Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996)

May 23, 2007 
/ Contributed By: Gerry Butler

||

Ella Fitzgerald singing with Dizzy Gillespie

Courtesy US Library of Congress

Ella Fitzgerald was a female jazz singer considered without equal at the height of the jazz era.ย  Her voice had an amazing and vibrant range that allowed her to sing nearly every jazz style.ย  Ella was also an accomplished composer and bandleader who performed into the 1990s.

Born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25, 1917, Ellaย  grew up in Yonkers, New York in poverty.ย  She developed a love of music from a young age and at 17 won an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem with her rendition of โ€œJudyโ€ that earning her a weekโ€™s engagement at the prestigious entertainment venue.ย  Additionally she was noticed by jazz drummer Chick Webb.

Ella Fitzgerald immediately joined Webbโ€™s band and started performing at Harlemโ€™s Savoy Ballroom.ย  Her first national hit in 1938 was โ€œA-Tisket, A-Tasket,โ€ a jazz version of the nursery rhyme.ย  After Webbโ€™s death in 1939, Fitzgerald led the band for the next three years, a testament to her leadership and talent.ย  In the 1940s Ella had developed a mastery of scatting, bop, and ballad.ย  Her style was not as emotional as rival Billie Holidayโ€™s, but she infused a vibrance and excitement into her music.ย  Among her hits at the height of her popularity were โ€œLady Be Good,โ€ โ€œHow High the Moon,โ€ โ€œFlying Home,โ€ โ€œUndecided,โ€ and a collection of โ€œSongbooksโ€ with compositions from Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and others.

In 1943 Ella Fitzgerald became the youngest member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.ย  She wrote several hits during the 1940s including โ€œYou Showed Me the Way,โ€ recorded by Billie Holiday, and โ€œOh, but I Do,โ€ recorded by Nat King Cole.

Ella Fitzgerald continued to perform into the 1980s.ย  In 1991 she won her 13th Grammy award for โ€œAll That Jazzโ€ and in was inducted into the National Womanโ€™s Hall of Fame.ย  Over the course of her career, Fitzgerald won thirteen Grammies, sold over 40 million records, performed for 58 years, and elevated jazz singing to new heights.ย  She died in Beverly Hills, California in 1996.

About the Author

Author Profile

Gerry Butler has a History Degree from the University of Washington specializing in Military History. Though his current career is in technology and Healthcare, his passions will always be researching history, traveling to major historical sites of the world, and spending as much time as possible with his wife (Karen) and children (Jack and Lily).

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Butler, G. (2007, May 23). Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/fitzgerald-ella-1917-1996/

Source of the Author's Information:

Michael Erlewine, All Music Guide to Jazz (San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 1998); Tonya Bolden, The Book of African American Women (Holbrook, Massachusetts: Adams Media Corporation, 1996); http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/fitzgerald_e.html.

Discover More