Ella Fitzgerald was one of the most notable singers of the 20th century, and a significant artist in the emergence of jazz.

A performance at the Apollo Theater’s famed Amateur Night in 1934 set Fitzgerald’s career in motion. Over the next seven decades, she worked with some of the most important artists in the music industry including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Frank Sinatra.

She was dubbed “The First Lady of Jazz” for her mainstream popularity and unparalleled vocal talents—even though her less–than–svelte appearance and upbeat singing style was in contrast to the sultry and bluesy female singers of her day. Her unique ability for mimicking instrumental sounds helped popularize the vocal improvisation of “scatting,” which became her signature technique.

Ella recorded over 200 albums and around 2,000 songs in her lifetime, singing the works of some of the most popular composers such as Cole Porter, Gershwin and Irving Berlin.

Ella Fitzgerald died in 1996 at the age of 79, and is remembered as one of the most influential jazz artists of the 20th century.
Interesting Facts

* Ella sang at President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Gala at the National Grand Armory on January 20, 1961.
* Ella is arrested—along with Dizzy Gillespie and other famed musicians—in 1955 in an attempt by the Houston, Texas, police to frame the musicians for drug possession. They are ultimately charged with witnessing and participating in a dice game.
* Ella is dubbed “The First Lady of Swing” in Down Beat magazine in 1938, and nickname she earned from her colleagues because of her ability to garner the best song material.
* Ella was lauded for her superb retentive memory and ability to quickly and flawlessly learn a new song.
* Ella and members of her band sued Pan Am in 1954 after they were bumped from a flight to accommodate white patrons.
* In 1940, at the age of 23, Ella became one of the youngest members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
* Marilyn Monroe promised to attend the popular, but segregated, Mocambo club every night if Fitzgerald was allowed to play there. In the 1950s, Ella became the first African-American to perform at the club.
* Ella appeared in commercials for Memorex audio cassettes in the 1970s, and for fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken in the 1980s.
* Ella appeared in a handful of Hollywood films, including the Abbott and Costello comedy Ride ’Em Cowboy (1942), Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955), St. Louis Blues (1958), and Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960).
* In 1989 the Society of Singers created an award in Ella Fitzgerald’s honor, dubbing it the “Ella.” The Society helps raise money for singers who have fallen on hard times.

Awards and Accolades

1958

Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance, The Irving Berlin Songbook and Best Individual Jazz Performance, The Duke Ellington Songbook.

1959

Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance, “But Not For Me” and Best Individual Jazz Performance, Ella Swings Lightly.

1960

Inducted as an honorary member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance, “Mack the Knife” and Best Female Vocal Performance, Ella in Berlin.

1962

Grammy Award for Best Female Solo Vocal Performance, Ella Swings Brightly With Nelson Riddle.

1965

ASCAP award.

1967

Bing Crosby Lifetime Achievement award.

1974

University of Maryland’s new concert hall named &ldqu;Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts.”

1976

Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Fitzgerald and Pass…Again. 1976 April 11th declared “Ella Fitzgerald Day” in Los Angeles.

1979

Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Fine and Mellow.

Kennedy Center Honors.

1980

Will Rogers Award from the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association.

Grammy Award for Best Female Jazz Vocal Performance, A Perfect Match: Ella and Basie.

1990 Lord & Taylor Rose award for her outstanding contribution to music.

1981

Grammy Award for Best Female Jazz Vocal Performance, Digital III at Montreux.

1982

Hasty Pudding Club Woman of the Year.

1983

Peabody Award for Outstanding Contributions to Music in America.

Grammy Award for Best Female Jazz Vocal Performance, The Best Is Yet to Come.

1987

The song “A–Tisket, A–Tasket” entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

UCLA Medal for Musical Achievements.

National Medal of Arts.

1988

NAACP Image award for Lifetime Achievement.

1990

Grammy Award for Best Female Jazz Vocal Performance, All That Jazz.

1992

Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

1995

National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee.

2007

U.S. Postal Service unveils the 2007 Ella Fitzgerald Commemorative Stamp.

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