1939: "Strange Fruit" and Commodore Records Holiday was in the middle of recording for Columbia in the late 1930s when she was introduced to "Strange Fruit", a song by Abel Meeropol based on his poem about lynching. Meeropol, a Jewish schoolteacher from the Bronx, used the pseudonym "Lewis Allan" for the poem, which was set to music and performed at teachers' union meetings. It was eventually heard by Barney Josephson, the proprietor of Café Society, an integrated nightclub in Greenwich Village, who introduced it to Holiday. She performed it at the club in 1939, with some trepidation, fearing possible retaliation. She later said that the imagery of the song reminded her of her father's death and that this played a role in her resistance to performing it.
1939 "Strange Fruit" and Commodore Records Holiday was in the middle of recording for Columbia in the late 1930s when she was introduced to "Strange Fruit" a song by Abel Meeropol based on his poem about lynching Meeropol a Jewish schoolteacher from the Bronx used the pseudonym "Lewis Allan" for the poem which was set to music and performed at teachers' union meetings It was eventually heard by Barney Josephson the proprietor of Café Society an integrated nightclub in Greenwich Village who introduced it to Holiday She performed it at the club in 1939 with some trepidation fearing possible retaliation She later said that the imagery of the song reminded her of her father's death and that this played a role in her resistance to performing it