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Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday Quiz: Guess the Song & Test Your Trivia

Test your knowledge of Billie Holiday's biggest hits, deep cuts and iconic moments.

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Top 5 Scores

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  2. #2Golden_Nova785
  3. #3Wild_Dolphin_20748
  4. #4RustyComet27688
  5. #5Bold_Rocket660

Scores are valid for 15 days.

Billie Holiday at a glance

Main genre
Pop (vocal jazz and blues standards)
Active
1933-1959 (1930s-1950s)
Real name
Eleanora Fagan, known as Billie Holiday or Lady Day
Best-known songs to guess
Strange Fruit, God Bless the Child, Summertime, Lady Sings the Blues, Fine and Mellow
Deep cuts fans miss
Don't Explain, Good Morning Heartache, Lover Man, Gloomy Sunday, I'll Be Seeing You
Eras in the quiz
1930s swing-band sides, 1939 'Strange Fruit', 1950s late-voice recordings
Landmark and legacy
'Strange Fruit' named song of the century; the 1972 film 'Lady Sings the Blues'
Related artists
Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole
Quiz difficulty
Easy on 'Strange Fruit', hard on the phrasing and the deep-cut standards

Guess the Billie Holiday Song

'Strange Fruit', 'God Bless the Child' and 'Summertime' are the ones players recognise first.

  1. 01

    Strange Fruit

  2. 02

    God Bless the Child

  3. 03

    Summertime

  4. 04

    Lady Sings the Blues

  5. 05

    Fine and Mellow

  6. 06

    Don't Explain

  7. 07

    Good Morning Heartache

  8. 08

    Lover Man

Billie Holiday Trivia: Strange Fruit and Lady Day

The protest song Columbia would not record, the nickname from Lester Young, and the dramatized film of her life.

  • 'Strange Fruit' (1939) was an anti-lynching protest song that Holiday's label Columbia declined to record, giving her a one-off release to cut it for Commodore Records instead.
  • In 1999 Time magazine named 'Strange Fruit' the song of the century. It anchors the 1930s in a quiz on music by decade.
  • Holiday co-wrote 'God Bless the Child' in 1941, one of the few standards credited to her. Jazz fans can keep going with a music genre quiz.
  • Saxophonist Lester Young nicknamed her 'Lady Day', and she called him 'Prez' in return.
  • Diana Ross played Billie Holiday in the heavily dramatized 1972 film 'Lady Sings the Blues' and was nominated for an Academy Award.

How Well Do You Know Billie Holiday

'Strange Fruit' is a quick point; the phrasing and deep-cut standards decide the round.

'Strange Fruit' and the protest landmark

'Strange Fruit' is the one that stops a room. Recorded in 1939 as an anti-lynching protest, it was later named song of the century by Time, and a quiz often leans on its history.

The behind-the-beat phrasing

Her signature is timing. That bruised voice sits just behind the beat and reshapes a melody, so recognising the phrasing matters more than the song title in a Holiday round.

The standards she made her own

She rewrote standards as her own. She co-wrote 'God Bless the Child' in 1941, and 'Summertime', 'Don't Explain' and 'Good Morning Heartache' are the interpretations casual fans miss.

Lady Day, the bands and the film

Lester Young nicknamed her Lady Day, and she sang with the Count Basie and Artie Shaw bands. Diana Ross played her in the heavily dramatized 1972 film 'Lady Sings the Blues', a favourite legacy question.

About Billie Holiday

The aching, behind-the-beat voice of Lady Day. Her 1939 protest song 'Strange Fruit' was so raw that Columbia would not record it, so she cut it for the Commodore label.
You know a Billie Holiday quiz by the phrasing: a bruised voice that trails behind the beat and makes a lyric ache. That phrasing is a gift in guess the artist rounds. Guess the Billie Holiday song from 'Strange Fruit' and 'God Bless the Child' to 'Summertime' and 'Lady Sings the Blues', then test your trivia on the protest landmark and the film her life inspired. Columbia declined to record 'Strange Fruit' in 1939, so she cut it for the small Commodore label instead. Find out how well you know Lady Day once the phrasing gives her away. Then challenge your friends to hear it too.

Billie Holiday Quiz FAQ

How does the Billie Holiday quiz work?

You hear a clip of a Billie Holiday recording and name it, then answer trivia across her standards, the protest landmark 'Strange Fruit', and her Lady Day legacy.

Which Billie Holiday songs are in the quiz?

Standards like 'Strange Fruit', 'God Bless the Child' and 'Summertime', plus deeper cuts such as 'Don't Explain' and 'Good Morning Heartache'.

Why is the Billie Holiday quiz tricky?

She sits behind the beat and reshapes each melody, so recognising her phrasing matters as much as knowing the song.

Which film told Billie Holiday's story?

The 1972 film 'Lady Sings the Blues', with Diana Ross in the lead, was loosely based on her autobiography of the same name and is heavily dramatized.

Who was Billie Holiday?

Billie Holiday, known as Lady Day, was an American jazz singer famed for her expressive phrasing. She lived from 1915 to 1959.

Is the Billie Holiday quiz free?

Yes. The Billie Holiday quiz is free on Songtrivia, with no account and no Spotify required. You can also guess the song with friends in a multiplayer music quiz.

Sources & methodology

Sources consulted

Wikipedia · AllMusic · Pitchfork · Billboard · Songtrivia editorial team.

Our methodology

Each topic is curated by a Quiz Master with category expertise. Selection crosses cultural impact, chart performance, recognition potential and era variety.