Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia.

In 1934, Ella competed in Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem where she met Benny Carter and in 1935 she won the chance to perform with the Tiny Bradshaw Band at the Harlem Opera House where she met bandleader Chick Webb.

In 1936, Ella recorded her first single "Love and Kisses" for the Decca label. She was performing with the Chick Webb Band at this time and in 1938 she recorded "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." It was an instant hit and sold over a million copies. Ella became famous.

On June 16, 1939, Chick Webb died and Ella took over as leader of the Band.

While on tour with Dizzy Gillespie in 1946, Ella met the bassist Ray Brown, whom she married the following year. Brown was working for the producer and manager Norman Granz who convinced Ella to join Jazz at the Philharmonic. It was at this time that Granz became her manager. She recorded with Louis Armstrong on several albums and she began her Songbook series in 1956 on Granz's Verve label.

Ella continued to record and perform. In 1979 she was inducted into Down Beat Magazine's Hall of Fame. In 1987, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Ronald Reagan and she also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George H. W. Bush. Ella has recorded over 200 albums and won 13 Grammy Awards, including the one for Lifetime Achievement. She made her last recording in 1991 and made her last public performance in 1993.

Ella had been diagnosed with Diabetes in 1986 and as the disease worsened, she had to have her legs amputated below the knee in 1993. On June 15, 1996 she died in her Beverly Hills home.

Ella Fitzgerald is known throughout the world as "The First Lady of Song."

Earlier today I listened to "Ella Fitzgerald at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975." She is accompanied by Tommy Flanagan on piano, Keter Betts on bass, and Bobby Durham on drums.

The tunes include "Caravan," "Satin Doll," "Teach Me Tonight," "Wave," "How High the Moon," "The Girl From Ipanema," among others.





Here's a video of Ella singing "It Don't Mean a Thing (If You Ain't Got That Swing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMFIejZgJSM&feature=player_detailpage