Ella Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. Early in life she faced hard times. She was orphaned at a young age which led to hard times all through her upbringing, when times were though she found peace in music. One night at the Apollo Theater’s amateur night in 1934 she had a dance set planned. The hours leading up to the set the stress and nerves grew too big and Fitzgerald decided to sing instead. The crowed loved her performance and from this day on her extraordinary career unfolded.
The voice of Jazz
A few years after that night at the Apollo theater she joined Chick Webb’s orchestra. It was here she found mainstream success, recording songs like the famous: “A-tisket, A-tasket”. Unfortunately, Webb passed away, but this didn’t stop Ella. After the passing of Webb, Ella took over the band, a bold move for a woman in this time. The bold move was justified, no one could match Ella’s vocal abilities. Ella could switch between different styles ranging from swing and bebop to blues and bossa nova, not to forget her scat singing.
Collaborations that made history
Ella has collaborated with some of the biggest names in music during her career. I would argue her collaboration with Louis Armstrong with their rendition of “summertime” was best one.
Between 1956 and 1964 Ella recorded her eight “songbook” albums. These eight albums are what most people classify as her flagship. Legends like Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin and Irving Berlin are a few of the composers Ella collaborated with on these albums. The songbook albums really showed the world that her place in jazz would be recognized forever.
Overcoming challenges and leaving a legacy
Ella’s career was almost six decades long, but those six decades weren’t free of problems. As a black woman in the mid 20s century racism was something that occurred often. Some venues refused to let Ella perform there, other venues made her go in through the kitchen entrance. This never stopped her from thriving, with her talent and determination she came a long way.
Unfortunately, Ella passed away on June 15, 1996. She left 13 Grammy awards, over 200 albums and millions of records sold behind her. These numbers makes her one of the most celebrated artists to ever exist. Even though she’s known for her Jazz, her influence goes way beyond that. Modern stars like Adel cite her as an inspiration and her records continues to be studied and admired.
Link to Ellas music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5V0MlUE1Bft0mbLlND7FJz?si=D2NugdujRo2719GO2NhFiQ
