Ella Fitzgerald is the female face of classical jazz. She had a unique voice of 3 octaves.
Became the most famous jazz singer in history. Over 50 years on stage, she has released more than 250 records.
The singer has been awarded the prestigious Grammy award in the world of music more than 10 times.
"First Lady of Jazz" and "Lady Ella" - this is how the greatest singer was addressed, but she achieved her success with difficulty.
Childhood and early years
Ella was born in the small town of Newport News on April 25, 1917. Her parents were not officially married.
My father worked as a simple driver, and my mother worked as a laundress. As soon as the girl was born, the father fled from hardship and poverty.
Mom soon married a Portuguese immigrant, and the family moved to New York.
Ella soon had a younger half-sister. Parents lived poorly, but devoutly.
Ella as a child (left)
We went to church every weekend and taught the kids to do it. It was these trips that opened music to Ella.
She was fascinated by church hymns. The girl grew up very musical. She constantly sang and danced.
However, she did not even think about the future of the singer. Ella was very shy and afraid of the public.
In the yard, she entertained the children by parodying popular singers at that time.
With a close friend, Charles Gulliver, she sometimes put on some kind of dance number.
However, in 1932, Ella's mother died of a heart attack. This was a huge blow for the teenager. The girl has been changed.
She began to get bad grades, and then she stopped going to classes altogether.
Constant conflicts began to arise with her stepfather, because of which she could leave home.
Later, her aunt, Virginia Henry, took the girl to her upbringing. Ella did not want to go back to school and went to work.
The first job was a local brothel. There, the girl was a caretaker and began to communicate with various representatives of the criminal world.
After that, the police and guardianship authorities became interested in her. Ella was assigned to the Bronx Orphanage and then sent to the Hudson.
There was a boarding school for girls. However, Ella got used to freedom and soon ran away. She began to live on the street, without a roof over her head.
creative path
A happy event that turned her whole life upside down was an amateur competition held at the Harlem Apollo Theater.
In November 1934, the debut performance took place. The plan was for Ella Fitzgerald to dance, but at the last minute she changed her mind and decided to sing.
She appeared at the competition in a single old dress and worn, dirty shoes.
The future jazz star was so worried that she lost her voice from emotions at the very beginning of the song.
The host had to announce her exit again. The girl chose the song "The Object of My Affection" for her debut.
When she was able to sing it to the end, the audience expressed their admiration with thunderous applause. Encouraged, she sang another song "Judy".
The choice of the winner at the competition was determined by the reaction of the public in the hall. The host, summing up, calls the name of Ella Fitzgerald, and the audience confirms the decision with a storm of applause.
The girl received $ 25 as a prize, as well as the opportunity to perform on the theater stage for a week.
Here Ella was noticed by the head of the jazz ensemble Chick Webb. He invited her to his place as a soloist.
The first performance in a new role was at a dance evening at Yale University.
It is this performance that is considered the first step in a creative career.
A year later, their first album, Love and Kisses, was released. He hit all the famous jazz charts.
In 1938, the girl, together with E. Feldman, recorded the song "E-tisket, e-tasket".
She became the hallmark of the singer and brought her great success.
Ella began to appear numerous fans of her talent.
Even Frank Sinatra, who also became an admirer of her songs, could not resist her talent.
In 1939, a tragedy occurred - Chick Webb died. Ella Fitzgerald became the leader of the group.
During her leadership, more than 100 songs were recorded, but they were not successful, as they were more related to pop music.
Popularity began to decline. The team ceased its activities in 1942. From this year, the singer begins to perform solo.
She signs a contract with the recording studio Decca Records. In 1945, the public was presented with a composition arranged by Vic Schoen "Flying Home".
Subsequently, it will be called the greatest creation in the world of jazz music.
Ella was not afraid to mix different directions, to include pop motifs in her songs.
In 1947, the status of the best jazz performer will be confirmed by another of her songs, “Oh, Lady Be Good!”.
After 1955, Ella breaks off cooperation with the Decca studio. Her manager N. Granz creates a new brand Verve Records especially for the singer.
In the period from 1956 -1964, the singer released 8 albums. Then, in 1972, the disc Nice Work If You Can Get It, dedicated to the talent of George Gershwin, was released.
In 1983, the album "Ella Loves Cole" was recorded in honor of the work of Cole Porter.
In addition to recording albums, which were released with an enviable frequency, Ella gave concerts throughout America.
