Ella Fitzgerald World History Scrapbook Phoebe Gydesen Pd. 7

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

Young & naïve, Ella was a runner for local gamblers Was a tomboy, but liked to sing and dance with her friends

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

Ella’s grades dropped dramatically Skipped school frequently Got into trouble with the police

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

First Performance Ella’s name is drawn out of a hat to perform at Amateur Night at the Apollo Was going to dance, but decided to sing at the last minute –Audience begged for an encore by the end of her song, “Judy” by Hoagy Carmichael

Ella’s Career Beginning Began entering all the talent shows she could In 1935, Ella won the opportunity to perform at the Harlem Opera House with the Tiny Bradshaw band

Chick Webb offered Ella the chance to perform with his band at a Yale University dance She was a hit & toured with Chick’s band for $12.50 a week

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

Scat Ella sang a rendition of "(If You Can't Sing It) You Have to Swing It." Began experimenting with scat singing –Used her voice to imitate different instruments

Recorded version of “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” at 21, in 1938 –Topped the charts at number 1 –Stayed on the charts for 17 weeks –Sold 1 million copies

Love Ella married Ben Kornegay –Had marriage annulled when she learned of his criminal history Toured with Dizzy Gillespie’s band in 1946 –Fell in love with bassist Ray Brown –Adopted a son-Ray Jr.

Coming into Her Own Ella joined the Philharmonic tour From , Recorded covers of other musician’s songs Also appeared on many television variety shows & became a favorite

Spent two weeks in 1974 performing with Frank Sinatra and Count Basie in New York

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

Ella had recorded over 200 albums by 1990 She gave her last performance at Carnegie Hall in 1991 –It was her 26 th performance there

Ella’s Legacy On June 15, 1996, Ella died at her home in Beverly Hills She was buried in the "Sanctuary of the Bells" section of the Sunset Mission Mausoleum at Inglewood Park Cemetery Fans everywhere mourned her passing and signs of remembrance appeared right away

Ella Fitzgerald

“The First Lady of Song”