Singer
Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella", was an American jazz and song vocalist. With a vocal range spanning three octaves (D♭3 to D♭6), she was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. Fitzgerald was a notable interpreter of the Great American Songbo ... ok. Over the course of her 59-year recording career, she was the winner of 13 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush. Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia, the daughter of William and Temperance "Tempie" Fitzgerald. The pair separated soon after her birth, and Ella and her mother went to Yonkers, New York, where they eventually moved in with Tempie's longtime boyfriend, Joseph Da Silva. Fitzgerald's half-sister, Frances Da Silva, was born in 1923. She and her family were Methodists and were active in the Bethany African Methodist Episcopal Church, and she regularly attended worship services, Bible study, and Sunday School. In her youth, Fitzgerald wanted to be a dancer, although she loved listening to jazz recordings by Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and The Boswell Sisters. She idolized the lead singer Connee Boswell, later saying, "My mother brought home one of her records, and I fell in love with it....I tried so hard to sound just like her." In 1932, her mother died from a heart attack. Following this trauma, Fitzgerald's grades dropped dramatically, and she frequently skipped school. Abused by her stepfather, she was first taken in by an aunt and, at one point, worked as a lookout at a bordello and also with a Mafia-affiliated numbers runner. When the authorities caught up with her, she was first placed in the Colored Orphan Asylum in Riverdale, Bronx. However, when the orphanage proved too crowded, she was moved to the New York Training School for Girls in Hudson, New York, a state reformatory. Eventually she escaped and for a time was homeless. She made her singing debut at 17 on November 21, 1934, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. She pulled in a weekly audience at the Apollo and won the opportunity to compete in one of the earliest of its famous "Amateur Nights". She had originally intended to go on stage and dance, but, intimidated by the Edwards Sisters, a local dance duo, she opted to sing instead in the style of Connee Boswell. She sang Boswell's "Judy" and "The Object of My Affection," a song recorded by the Boswell Sisters, and won the first prize of US$25.00. See more [+]

Dream a Little Dream Of Me |||||

Stars shining bright above you Night breezes seem to whispe...

Misty |||||

Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree; And I fee...

Sweet Georgia Brown |||||

No gal made has got a shade on Sweet Georgia Brown Two left ...

Every Time We Say Goodbye |||||

Every time we say goodbye, I die a little. Every time we sa...

Summertime |||||

Summer time, And the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin', And th...

Cheek To Cheek |||||

Heaven, I'm in Heaven, And my heart beats so that I can hard...

Everything Happens To Me |||||

Black cats creep across my path until I'm almost mad I must ...

I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm |||||

The snow is snowing, the wind is blowing But I can weather t...

Don't Fence Me In |||||

Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above Don'...

I'm In The Mood For Love |||||

I'm in the mood for love, simply because you're near me Funn...

That old black magic |||||

That old black magic has me in its spell, That old black mag...

Hark The Herald Angels Sing |||||

Hark the herald angels sing "Glory to the new born King Peac...

Blue Skies |||||

Blue skies smiling at me Nothin g but blue skies do I see Bl...

Anything goes |||||

In olden days a glimpse of stocking Was looked on as somethi...

Perfidia |||||

Mujer Si puedes tu con Dios hablar Pregúntale si yo alguna v...

The Girl From Ipanema |||||

Tall and tan and young and lovely The girl from Ipanema goes...

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off |||||

You say eether and I say eyether You say neether and I say n...

I'm Beginning To See The Light |||||

I never cared much for moonlit skies, I never wink back at f...

You go to my head |||||

You go to my head, And you linger like a haunting refrain, A...

How Deep Is The Ocean |||||

How much do I love you? I'll tell you no lie How deep is the...

Stormy Weather |||||

Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky Stormy weather S...

My Romance |||||

My romance Doesn't have to have a moon in the sky My romance...

Saint Louis Blues |||||

I hate to see that evenin' sun go down I hate to see that ev...

Get Happy |||||

Pack up your troubles and just get happy; Ya better chase al...

It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing |||||

What good is melody, what good is mu - sic If it ain't posse...

Isn't This A Lovely Day |||||

The weather is fright'ning, the thunder and lightning Seem t...

Nature Boy |||||

There was a boy very strange Enchanted boy they say he wande...

The Nearness Of You |||||

It's not the pale moon that excites me That thrills and deli...

The Way You Look Tonight |||||

Some day, when I'm awfully low When the world is cold I will...

You do something to me |||||

You do some - thing to me, Some - thing that real - ly mys -...

Manhattan |||||

Summer journeys to Niag'ra and to other places aggravate all...

All by myself |||||

All by myself in the morning All by myself in the night I si...

Man Of Mine / Stormy Weather |||||

Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly. I'll love that man till th...

Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered |||||

I'm wild again, beguiled again, A simpering, whimpering chil...

The Man I Love |||||

Someday he'll come along, the man I love And he'll be big an...

Have you met miss jones |||||

"Have you met Miss Jones?" Someone said as we shook hands; S...

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