Tours to Europe were also organized. She became one of the most successful touring singers.
Personal life
For the first time, she entered into an official marriage at the age of 24. In 1941, a wedding took place with a port worker, who was later convicted of drug trafficking.
After 2 years, Ella annulled this marriage. In 1946, while on tour, she met the famous jazz bassist Ray Brown.
A year later, young people legalized their relationship. Soon a child appeared in the family.
Ray Brown Jr - son of Ella Fitzerald
Ella adopted her nephew, also named Ray.
The boy was often taken on tour with him, but most of the time his relatives were involved in his upbringing.
The family and the child began to interfere with a successful career, and in 1953 Ella and Ray divorced.
However, this did not become an obstacle to their joint performances.
There is a version that Ella got married for the third time. It was a secret alliance with a young native of Norway - Thor Larsen.
However, Thor turned out to be a thief and was later sentenced to hard labor.
This marriage could negatively affect the reputation of the famous singer, so few people knew about him.
Ella was extremely shy and many of her colleagues said that she was only interested in music.
Her adopted son also became a musician. Performs as a jazz vocalist.
Last years of life and death
In the mid-70s of the last century, the singer's health began to deteriorate.
In 1972, she was diagnosed with a cataract and underwent heart surgery.
Such negative changes were noticed not only by fans, but also by critics.
Ella Fitzgerald's brief biography of the jazz singer and actress is outlined in this article.
Ella Fitzgerald biography briefly
Ella Fitzgerald's birthday is April 25, 1917. She was born in Virginia, USA to a poor African American family. Once the girl got into a rather unpleasant story and she was sent to a special correctional house for girls. After escaping from there, she lived on the street. In 1934, a local amateur competition was held, at which $ 25 was given for 1st place. Ella decided to accept a contest in it. Having stepped onto the stage, she was confused and instead of dancing she sang a song. First place was hers.
After the competition, the girl became interested in Benny Carter, a jazzman. He introduced Ella Fitzgerald to Chick Webb, the leader of a popular jazz band. The girl did not make a special impression on Chick, but after an evening concert of his band in 1935, he took Ella on a permanent job as a vocalist in the orchestra. Chick and his wife took her in and considered her to be their daughter.
In 1935, E. Fitzgerald's first disc was released under the title Love and Kisses. She brought the singer a small fee, only $25. And three years later, the folk old song "Yellow Basket", which Ella arranged in the style of jazz, was already released in a circulation of a million copies.
Chick Webb died in 1939. By unanimous decision, Fitzgerald led his jazz band. Her popularity continued to grow every day, pushing Fitzgerald to pursue a solo career. She performed and collaborated with prominent people - Kaun Basie, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong. Ella's recordings at the Werve studio are the most successful of the singer's career, her live recording called "Mackie Knife" at one concert in Berlin, when Ella forgot the words and came up with her own, is often given as an example as an improvisation.
All her life, Ella Fitzgerald remained lonely, shy and withdrawn. In 1971, she nearly went blind. Since this year, the singer has seen with one eye. In 1985, her concert tour was cut short due to lung problems. In the early 1990s, she experiences a heart attack. The exacerbation of long-standing diabetes led to the fact that Ella's legs were amputated up to the knee.
While recording songs and studio albums, Ella managed to tour 40 to 45 weeks a year in the United States and abroad under the direction of Norman Grantz. He greatly helped to strengthen her position as one of the leading jazz performers.
In the mid-1950s, Fitzgerald became the first African American to perform at Mocambo. Marilyn Monroe helped, lobbying for her interests, which played an important role in Ella's career.
There are several live albums on Verve that are critically acclaimed. Yes, in the album. Ella at the Opera House showing a typical Fitzgerald with JATP. Albums Ella in Rome And Twelve Nights In Hollywood became the vocal canons of jazz. Ella in Berlin still one of the best-selling albums, it includes the Grammy-winning performance "Mack the Knife", in which she forgets the lyrics but admirably improvises to compensate.
Verve Records was sold to MGM in 1963 for $3 million and in 1967 MGM did not renew Fitzgerald's contract. For the next five years, she flitted between Atlantic, Capitol and Reprise. Her recordings at the time represented a departure from the typical jazz repertoire. For Capitol she recorded an album of hymns Brighten the Corner, an album of traditional carols Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas, an album influenced by country and western misty blue and a series of six medleys 30 by Ella than fulfilled its obligations to the label. During this period, Ella Fitzgerald released a charting single with a cover of "Get Ready" by Smokey Robinson (formerly a hit by The Temptations).
