Ella Fitzgerald

Background On Ella Born April 25, 1917 – Newport News, VA Died- June 15, 1966 – Beverly Hills, CA due to diabetes, congestive heart failure, poor eye sight etc. Nicknames : “First lady of song” and “Queen of jazz” Father –William, Mother-Temperance (Temple) divorced shortly after Ella was born Temple died from a serious car accident – Ella took the loss hard (very rough childhood) – grades dropped in school, run into the police- sent to a reform school

Notable Achievements Notable Achievements 1st performance- age 17 at Apollo Theater in Grammys, sold over 40 million albums, recorded at least 200 albums 1st number one song “A Tisket, A Tasket”- 1 million copies sold- Grammy Hall of Fame Developed scatting She worked with all the jazz greats, from Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Nat King Cole, to Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman Several awards- NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award and Kennedy Center for Performing Arts Medal of Honor

Overcoming Discrimination 1950’s- Mocambo Club, Hollywood - Ella 1 st African American to perform here Ella’s friendship with Marilyn Monroe- Monroe was able to get Ella Fitzgerald booked at Mocambo club Monroe promised that she would book a front row table every night if Ella performed there- Monroe kept her promise Ella and her band sued Pan Am airlines when they were bumped from a flight to accommodate white patrons

Ella’s Critics Ella’s Critics She always encouraged me to create and take my turn in our duets, never playing the star." -- Joe Pass "Ella's musicianship is just incredible. Playing with her is like playing with a full orchestra." -- Ed Thigpen "Whatever she does to my songs, she always makes them sound better." -- Richard Rodgers "It is so much fun to sing with Ella. It is so nice to sing with someone who does more than make a pretty noise." -- Jo Stafford "The one radio voice that I listened to above others belonged to Ella Fitzgerald. There was a quality to her voice that fascinated me, and I'd sing along with her, trying to catch the subtle ways she shaded her voice, the casual yet clean way she sang the words." -- Doris Day

Scatting Ella – 1 st person to develop vocalization technique Uses non-sense words/syllables Sing improvised melody/rhythms Ella- well known for mimicking instruments Ella- incorporated popular songs, a variety of musical genres, and impressions of famous musicians – as comedic relief

“One Note Samba” – Ella Fitzgerald

“It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”- Ella Fitzgerald “It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”- Ella Fitzgerald

“Mack The Knife” – Ella Fitzgerald

“How High The Moon” Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra

The Great American Song Book Released in 1956 – first song book Made a total of 8 song books during Ella’s attempt to cross over to the non-jazz audience Features American popular music written by composers Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, and George Gershwin Featured orchestras, big bands, and small jazz combos backing up Ella when she sings Songs feature a fusion of Broadway, Blues, and Jazz

“Manhattan” – Ella Fitzgerald

“I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” - Ella Fitzgerald

Pop Crossover Very rare pop appearances – focused mostly on spreading the musical genre of jazz Appearances with artists such as Tom Jones and Frank Sinatra – individuals who fuse jazz/pop into their music Performed songs such as – “Hey Jude” and “Hard Days Night” Songs contained a fusion - of jazz elements and imitated pop vocal styling’s/vocal recordings she heard on the radio

“Sunny” – Ella Fitzgerald and Tom Jones

“Hey Jude”- Ella Fitzgerald

Why Should We Care About Ella? She open doors for future vocalists- music became more aware of vocalists rather than just focusing on instrumentalists Started the fusion of jazz with other musical genres Genre reached to wider audiences because of her A Change maker in black history/oppression – in the field of music A lot of 21 st century artists copy Ella’s vocal techniques into their music/ music crossovers

Sources The Official Site of The First Lady of Song - Ella Fitzgerald Biography - fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald- d/biography.html