Billie Holiday's peak Decca years — 'God Bless the Child'

During the mid-1940s Billie Holiday recorded some of her most enduring work for Decca Records including 'God Bless the Child,' 'Lover Man,' and 'Don't Explain,' establishing the personal confessional style that defined her legacy. Her Commodore recording of 'Strange Fruit' (1939) remained in continuous discussion as an anti-lynching protest, and her 1944 Esquire Gold Award confirmed her critical standing.