Songwriting
"Strange Fruit" often gets noticed for what we think are probably the wrong reasons. This song has been praised for being the first successful attempt at the blues by a white man (The New Masses)....
Music
Critics typically note two things about the sound of "Strange Fruit." First, they observe that layers and layers are added to the song by Billie Holiday's subtle yet intense delivery. Second, they...
Setting
Though it was only recorded seventy years ago, "Strange Fruit" describes a world that's quite a bit different from our own. It was a product of the Jim Crow Era, a time when lynch mobs upheld white...