Billie Holiday Quiz: Guess the Song & Test Your Trivia

You know a Billie Holiday quiz by the phrasing: a bruised voice that trails behind the beat and makes a lyric ache. 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.

Main genrePop (vocal jazz and blues standards)

Active1933-1959 (1930s-1950s)

Real nameEleanora Fagan, known as Billie Holiday or Lady Day

Best-known songs to guessStrange Fruit, God Bless the Child, Summertime, Lady Sings the Blues, Fine and Mellow

Deep cuts fans missDon't Explain, Good Morning Heartache, Lover Man, Gloomy Sunday, I'll Be Seeing You

Eras in the quiz1930s 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 artistsElla Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole

Quiz difficultyEasy on 'Strange Fruit', hard on the phrasing and the deep-cut standards

Começa o teu quiz a solo

Reconhece o máximo de músicas a partir de excertos áudio. Quanto mais rápido responderes, mais pontos fazes.

10 perguntas4 respostas cada

As 8 músicas mais conhecidas

De intros imediatamente reconhecíveis a refrãos universais — perfeitas para testar a sua memória.

Strange Fruit

God Bless the Child

Summertime

Lady Sings the Blues

Fine and Mellow

Don't Explain

Good Morning Heartache

Lover Man

🎵 Você sabia? Curiosidades sobre o artista

Por trás dos refrãos mais óbvios escondem-se escolhas de produção, videoclipes e hábitos de escuta que tornam essas faixas perfeitas para quiz.

✦'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.

✦Holiday co-wrote 'God Bless the Child' in 1941, one of the few standards credited to her.

✦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.

Uma carreira para explorar em quiz

'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.

Perguntas frequentes

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.

📚 Fontes e metodologia

Fontes consultadas

Wikipédia · AllMusic · Pitchfork · Billboard · equipe editorial Songtrivia.

Nossa metodologia

Cada tema é selecionado por um Mestre do Quiz especialista na categoria. A seleção cruza impacto cultural, desempenho nas paradas, potencial de reconhecimento e variedade de eras.