The surprise was the success in 1972 of the album Jazz at Santa Monica Civic"72, which prompted Granz to found Pablo Records, his new label after selling Verve. Fitzgerald has recorded about 20 albums for this label. Ella in London recorded in 1974 with pianist Tommy Flanagan, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Keter Betts and drummer Bobby Durham, considered by many to be one of her finest work. The following year, she again performed with Joe Pass on the German TV channel NDR in Hamburg. Ella's years on Pablo Records are also marked by the decline of her voice. "She often uses short, stabbing phrases, her voice used to be stronger, with a wider vibrato," wrote one biographer. Worried about health issues, Fitzgerald made her last recordings in 1991 and her last public performance in 1993.
The most famous musicians with whom Ella Fitzgerald collaborated were trumpeter Louis Armstrong, guitarist Joe Pass, bandleaders Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
She also collaborated with many jazz musicians during her long career. Trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie, guitarist Herb Ellis, pianists Tommy Flanagan, Oscar Peterson, Lou Levy, Paul Smith, Jimmy Rawls and Ellis Larkins all worked with Ella mostly on the air.
Personal life
Fitzgerald married at least twice, and there is evidence that she may have done so a third time. In 1941, she married Benny Kornegay, a convicted drug dealer and local dock worker. The marriage was annulled two years later.
Her second marriage, in December 1947, was to famed bass player Ray Brown, whom she had met on tour with Dizzy Gillespie's band the year before. Together they adopted a child born to Fitzgerald's sister Frances, whom they christened Ray Brown Jr. Fitzgerald and Brown were often on tour and recording sessions, and her aunt Virginia took care of the child to a large extent. Fitzgerald and Brown divorced in 1953, although they continued to perform together.
In July 1957, Reuters reported that Fitzgerald had secretly married a young Norwegian, Thor Einar Larsen, in Oslo. She even went so far as to rent an apartment in Oslo, but the matter was quickly forgotten when Larsen was sentenced to five months hard labor in Sweden for stealing money.
As you know, Ella Fitzgerald was very shy. Trumpeter Mario Bauza, who played with her in Chick Webb, recalled that "she didn't talk much. When she got into the band, she was only interested in music.... She was a lonely girl in New York."
Suffering from the effects of diabetes, Fitzgerald's vision was weak, due to this disease her legs were amputated in 1993. In 1996, she died on June 15 from an illness in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 79. She is buried in Inglewood Cemetery, California. Archival material from her long career is housed at the National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution of American History, and musical recordings at the Library of Congress. Her extensive collection of cookbooks was donated to the Harvard University Library, and a collection of her sheet music is in the Los Angeles Library.
Ella Fitzgerald - Mack the Knife
Ella Fitzgerald "Jazz in Montreux" "79 Flying Home"
Ella Fitzgerald
Discography
Decca
1950
Ella Sings Gershwin
1954
Songs in a Mellow Mood
Lullabies of Birdland
1955
For Sentimental Reasons (A collection of previously available recordings from the late 1940s and early 1950s)
Miss Ella Fitzgerald & Mr Gordon Jenkins Invite You to Listen and Relax (A collection of previously available recordings from the late 1940s and early 1950s)
sweet and hot
Verve
1956
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook
Ella and Louis (with Louis Armstrong)
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook
1957
Ella and Louis Again (with Louis Armstrong)
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook (with Duke Ellington) – Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance, Soloist
Ella at the Opera House (Live)
Like Someone in Love
Porgy and Bess (with Louis Armstrong)
1958
Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday at Newport (Live) (Reissued with tracks featuring Carmen McRae in 2001)
Ella Swings Lightly – Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance, Soloist
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook – Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert (Live) (Released in 1988)
Ella Fitzgerald live at Mister Kelly's (Live) (Released in 2007)
1959
Get Happy!
Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook – Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
1960
Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife (Live) – Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
hello love
Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from Let No Man Write My Epitaph (Available on CD as The Intimate Ella)
1961
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook
Ella in Hollywood (Live)
Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!
Ella Returns to Berlin (Live) (Released in 1991)
Twelve Nights In Hollywood (Live) (Released in 2009)
1962
Rhythm Is My Business
Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson – Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Ella Swings
1963
Ella Sings Broadway
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook
Ella and Basie! (with Count Basie)
These Are the Blues
1964
Hello Dolly!
