American Icons: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong Phoebe Gydesen World History Honors Pd. 7

Biographies Biographies

When was Ella Fitzgerald born? What year did Ella die? Where did Ella first perform? What was the name of Ella’s mentor & close friend in the music business? What new form of singing did Ella experiment with? When was Ella inducted into the Down Beat Magazine Hall of Fame? What surgery did Ella undergo in 1986? Where did Ella give her last concert? How many albums had Ella recorded in her life by 1990? What year did Ella die?

Early Childhood Born- April 25, 1917 Newport News, Va. Moved to Yonkers, N. Y. with mother, Tempie, boyfriend Joseph Da Silva, & half-sister, Frances

Adolescent Years 1932- Tempie died from car crash injuries Soon after, Joe died from a heart attack Ella and Frances go to live with their Aunt Virginia

Sent to reform school Life was unbearable Suffered beatings from teachers Finally escaped at age 15, only to find herself broke and alone

Career Beginnings 1934- Drawn out of a hat to perform at Amateur Night at the Apollo “Judy” In 1935, Ella won the opportunity to perform at the Harlem Opera House with the Tiny Bradshaw band

Ella’s Career Ella recorded “Love and Kisses” in 1936 Performed in Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom regularly The era of big swing bands was changing, focus turned more towards bebop

Accomplishments In 1979, Ella was inducted into the Down Beat magazine Hall of Fame Received Kennedy Center Honors for her contributions to the arts She also won many Grammy Awards for her vocal performances

President Ronald Reagan awarded Ella the National Medal of Arts in 1987 She received the Commander of Arts and Letters award from France several years later Yale, Dartmouth and other universities gave Ella honorary doctorates

Ella’s Career Comes to a Close Ella underwent quintuple coronary bypass surgery in September of 1986 She also had a valve in her heart replaced and was diagnosed with diabetes Everyone said she’d never sing again She proved them wrong

200 albums by 1990 Last performance at Carnegie Hall in 1991

Ella’s Legacy On June 15, 1996, died at home in Beverly Hills buried in "Sanctuary of the Bells” in Inglewood Park Cemetery

Ella Fitzgerald

“The First Lady of Song”

When did Louis die? Where was Louis Armstrong born? Why was Louis sent to the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys? How many wives did Louis have throughout his lifetime? What band did Louis move to Chicago to, to play for in 1922? In what year did Louis appear in his first movie? What year did Louis record “What a Wonderful World” in? Throughout his life, how many movies did Louis appear in? How many concerts did Louis perform a year? When did Louis die?

Early Childhood Born- August 4, 1901 New Orleans, Louisiana Father, William, left while Louis was a baby Lived with mother Mary Ann (Mayann), grandmother Josephine, and sister Mama Lucy (Beatrice) Extremely poor

Adolescent Years 1912- Fires a pistol at New Year’s Eve party 1913-1914: Sent to the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys Receives musical instruction from band director Peter Davis Becomes leader of the Home Band

Louis’s Career Beginning 1914-1917: Joe Oliver becomes Louis’ mentor & perform around New Orleans 1918- Marries Daisy Parker Becomes member of the Kid Ory Band the same year

Louis’s Career November 1925- moves back to Chicago & starts own group Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five Records “West End Blues” on June 28, 1928 One of the most famous early jazz recordings

Louis Goes International 1933- Louis tours Europe Lives in Paris, France for much of 1934 Returns to the U.S. in 1935 Marries Alpha Smith in 1938

Louis’s Career Escalates 1947- Louis performs in Carnegie Hall 1948- Appears at the first international jazz festival From 1949-1954, Louis tours the world including places like: Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Canada, Germany, Belgium, and Hawaii 1957- Records second album with Ella Fitzgerald

Accomplishments By end of career: Recorded five decades worth of hits Appeared in over 30 films Appeared in various Broadway performances Performed an average of 300 concerts every year Recorded dozens of songs that became jazz standards Appeared on dozens of television shows

Louis’s Legacy Louis Armstrong died on July 6, 1971 in his sleep at his home in Corona, Queens He is thought of as the most influential person in jazz history in both vocal and instrumental music

Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong

“The Founding Father of Jazz”

Comparisons Comparisons

Similarities Lacked father figures The police Musicality. Passion for music. Equal treatment of all people Company Worked with each other

Songs “A-Tiskit, A-Tasket” and “What a Wonderful World” 1st celebrities Great leaders. Determination, strong will, innovativeness, joy and passion Dreams come true. Many great successes throughout their lifetimes

Differences Country & time period Early 1900s- poor neighborhood of New Orleans 1920s- Virginia.

Pioneered different fields of the industry. Voice- intuitive Scat & be-bop era Cornet Extended solo “The First Lady of Song” “The Great Satchmo”

Impact Impact

Louis Armstrong Pioneered new styles of playing Changed the perspective people had of jazz music Musicians mimicked style Inspired many future jazz artists, one of which was Ella Fitzgerald. Revolutionized whole music world.

References The jazz age: The 20s. (2000). Alexandria, VA: Time Life Inc. Louis Armstrong House & Archives. (2003). Satchmo.net: The official site of the Lous Armstrong house & archives. Retrieved August 23, 2008, from Queens College Web site: http://www.satchmo.net/‌bio/ The offical website of Ella Fitzgerald. (n.d.). Retrieved August 23, 2008, from http://www.ellafitzgerald.com/‌index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 Parabrisas. (n.d.). Ella Fitzgerald. In Solid! Retrieved August 23, 2008, from http://www.parabrisas.com/‌d_fitzgeralde.php PBS. (n.d.). American masters: Louis Armstrong. Retrieved August 23, 2008, from http://www.pbs.org/‌wnet/‌americanmasters/‌database/‌armstrong_l.html Ulanov, B. (1957). A History of Jazz in America. New York: The Viking Press.