ABOUT
Ella Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 - June 15, 1996) was a celebrated jazz singer, songwriter, and composer who became famous beginning in the mid 1930s. Best known for her self-penned remake of the nursery rhyme "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" (1938), her numerous other hits, which span both traditional pop and jazz, include the chart topping "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall"/"I'm Making Believe" (1944) and "I'm Beginning To See The Light" (1945). With a range of three octaves, she was critically acclaimed for her purity of tone, absolute pitch, and impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, and intonation, and by the mid 1940s, had become an influential jazz icon, dazzling audiences with her inventive and agile scat improvisations.
Born in Newport News, Virginia, she launched her career in 1934 while still in her teens after winning a singing contest at the Harlem Opera House in Harlem, New York. The following year, she began performing with Chick Webb's Orchestra and recorded a string of hits with them through the late 1930s. After Webb passed in 1939, his band was renamed "Ella Fitzgerald & Her Famous Orchestra" and she took over as bandleader, serving through 1942 before going solo. Over her long career, she also recorded with Louis Armstrong, The Ink Spots, Louis Jordan, and The Delta Rhythm Boys. A multi-Grammy winner, Ella Fitzgerald's numerous honors and accolades also include the National Medal of Art and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
LINKS
- The New York Times remembers jazz great Ella Fitzgerald.
SHOP EXCLUSIVE RECORDINGS FOR ELLA FITZGERALD
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- Ella Fitzgerald - CDs, vinyl, & more - Amazon.com
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- Ella Fitzgerald - Rare vinyl, CDs, & more - MusicStack.com
- Ella Fitzgerald - Sheet Music - SheetMusicPlus.com
VIDEO CLIP
Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis Jr. perform "S'Wonderful" on The Ed Sullivan Show (February 2, 1964).
Available on the following DVD: The Very Best of The Ed Sullivan Show Vol. 1
SONGS
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Ella Fitzgerald
- Mack The Knife 1960
(This song was previously a hit for the Dick Hyman Trio (1956), Richard Hayman & Jan August (1956), Lawrence Welk (1956), Louis Armstrong (1956), Billy Vaughn (1956), and Les Paul (1956), and topped the charts for Bobby Darin (1959).)
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