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Songbook
Ella at Juan-Les-Pins (Live)
Ella in Japan: "S Wonderful (Live) (Released in 2011)
1965
Ella in Hamburg (Live)
Ella at Duke's Place (with Duke Ellington)
1966
Whisper Not
Ella and Duke at the Cote D "Azur (Live) (with Duke Ellington)
Capitol
1967
Brighten the Corner
Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas
1968
30 by Ella
misty blue
MPS Records
1969
Sunshine of your Love (Live)
Reprise
1969
Ella
1970
Things Ain't What They Used to Be (And You Better Believe It)
Atlantic
1972
Ella Loves Cole (Released on the Pablo label as Dream Dancing)
Columbia
1973
Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall (Live)
Pablo
1966
The Stockholm Concert, 1966 (Live) (with Duke Ellington) (Released in 1984)
1967
The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World (Live) (with Duke Ellington) (Released in 1990)
1970
Ella in Budapest, Hungary (Live) (Released in 1999)
1971
Ella a Nice (Live)
1972
Jazz at Santa Monica Civic"72 (Live)
1973
Take Love Easy (with Joe Pass)
1974
Fine and Mellow (Released in 1979) – Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal
Ella in London (Live)
1975
Ella and Oscar (with Oscar Peterson)
Montreux"75 (Live)
1976
Fitzgerald and Pass... Again (with Joe Pass) – Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal
1977
Montreux"77 (Live)
1978
lady time
Dream Dancing (First released on the Atlantic label as Ella Loves Cole)
1979
Digital III at Montreux (Live) – Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female
A Classy Pair (with Count Basie)
A Perfect Match (Live) (with Count Basie) – Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female
1981
Ella Abraça Jobim
1982
The Best Is Yet to Come – Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female
1983
Speak Love (with Joe Pass)
Nice Work If You Can Get It (with André Previn)
1986
Easy Living (with Joe Pass)
1989
All That Jazz – Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female
2001
Sophisticated Lady (Live) (with Joe Pass) (recorded in 1975, 1983)
Notable guest appearances
1953
JATP In Tokyo - Live at the Nichigeki Theater 1953" (Live in Tokyo with Jazz at the Philharmonic)
1955
Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues
1956
Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl (Live in Hollywood with Jazz at the Philharmonic)
1957
One O "Clock Jump (with Count Basie and Joe Williams)
Classic Duets (Three duets with Frank Sinatra, recorded for the 1957 ABC television The Frank Sinatra Show; released in 2002 by Capitol Records.
1983
Jazz at the Philharmonic – Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo 1983: Return to Happiness (Live in Tokyo with Jazz at the Philharmonic)
1989
Back on the Block (Qwest Records)
Boxed sets and collections
1994 The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks
1995 Ella: The Legendary Decca Recordings
1997 The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve
Ella Fitzgerald is an outstanding US singer, "the first lady of jazz", who has a mezzo-soprano voice with a range of 3 octaves. Over a fifty-year musical career, she released 90 records, sales of which amounted to 40 million copies. Winner of many awards, including the Order of Arts and Letters, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Grammy. Collaborated with Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Quincy Jones. Known for the compositions "Cry Me A River", "I'm Making Believe", "Oh, Lady Be Good!" and Flying Home.
Ella's childhood passed in the poverty of the New York slums, where the singer fell in love with church chants and developed her talent by learning gospels. Fitzgerald was fond of dancing, sports, and was a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. As a teenager, Ella worked as a brothel caretaker, dropping out of school after her mother's death. At the same time, the singer took the first step in her professional career as a singer - she participated in the "Amateur Nights" competition at the Harlem Apollo Theater and won.
Ella Fitzgerald's first performance with the Tiny Bradshaw Jazz Orchestra took place at the same theater in 1935, and the recording of the song "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" in 1938 brought the singer success.
Until 1942, as part of the Ella and Her Famous Orchestra, the singer performed pop-jazz songs. In the 1940s, Ella moved from swing to bebop and collaborated with trumpeter-improviser Dizzy Gillespie, using scat vocalizations that mimic the sound of instruments. In the 1950s, Ella released her debut album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook on Verve Records. The album was the first in the commercially successful Great American Songbook series of records in which the singer presented the work of a particular poet or composer. In the late 50s and early 60s, the performer worked extensively with Louis Armstrong, as well as with the Count Basie Orchestra. Experts noted this stage as significant and outstanding in Fitzgerald's musical career.
