Ella Fitzgerald
Known as the First Lady of Song and the Grand Dame of Jazz, Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular singer of the genre in the United States for over half a century. With a vocal range spanning three octaves, Lady Ella enchanted with her flexible, smooth, and precise voice, singing everything from sensual ballads to the sweetest jazz, as well as improvising and mastering the scat technique. Ella won 13 Grammy Awards and sold over 40 million albums.
Born in 1917 in Newport, Virginia, her parents separated shortly after her birth, and she grew up in Yonkers, New York. Raised by her mother, Temperance Fitzgerald, and her stepfather, Ella had a younger half-sister, Frances. At age 14, she was orphaned by her mother's death and went to live with an aunt. Shortly afterward, she also lost her stepfather and sister.
It was a very difficult and complicated period for Ella, who felt the weight of the loss. This ended up affecting her life: with poor academic performance and attendance, Ella dropped out of school, even working as a brothel lookout. After getting into trouble with the police – she also worked with gambling linked to the mafia – she was sent to a reformatory, from which she eventually escaped. She lived on the streets of New York, completely alone and penniless, during the Great Depression.
Ella Fitzgerald inherited her love of music from her mother. Her journey as a singer began almost by chance: chosen from the audience at the iconic Apollo Theater, which featured "Amateur Night" in its program, Ella went on stage to perform. Although she had planned to dance, she changed her mind at the last minute, performing the song "Judy," one of her mother's favorite songs. From there, Ella's story as a singer began. Her natural talent caught the attention of the public and also of professional musicians.
Her situation generally began to change from 1935 onwards, when drummer Chick Webb sought a singer for his big band, the Chick Webb Orchestra. With the luxurious addition of Ella's voice, Webb's band gained more prominence and experienced a major hit, the song "A Tisket-A-Tasket". With Webb's untimely death in 1939, Ella became the band's leader at only 22 years old, and the band was renamed Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Band.
Fitzgerald led the group until 1941, when she decided to pursue a solo career. The singer then joined the English record label Decca Records, with whom she recorded major hits, alongside groups such as The Ink Spots, The Delta Rhythm Boys, and saxophonist Louis Jordan. In the mid-1940s, Ella participated in the Jazz at the Philharmonic tour, produced by impresario Norman Granz, singing with Dizzy Gillespie's band. On tour with the group, she honed her bebop and scat technique, becoming capable of great improvisations, making her voice sound like musical instruments. During the tour with Gillespie, she met and fell in love with bassist Ray Brown, whom she married and with whom she adopted a son, Ray Brown Jr. Later, Ray would follow in his mother's footsteps, becoming a jazz and blues singer. The marriage was brief, but they maintained a long professional and friendly relationship, which helped boost the singer's career.
One of the great milestones in Ella's career was the songbook recordings she made between 1956 and 1964 for Norman Granz's Verve label. Invited by the producer, the First Lady of Jazz interpreted great American composers such as Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, among others. Regarding the compilation, composer Ira Gershwin even said, "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them."
Globally acclaimed for her voice, Ella Fitzgerald was a diva admired for her simple manner and kindness, a stark contrast to the typical behavior of major celebrities. It was common to see Ella on television, frequently invited to participate in programs such as The Bing Crosby Show, The Dinah Shore Show, The Frank Sinatra Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, The Nat King Cole Show, The Andy Williams Show, and The Dean Martin Show. On stage, she toured the world and sang with Frank Sinatra and Count Basie. One of the singer's most brilliant collaborations was with Louis Armstrong, with whom she recorded numerous times.
The intense pace of her career had to be slowed down due to health problems. In 1986, she underwent vascular surgery and was diagnosed with diabetes. She continued singing until 1991, when she performed her last show at Carnegie Hall in New York. By then, Fitzgerald had already recorded more than 200 albums and received numerous awards and honors for her contribution to music. Ella passed away a few years later, in 1996, at the age of 79.
ELLA FITZGERALD - FUTPEDIAMUSIC SELECTION
Ella Fitzgerald
Futpediamusic Selection
12 Songs To Download
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