Billie Holiday was one of the first pop vocalists to make music personal. She had a way of making people believe that the things she was singing about actually happened to her. Inspired by the blues singer Bessie Smith and the instrumental riffing of Louis Armstrong, Holiday's bittersweet jazz croon regularly teased around a song's melody and tempo, phrasing behind the beat as if performing a solo. Best known for such established standards as “Lover Man,” “God Bless the Child” and “Strange Fruit,” Lady Day is the queen of the melancholy slow dance. As part of its Heritage Music Series, Hanover Tavern welcomes Richmond's own jazz vocalist Carol Covell as she performs the various works of Holiday on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m. $3 suggested donation.