In the 60s, Fitzgerald's concert activity came to naught, at which time she recorded compilations and the album "Misty Blue" in the country style. The 1972 record Jazz at Santa Monica Civic "72" was a great success, after which Ella began working with pianist Tommy Flanagan, guitarist Joe Pass, double bassist Keter Betts.
After a performance on German television in 1975, music experts noted the deterioration of the singer's vocal abilities. Due to health problems, concert activity had to be stopped, and in 1993, due to complications caused by diabetes, the singer's legs were amputated. In 1996, Ella Fitzgerald died at home in California.
Ella Fitzgerald's life story is the best way to show that any undertaking with sufficient perseverance will certainly come to fruition, even if initially all circumstances are against you. The cult singer was able to conquer everyone with her simplicity and musical genius, with which she was lucky to be born. But without due perseverance, her fate could have turned out quite differently. Having given her life to the art of music, from early childhood she was fascinated by everything that happened around her. Dancing, music, singing, sports - Ella gave herself to all this without a trace, in order, in the end, to realize her own destiny. By choosing her fate, she was able to become a singer who is still considered the greatest jazz legend of the 20th century.
short biography
Ella Fitzgerald was born in one of those small American cities that are hard to find on a map - Newport News. It happened on April 25, 1917, in Virginia. Her father, William, was not eager to document his relationship with the girl's mother, Temperance, so they lived without a formal marriage. Perhaps the birth of a child influenced the fact that he soon left the family.
Due to strong feelings, the mother and daughter leave the house and move to another American town - Yonkers, where Temperance meets a man who becomes little Ella's stepfather. Soon, in 1923, Ella has a sister, Francis. Being very devout, they all attended church regularly and studied the Bible constantly.
When Ella was 14 years old, a terrible tragedy happened - her beloved mother died of a heart attack. Out of worries, the girl quarrels with her stepfather and leaves him for a relative - Aunt Virginia. Being completely unsupervised, Ella leaves school and gets a job as a servant in a brothel, where she begins to gradually sink to the bottom of society. Constant communication with thieves and gangsters of various stripes had a detrimental effect on the girl. The police, having discovered a homeless teenager, identified her in a shelter in the Bronx. Soon she is transferred to a boarding school for girls located in the Hudson, but she does not stay there for a long time, preferring a homeless life to strict rules.
In 1934, Ella Fitzgerald wanted to try her hand at dancing, choosing the free Amateur Nights competition for this. After learning about the very strong rival dancers, she changed her mind. This act radically turned Ella Fitzgerald's life upside down. Remembering her favorite childhood performer - Connie Boswell, the girl decided to sing the song "The Object of My Affection". A benevolent audience allowed Ella to perform two songs, although she lost her voice from great excitement, and she had to start the first melody again. According to the results of the audience sympathy, she managed to get around her rivals. This moment can be considered her formation as a singer, since for the victory she got the opportunity to perform at Apollo, the cultural and musical center of that time.
At the beginning of 1935, a key event for Ella takes place, she is introduced to Chick Webb, the talented founder of a successful big band. Being critical of Ella as a performer, he nevertheless signs an agreement with her, allowing the girl to perform with his orchestra. From that moment on, Fitzgerald performed with the Webb team, and when he died in 1936, the singer took his place, changing the name of the orchestra to "Ella and Her Famous Orchestr" (Ella and her Famous Orchestra).
Taking the direction of popular music, the team performed until 1942. Playing only pop music for the needs of the public, they could not grow into something serious, so the collapse of the band was quite predictable.
From that moment on, the young singer decides to try her hand at a solo career and she manages to conclude a lucrative contract with Decca Records. This collaboration has brought some of Ella's greatest performances to the world, including Flying Home and Oh, Lady Be Good!.
Starting in 1945, Fitzgerald decides to grow even higher in his career plan. She parted ways with Decca Records and began recording under a new brand - Verve Records, created by manager Norman Granz especially for her. This time becomes truly golden for her. Fitzgerald improvises in different styles: jazz, be-bop, pop, bringing into her singing the technique of scat, which she turns out to be truly virtuoso. The singer gained incredible popularity, with which few could compete, giving dozens of concerts throughout America.
In 1972, the singer began to cooperate with the Pablo Records label, since the old one, Verve Records, was bought out by MGM. Many of the compositions recorded during this time are considered the best in Fitzgerald's work.
Starting in 1993, Ella stops performing and spends all her time in a house in Beverly Hills. Chained to a wheelchair, she enjoyed life until the very last day. In 1966, Ella Fitzgerald left our world.
