The American First Lady of Song

American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, dubbed "The First Lady of Song," is a celebrated jazz vocalist
who won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. She invented scat singing, a
breathless, nonsense syllable technique for her songs "Lady Be Good" and "Flying Home." Her ability
to improvise and rewrite her songs made her a favorite with jazz music aficionados.
Early Life of Ella Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia and raised in humble beginnings in
Yonkers, New York. Her parents, William and Temperance, separated shortly after her birth. Ella
and her mother moved in with her mother's long-time boyfriend Joe Da Silva. She has a half-sister,
Frances, born in 1923. Despite the difficulties of growing up, her singing talent was obvious at age
16, when she performed at Harlem's famous Apollo Theater at an amateur competition.
Jazz Bands
It was Bandleader Chick Webb who spotted her in this amateur competition and eventually engaged
her to sing with his nightclub band. She took over this band four years later when Webb died in
1939.
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From 1938, Ella Fitzgerald became a household name, recognized as a major female jazz singer. Her
career-establishing hit record "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" (1938) was made with Webb's band. Fitzgerald
absorbed the popular "white" music of the 1930s and her recordings of songs like "My Heart Belongs
to Daddy" were bestsellers.
More Jazz Shows
She sang works by famous songwriters such as George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, at the same time
recorded with great talents such as the Oscar Peterson Trio, formed a singing partnership with
Louis Armstrong, toured with Dizzy Gillespie and appeared in television specials with Duke
Ellington. In the 1970s, Ella Fitzgerald sang with symphony orchestra around the world.
Songbooks and the Consummate Performer
Fitzgerald's popular Songbooks produced in the 1950s interpreted the music of George Gershwin,
Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and Duke Ellington. She also produced two
albums with Ellington with his orchestra.
She remained an active performer in concerts, television, and recordings. She also spent two weeks
performing in New York with Frank Sinatra and Count Basie.
Ella Fitzgerald Awards
A winner of countless awards, Ella Fitzgerald received among others:

Kennedy Center Honors for her contribution in the arts.In 1987 she was honored by then US
President Ronald Reagan at the White House with the National Medal of the Arts.France followed
years later with Commander of Arts and Letters Award.Universities gave her honorary doctorates.In
1989 the Society of Singers presented her its first Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1943, Fitzgerald became the youngest person ever admitted to the American Society of
Composers, Authors, and Publishers. She married in 1947, but retained her maiden name. She
adopted a child.
Last Years of Ella Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald underwent quintuple coronary bypass surgery in 1986. A valve in her heart replaced and
diagnosed with diabetes, rumors had it that she will no longer sing. She proved her detractors
wrong. She continued to perform on stage.
She gave her final concert at Carnegie Hall, New York in 1991.
At 76, her illness worsened. She had severe circulatory problems and her legs were amputated
below the knees. On June 15 1996, Ella Fitzgerald died in her Beverly Hills home. She was laid to
rest at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Ella Fitzgerald Recordings (MCA Records):Ella Sings the BandThe Best of EllaThe Best of Ella
Fitzgerald: Volume IIElla Fitzgerald Recordings (Verve Records): Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole
Porter SongbookElla Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin SongbookElla Fitzgerald Sings the George
and Ira Gershwin SongbookElla and Duke on the Cote D'AzurElla and LouisPorgy and Bess
Video Credit:
Ella Fitzgerald - All the Things you are. (Hammerstein & Jerome Kern, arranged and conducted by
Nelson Riddle.) Youtube, uploaded by Steve. Accessed 7 April 2015.
Ella Fitzgerald: Every Time We Say Good-bye (1965, Live). Youtube, uploaded by phalenopsis1.
Accessed 7 April 2015. (This music is composed by Cole Porter.)
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Ella Fitzgerald - Manhattan (from Rodgers and Hart Songbook). Youtube, uploaded by
corpsesflowersgrow. Access 7 April 2015.
Updated July 7, 2015.