“Lady Day” was perhaps the most exceptional popular music singer of the 20th century. She wrote few songs, but when she sang, she took on a deep, personal and intimate approach. Her vocal style and intonation was inspired greatly by the sound of the instruments she heard and was filled with a profound intensity. In that manner, she developed a new style, incorporating the manipulation of phrasing and tempo. Her recording of the song “Strange Fruit” is considered one of the most important songs in history, because of it’s powerful theme and topic, and because of Holiday’s powerful performance. She received multiple posthumous Grammy Hall of Fame awards and Grammy Best Historic Album awards for her work. Although her delivery may have been somewhat thin and her range fairly limited, there is no doubt that her voice was more powerful than any at the time could have hoped to be.