Ella Fitzgerald

November 21st, 1934, 17-year old Ella Fitzgerald stood on the stage of the Apollo

Theater in Harlem for her first ever performance. It was not a scheduled performance to say the

least. In fact, it was almost entirely random. Ella and her friends made a bet to put their names in

the drawing to perform that night, and Ellas own name was pulled out of the hat. (Official

Website of Ella Fitzgerald). If only the crowd was aware that the name announced by the

manager so nonchalantly would, a few decades later, be equated to The First Lady of Song.

(History.com). If any other name had been called to perform, its quite possible Ella would have

never taken the stage at all. If that vital memory were to be erased or altered, music today would

not be the same, and the great title and concept of Song might very well continue to be

searching for its First Lady...

In the two years leading up to this night, Ella had become orphaned, left high-school, and

been in deep trouble with the law. Life was taking her down a dangerous and upsetting road, and

she did not have a way of adjusting. Yet here she was, and had been asked to go up as

entertainment, directly following a duo of two talented dancers that had greatly impressed the

crowd. Here her instinct and character were put to the test. Ella had always been dreaming of

becoming a dancer, but instead she took a leap of faith and sang: The Object of My Affection,

which was popularized by Connie Boswell.

At first, her notes were off and she became flustered, as she started being heckled by the

Apollo audience. However, she started again, this time quieting them until she finished, using

only the intensity and luxury of her voice. The moment following her last chord was met with

applause so loud it could make the theater quiver and quake. She stood for the first time with a
confidence and certainty that she was exactly where she belonged. "Once up there, I felt the

acceptance and love from my audience," Ella said. "I knew I wanted to sing before people the

rest of my life." (Official Website of Ella Fitzgerald).

Even in this snapshot of her adolescence, Ella was able to move an audience and take

their breath away, magnetizing their attention towards her sound and expression. This is not

something easy to accomplish, or a trait that is naturally common in performers. Yet, this

17-year-old did it effortlessly, beginning to embrace the spotlight and all that would compliment

her for years to come.

In her career, Ella was awarded 13 Grammys, and sold tens of millions of albums to the

public. All of the fans that gathered to see Ella perform were composed of an extraordinary

variety of nationalities, backgrounds, and characteristics. It is a very rare pleasure that an artists

music and essence can resonate over an entire nation or era, yet Ellas sultry tone would coat the

ears of the rich, poor, black, white, young, and old like warm honey for generations, and the

First Lady of Song danced comfortably upon her throne. Ella did not begin with this title, this

power or influence. She started in poverty, orphaned, living in the inner-city of Harlem, New

York (Official Website of Ella Fitzgerald).

Although Ellas road to fame was always extending and consistently moving forward, it

was not an immediate luxury or outcome. Ella didnt even originally yearn to sing as her

profession, but to dance. Once she discovered that was her true calling, she worked with a few

different groups of people until she discovered a tune that would warrant a public response and

recognition. This so happened to be A-Tisket, A-Tasket. This was the first song featuring Ella,

that she also co-wrote, to become a number one hit. This was a huge stepping stone in her career,
as the first of many number one hits. Once she had taken off musically, Ella married Ray Brown,

the bassist in Dizzy Gillespies band with whom she was touring, in 1947. The marriage only

spanned 5 years, but in that time the couple adopted the baby of Ellas half-sister, Frances. They

named the child Raymond Brown Jr. (Biography.com) By this time period, listeners were

beginning to respond to and acknowledge the extremity and stunningness of Ellas singing,

focusing on her voice, rather than just the music accompanying her.

Part of the reason Ellas voice was so influential and unique was that she possessed the

ability to imitate and bring to life instrumental sounds with her own, adding to the effect of her

scatting, which quickly became her signature technique (Biography.com). She would start to

sound like the horns, or the trumpets, and the brassy sound alive in her tone was remarkable and

unlike anything the world had ever heard before. Ellas legendary title The First Lady of Song

came about from a compliment given to her by Mr. Ira Gershwin in which he stated that he

never knew how good our songs were until we heard her sing them (History.com).

Among the many extraordinary artists that Ella worked and sang with, she is often

recognized for recording with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Bassie, and performing

alongside Frank Sinatra. She performed worldwide in front of and next to everyone: from

legendary artists to everyday people, and the ultimate legacy she built throughout her life is

simply astonishing.

Eventually, Ellas health rapidly and detrimentally declined in the 1980s. She managed to

survive massive heart surgery, blindness, and the amputation of both her legs at the deficit of

aggressive diabetes. This soon prompted her last recording in 1989, along with her last
performance in 1991 at the wildly famous Carnegie Hall in New York City. Ella Fitzgerald died

in 1996 at age 79 in Beverly Hills, California. (Biography.com)

Ellas legacy was monumental. She transitioned from being a poor, African-American

girl wallowing around Harlem, to a single symbol of power, soul, and influence. Her voice and

style revolutionized scatting and her interpretation of the text was unmatched by any artist at the

time. Even now, while hundreds of female artists use Lady Ella (Encyclopedia) as the core of

their inspiration, she remains one-of-a-kind performer and more so, a one-of-a-kind woman.