Interesting Facts
- The singer was not tall - only 1 m 64 cm.
- She learned a significant part of her skill from the recordings of Connie Boswell, her childhood favorite singer. Trying to copy her style of performance, she considered her her muse.
- She received the Grammy Award 13 times.
- The Fitzgerald family was adherents of the Methodist Church and professed the religion of Methodism.
- If not for the persistence of Charles Linton, Ella would never have agreed to take on the first audition, her appearance was too unpresentable.
- The personal musical archive of the singer is stored in the US National Library.
- She repeatedly occupied and firmly held the top lines of the charts with her compositions, such as "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" and "I'm Making Believe".
- Starting from the mid-70s, the singer began to gradually lose her former charm of her voice. Despite this, she continued to perform, slightly changing her singing style and making it more harsh and abrupt.
- Fitzgerald's unusually wide range covered almost 3 octaves. Not all opera singers could boast of this. Not surprisingly, many of them considered Ella an outstanding performer.
- Another master of jazz, Frank Sinatra, who became a fan of her work, highly appreciated Ella's skill.
- She received her respectful nickname "The First Lady of Jazz" for her skill and virtuoso voice.
- Thanks to her outstanding diligence, she recorded more than 90 albums during her life.
- She starred in commercials, in particular, for KFC.
- Fitzgerald was a great imitator of Louis Armsrong's singing.
- Performing not only jazz, but also its variety - bebop, Ella masterfully succeeded in improvisation, which is the basis for this style.
- At the end of her life, Ella developed gangrene due to diabetic foot syndrome, so doctors had to amputate both of her legs.
- Sinatra and Fitzgerald have been in contact for a long time, but they never had a single project together.
- She participated in charity, donating large sums of money to various organizations.
- The singer was honored with thanks and a handshake from US President Ronald Reagan.
- In America, a postage stamp dedicated to the memory of the performer was issued.
- In the city of Newport News there is a theater named after the singer.
Best songs
« love and kisses” - a bright composition with a classic improvisational introduction passing by various instruments, recorded in 1934 with Chick Webb's orchestra.
"Love and Kisses" (listen)
« You'll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini)", an improvisational song, was recorded in 1934. It is here that Fitzgerald begins to apply his scat technique.
"You'll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini)" (listen)
« A-Tisket, A-Tasket"- a simple song performed by Ella, which made her truly famous. A brilliant new arrangement of a simple chant about a lost basket. A soft voice with bright accents leaves a truly unforgettable impression.
« I Found My Yellow Basket”- a semantic continuation of the composition“ A-Tisket, A-Tasket ”, where Ella sings that the lost yellow basket was nevertheless found.
« flying home"- one of the best songs of the singer. The arrangement was made by Vic Schoen in 1945, and this piece was recognized as an outstanding composition of the 40s.
"Flying Home" (listen)
« Oh, Lady Be Good!"- a lyrical song that became a hit, with great phrasing and performance.
"Oh Lady Be Good!" (listen)
« Mack the Knife"- this composition was sung by Ella so incomparably that the singer received two Grammy awards for it.
"Mack the Knife" (listen)
The difficult personal life of "Lady Jazz"
Like many talented people, the singer's personal life was rather difficult. The harsh childhood and youth led to the fact that Fitzgerald chose her partners among the disadvantaged elements of society. So, the first person with whom she officially connected her life was Benny Kornegay, a street seller of illegal drugs, who moonlights in the port. The couple signed in 1941, but did not even live together for two years.
The next marriage attempt took place in 1947, and Ella approached the choice of the second half much more carefully. Having met double bassist Ray Brown in 1946 and having met for less than a year, the couple decided to officially sign. In addition, they adopted Ella's half-sister's son, naming him Ray Brown Jr. Having been married for six years, Ella divorced her husband, as the constant workload did not leave any time for joint support. They parted by mutual agreement and continued to cooperate even after the divorce.
The third marriage is tentatively dated 1957. Almost nothing is known about him, except that Fitzgerald's husband was a Norwegian named Thor Larsen. After some time, he committed theft, so the marriage was instantly annulled, since such news could have a negative impact on the singer's career. Any mention of him was immediately deleted by Ella's manager Norman Granz.
Being rather closed, modest and shy, Ella Fitzgerald never talked about her personal life. Only son Ray and his daughter Alice were close to Fitzgerald in the last moments of her life.
