Billie Holiday in the 1994 Jazz and Blues Singers Issue: Her Musical Legacy

The 1994 Jazz and Blues Singers issue honored eight performers in eight separate stamp designs. This article focuses on Billie Holiday and distinguishes the musician’s documented career from later stories about the stamp.

The 1994 stamp

The 29-cent Billie Holiday stamp was issued with the Jazz and Blues Singers set on September 17, 1994, in Greenville, Mississippi, during the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival. The portrait design was created by Howard Koslow. Greenville was the official first-day city; ceremonies or commemorations held elsewhere were separate events.

The stamp presents Billie Holiday as an individual portrait with the performer’s name, the 29-cent denomination, and the Legends of American Music inscription. It belongs to an eight-design set but is discussed here as its own postal object.

About Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday (1915–1959), born Eleanora Fagan, reshaped popular singing through elastic timing, intimate tone, and the ability to make familiar material sound personal. Her career moved through small jazz groups, big bands, clubs, recording studios, and concert halls.

Her 1939 recording of “Strange Fruit” brought an anti-lynching song into the commercial recording catalog, while “God Bless the Child,” co-written by Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr., shows her role was not limited to interpreting other writers’ material. These are concrete recordings through which to understand the intimate phrasing summarized above.

Issue context

Howard Koslow’s painted portrait honors the singer directly rather than illustrating either song. The close portrait, printed name, 29-cent denomination, and Legends of American Music inscription are the visible postal facts. A single stamp, pane, and first-day cover are different formats, so any price comparison must identify which object and condition are involved.

For the complete lineup, artist assignments, and issue-wide collecting context, see the 1994 Jazz and Blues Singers complete guide.

Sources

Key facts were checked against the National Postal Museum Billie Holiday stamp record and the Library of Congress Billie Holiday profile.