"Strange Fruit" is a song recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939; it was written by Abel Meeropol and published in 1937. It protests the lynching of Black Americans, with lyrics that compare the victims to the fruit of trees. Such lynchings had reached a peak in the Southern United States at the turn of the 20th century. The great majority of victims were black. The song was called "a declaration of war" and "the beginning of the civil rights movement".

Meeropol set his lyrics to music with his wife and singer Laura Duncan and performed it as a protest song in New York City, New York. It was used at venues in the late 1930s in places that included Madison Square Garden. Versions of the song have been covered by numerous artists, including Nina Simone, UB40, Jeff Buckley, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Robert Wyatt, and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Diana Ross recorded the song for her debut film, the Billie Holiday biopic "Lady Sings the Blues" (1972).

Holiday's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1978. Besides being on the "Songs of the Century" list of the Recording Industry of America, it was also recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts in the late 1970s.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org