The Queen of Jazz, the First Lady of Song, Lady Ella – no matter the title, listeners have loved American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald and her music for nearly a century, and it’s no wonder that her timeless songs only get better with age. She was presented with the Kennedy Center’s Medal of Honor in 1979, as well as the presidential medal of freedom in 1992, and her work is preserved by both the Smithsonian Institute and Library of Congress. She was the first black female artist to win a Grammy, and collected 13 over the course of her career (and that doesn’t count her lifetime achievement award, which she received in 1967). She was an effortless scatter, fluent in jazz’s improvisational language she never settled for the comforts of success and challenged herself to sing swing, musical theater, pop, and beyond, a mix that made her shows (and her subsequent live albums) captivating proof of her prowess. Listen to the best Ella Fitzgerald songs on Apple Music and Spotify.Īs adored and accessible as these immediately recognizable songs are, Fitzgerald was as much a pioneer as she was a powerhouse. Her renditions of these jazz classics, from the work of Irving Berlin and George and Ira Gershwin to Duke Ellington, have become renowned standards in and of themselves. She navigated dance floor ditties and mournful ballads with ease, collaborated with legendary bandleaders like Benny Goodman and Count Basie, and belted and crooned her way through the great American Songbook. She joined the ranks of Chick Webb’s orchestra as its velvet voice within a year of her triumphant Amateur Night debut.īy 1938, Ella had recorded a number of singles, but struck gold with her elevated take on a popular nursery rhyme, “A Tisket A Tasket.” Hers was a voice that immediately put the listener at ease – amber, warm, and with a strong vibrato that lent itself beautifully to countless styles. Soon, Ella was singing with bands as they provided the soundtrack for smoke-filled dance halls, like Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom, and swinging, sultry jazz nights across town. She sang the songs “Judy” and “The Object of My Affection” instead, and won the evening’s top prize. She had planned on dancing in hopes of securing her shot at fame, but was intimidated by a tap-dancing act who won the crowd over with their fancy footwork before her turn.
Ella Fitzgerald – The Lost Berlin Tapes $14.99 Add to cart.Ella Fitzgerald – Ella at Zardi’s $14.99 Add to cart.
Sale! Ella Fitzgerald And Louis Armstrong – Ella And Louis $17.99 $9.99 Add to cart.This record, discovered in the private collection of Norman Granz, will make the first time a live Songbook has been released from the First Lady of Song. Ella never released a live version of these Songbooks. Ella Fitzgerald’s Songbook records – with her peerless renditions of the best songs from iconic composers from Irving Berlin to Rogers & Hart to Cole Porter to George & Ira Gershwin – are the cornerstone of the Verve catalog and the standard for jazz vocal recordings.
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