it, though mainly on the Breakfast show...
segment. The song appeared on the fourth Like a Version compilation CD, released in 2008. - Mark LaneganMark LaneganMark Lanegan is an American rock musician and songwriter. Lanegan began his music career in the 1980s, forming the grunge group Screaming Trees with Gary Lee Conner, Van Conner and Mark Pickerel. During his time in the band Lanegan would start a low-key solo career...
and Greg DulliGreg Dulli-Biography:Greg Dulli was born and brought up in the working-class city of Hamilton, Ohio. Although he was raised a Catholic, he is now agnostic. Dulli first came to public attention in the late 1980s with The Afghan Whigs when he joined D.C. transplant bassist John Curley and Louisville, Kentucky,...
covered the song together as The Gutter TwinsThe Gutter TwinsThe Gutter Twins is a musical collaboration between rock musicians Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan. Dulli and Lanegan have regularly contributed to each other's projects since 2000, most notably in Dulli's Twilight Singers; of the duo's origins, Dulli said "I think Mark told a journalist we were doing...
. - Flowers ForeverFlowers ForeverFlowers Forever is the side project of Tilly and the Wall guitarist Derek Pressnall. The band has released a full-length album of the same name on Team Love Records in 2008.- Background :From the ,Flowers Forever is aproject that surfaced a...
(Derek Pressnall of Tilly & the Wall) covers the song on the band's self-titled debut. - Bassist Marcus MillerMarcus MillerMarcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
performed the song live on his album Live & More. He also included a cover of the song for his 1995 studio album TalesTales (album)Tales is a 1995 studio album of Marcus Miller.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Marcus Miller; except where indicated# "The Blues" – 5:35# "Tales " – 0:12# "Tales" – 5:42... - Vanessa PetruoVanessa PetruoVanessa Anneliese Petruo , also known as Vany, is a German singer–songwriter and actress. She came to international prominence as a member of the all–female pop band No Angels that was created during the talents show Popstars...
, a German jazz singer, covered this song for her 2007/2008 album, which remains unreleased. - A karaoke version of "Strange Fruit" appears on Karaoke Union Songs (2007). The vocal version on this album is by Jackie Richardson.
- Siouxsie and the Banshees performed a cover of Strange Fruit for their album Through the Looking Glass (1987).
External links
- "Strange Fruit", Independent Lens, PBS
- Strange Fruit, Newsreel documentary
- "Strange Fruit", Shmoop, analysis of lyrics, historical and literary allusions - student & teaching guide