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Billie Holiday And Lester Young: The Intimate Friendship Between Lady Day & Prez

James Maycock, The Independent, July 1999

IN PARIS, A COUPLE of weeks before his death on 15th March, 1959, Lester Young spoke about his friend, Billie Holiday. "She’s still my Lady Day," he commented mournfully. By 13th March, suffering from stabbing pains in the stomach, he returned to New York. On the transatlantic flight, as the varicose veins in his oesophagus split, he started vomiting blood.

Total word count of piece: 1504

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