Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. Her father, William Fitzgerald and her mother, Temperance, separated soon after her birth. Ella and her mother moved to Yonkers, New York, where they lived with the mother’s boyfriend, Joseph Da Silva. In 1923, Ella’s half-sister, Frances Fitzgerald was born, and in 1932, Ella’s mother died from injuries received in a car accident. Her sister remained with Da Silva and Ella went to live with her mother’s sister, Virginia. Both children were reunited after Howard Da Silva died of a heart attack. This turbulent instability took its toll on her childhood and her schoolwork. Her grades dropped dramatically and she skipped school frequently. Hanging out with the wrong crowd, she soon got into trouble with the police and was sent to a reform school. Ella escaped from the reformatory and was homeless for a period of time.
Ella made her singing debut at the age of 16 on November 21, 1934, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. In January of 1935, she won the chance to perform for a week with the Tiny Bradshaw band at the Harlem Opera House. Here she met drummer and bandleader, Chick Webb, and he hired her to travel with the band at a salary of $12.50 per week. She recorded several hits with this orchestra including her first recording, “Love and Kisses” and the big hit in 1938, “A Tisket A Tasket.” Upon Webb’s death in 1939, the band continued under its new name of “Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra.”
Throughout the 1940s she performed and recorded under the Decca label and in 1955 her new manager, Norman Granz, created the jazz record company, Verve, for her and her alone. Through this company, Ella recorded the eight “Songbooks” at irregular intervals between 1956-1964. These not only represent her most critically acclaimed and successful works, but also her most significant offering to American culture.
She sang and collaborated with the best musicians of the day. She was indeed in good company, her voice of satin, unique for its purity of tone and three-octave vocal range. She was also a great improviser as demonstrated by her most effective “scat singing.” Unfortunately, she never lived a life of good relationships that came close to those indicated in the songs she sang. She married twice and adopted a son, Ray Brown, Jr, who had been born to her half-sister, Francis.
She suffered from diabetes and as a result, was blinded and had both of her legs amputated in 1993. She died in 1996 at the age of 79 and many of her awards and personal possessions were donated to the Smithsonian Institute and The Library of Congress.
What are some of YOUR favorite Ella Fitzgerald tunes? Please share.