I would like to study Ella Fitzgerald because I love singing. My connection is that we both love singing. I'm in chorus and al-county chorus. I also like hearing music like her. Her mother died in 1932. Ella was born on April 25,1917. 

She changed the music industry with her amazing skill of jazz singing. She inspired others to not just follow in her lead but to follow their dreams. She was the first lady of song. Ella Fitzgerald!

Ella was born on April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia. She had a hard working mom named Tempie that worked in a laundry shop. She also had dad that drove a vehicle that moved railroad freight named William. And soon she had a baby sister Frances that she loved right away.

Ella had grown up poor, did well in school, and wanted to be a dancer. When Ella was seventeen she decided to compete in a contest. It was her first time ever on stage. People didn’t like her at first because of the way she dressed. Then she started singing, it was so fantastic that she won the contest.

Things didn’t seem to get better when her mom died of a heart attack. Ella was devastated. She had to continue her life with Joe her stepfather who seemed to take over when Tempie died. Joe was strict and mean to Ella. He didn’t take care of her. Since her mothers death Ella started skipping school, gambling, and then completely dropped out of school. Soon Ella was an orphan and homeless.

One day Charles Linton found Ella and asked her to sing for him. He heard that she won the contest. She sang and Charles Linton heard what everyone else had been hearing. Chick Webb didn’t like her at first but when he heard her he put Ella in the band. Soon Chick became a father to Ella.

Before they did any thing they gave Ella new clothes and styled her hair. They sang at lots of places. A problem was people judging her. One time Ella tried to go into a bar to listen to her first song, but she wasn’t aloud to. So they told her to go. Then she gave someone money to play her song and she listened to it out side. When Chick Webb died the band became Ella’s famous orchestra. Ella started to do solo appearances in the supper clubs and theaters.

Ella was older know and started dating a guy named Benjamin Kornegay. Then they got married in s.t. Louis Missouri. Ella figured out soon that he just married Ella for her money, but Benjamin refused to get a divorce. Ella’s lawyer won though. One day Ella met a guy named Tormé and taught him how to scat. He gave her all the credit for it. Then she started to date Ray Brown. They got married in Ohio.

Ray Brown was mostly on the road. Sometimes Ella went with him. Ella was living in her Beverly Hills home. They finally adopted a kid to Ella’s half sister. They named him Ray Brown Jr. Fitzgerald. Ella worked with lots of famous people like Duke Ellington, trumpet player Daniel Louis Armstrong, Charles Linton, Chick Webb, Tormé and lots of others. 1942 was the busiest year. For example she sang her hit song a tisket-a tasket in March.

Ella still sang her latest songs like all I need is you, a tisket-a tasket (1938), Stone cold dead in the market (1946), I’m making believe  (1944), Lady be good (1947) and many more. Her pure voice inspired others to follow their dream too. She was well known for her unique and sophisticated style of singing.

I hope you learned a lot about Ella Fitzgerald. Things weren’t always good though. A disease left her blind and she had both legs amputated in 1994. Ella had won 13 Grammy awards. She sold over 40 million albums. Ella proudly wore her medal for Arts medallion, but it was only one of lots of other medals she earned. Ella made her last recording in 1989. Her last performance was in 1991. Ella died on June 15, 1996 in her Beverly Hills home. People are still buying her albums today! People will always remember the first lady of song!        

                                                            Bibliography

                                                       Ella Fitzgerald

Krohn, Katherine. Ella Fitzgerald first lady of song. Minnesota Minneapolis: Lerner Publication, 2001.   

Listen to An Interview with Ella Fitzgerald