Billie Holiday - Strange fruit

On July 17, 1959, Billie Holiday died in a New York City hospital from cirrhosis of the liver after years of alcohol abuse, aged 43, (while under arrest for heroin possession, with Police officers stationed at the door to her room.) In the final years of her life, she had been progressively swindled out of her earnings. The singer who had recorded classics such as 'God Bless the Child' and the civil rights anthem 'Strange Fruit' died with just $0.70 in the bank."