Music Minute!

Did you know that Billie Holiday’s ‘God Bless the Child’ was the first song by female artist that was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award?

Since 1973, the Hall of Fame Award has celebrated songs that are at least 25 years old and contributed significantly to the development of popular culture. Holiday, who is considered to be one of the most influential vocalists in the history of recorded music, originally recorded ‘God Bless’ in 1941 and released the tune in 1942. It was subsequently given the Hall of Fame Award in 1976 and was the first song by a female act to receive that accolade.

To date, ‘God Bless’ has been covered by an extensive list of artists including Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Jill Scott, Whitney Houston and Diana Ross. However, Holiday’s original version of the song remains the widely acknowledged standard.

Watch Holiday, who died at the age of 44 years after a long battle with drugs and alcohol addiction in 1959, perform ‘God Bless’ below:

Now you know!