The Roots of a Haunting Song “Billie Holiday’s brilliant interpretation of ‘Strange Fruit’ made the haunting song about Southern lynchings her own.
It also helped make the composer, a Jewish schoolteacher from the Bronx, nearly anonymous. But Abel Meeropol (link contains image of lynching) gets his due in a documentary…airing [8 April] as part of PBS’ ‘Independent Lens’ series…” (CNN) [metafilter.com]
One of the most powerful songs ever, with some very disturbing imagery.