Fitzgerald and her mother moved to Yonkers, New York to move in with da Silva. [12] She never talked publicly about this time in her life. Though this aspect of her life was rarely publicized, she frequently made generous donations to organizations for disadvantaged youths, and the continuation of these contributions was part of the driving force that prevented her from slowing down. Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 June 15, 1996) also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist. "Ella, elle l'a", a tribute to Fitzgerald written by Michel Berger and performed by French singer France Gall, was a hit in Europe in 1987 and 1988. [63] Her eyesight was affected as well.[9]. Did Ella Fitzgerald have a sister? Ella was only fifteen years old. She loved listening to jazz music by Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and The Boswell Sisters. Her last performance was at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1991. Her material at this time represented a departure from her typical jazz repertoire. Possibly Fitzgerald's greatest unrealized collaboration (in terms of popular music) was a studio or live album with Frank Sinatra. Here Ella sang for the first time, gently repeating gospels after the church choir. Sale. BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS Full Name: Ella Jane Fitzgerald Bridgewater's album Dear Ella (1997) featured many musicians that were closely associated with Fitzgerald during her career, including the pianist Lou Levy, the trumpeter Benny Powell, and Fitzgerald's second husband, double bassist Ray Brown. Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. One in particular opened doors for her. [30] Producer Norman Granz became her manager in the mid-1940s after she began singing for Jazz at the Philharmonic, a concert series begun by Granz. Suddenly, Ella Fitzgerald was famous. [75][76][77], The primary collections of Fitzgerald's media and memorabilia reside at and are shared between the Smithsonian Institution and the US Library of Congress. Raymond is still living. Soon after Ella was born, her parents separated. "[43] Amid The New York Times pan of the film when it opened in August 1955, the reviewer wrote, "About five minutes (out of ninety-five) suggest the picture this might have been. She recorded several albums with piano accompaniment, but a guitar proved the perfect melodic foil for her. She drew inspiration from Connee Boswell of The Boswell Sisters, one of her mothers favorite groups, and sang the song Judy by Hoagy Carmichael. Granz required promoters to ensure that there was no "colored" or "white" seating. By 1925, Fitzgerald and her family had moved to nearby School Street, then a predominantly poor Italian area. Her first career aspiration was to become a . After taking over the band when Webb died, Fitzgerald left it behind in 1942 to start her solo career. Ella Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald continued to live with Da Silva for the year, but soon travelled to an aunt in Harlem. On the touring circuit it was well-known that Ellas manager felt very strongly about civil rights and required equal treatment for his musicians, regardless of their color. She switched schools before attending Benjamin Franklin Junior High School. [52] In the commercials, she sang a note that shattered a glass while being recorded on a Memorex cassette tape. We have sent a confirmation email to {USEREMAIL}. [14] When the orphanage proved too crowded, she was moved to the New York Training School for Girls, a state reformatory school in Hudson, New York. Still going strong five years later, she was inducted into the Down Beat magazine Hall of Fame, and received Kennedy Center Honors for her continuing contributions to the arts. Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. Her years with Pablo Records also documented the decline in her voice. Ella at the Apollo. It was directed by Leslie Woodhead and produced by Reggie Nadelson. Hours later, signs of remembrance began to appear all over the world. [52] The stamp was released in April 2007 as part of the Postal Service's Black Heritage series. If the kids like her, Chick said, she stays.. It featured artists such as Michael Bubl, Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Diana Krall, k.d. Although a contemporary Australian press report[33] quoted an Australian Pan-Am spokesperson who denied that the incident was racially based, Fitzgerald, Henry, Lewis and Granz filed a civil suit for racial discrimination against Pan-Am in December 1954[34] and in a 1970 television interview Fitzgerald confirmed that they had won the suit and received what she described as a "nice settlement". A wreath of white flowers stood next to her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a marquee outside the Hollywood Bowl theater read, Ella, we will miss you.. With her Methodist family, she was. A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement and was the first American woman to wina Nobel Peace Prize. Harlem Renaissance. I thought be-bop was 'it', and that all I had to do was go some place and sing bop. Sinatra gave her his dressing-room on A Man and His Music and couldn't do enough for her." She credited the book for helping her to break through with non-jazz audiences. The shows were a great success, and September 1975 saw them gross $1,000,000 in two weeks on Broadway, in a triumvirate with the Count Basie Orchestra. You Have to Swing It was one of the first times she began experimenting with scat singing, and her improvisation and vocalization thrilled fans. It celebrated what would have been her 96th birthday. Here was a black woman popularizing urban songs often written by immigrant Jews to a national audience of predominantly white Christians. Pianist Paul Smith has said, "Ella loved working with [Frank]. When she was a child, Ella Fitzgerald moved to Yonkers, N.Y., with her mother's boyfriend, Joseph Da Silva. Born Ella Jane Fitzgerald out of wedlock on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia; died at her home in Beverly Hills, California, on June 15, 1996; daughter of William Fitzgerald and Temperance Williams; had a half-sister Frances who died in 1960; educated in local schools in Yonkers, New York; married Benjamin Kornegay, in 1935 (annulled anyway, thanks. She toured all over the world, sometimes performing two shows a day in cities hundreds of miles apart. Bonnie Greer dramatized the incident as the musical drama, Marilyn and Ella, in 2008. Ella's half-sister Frances was born in 1923. Ella Fitzgerald. It was released in the UK in 2019.[56]. Joseph Da Silva. [83] Fitzgerald is also referred to in the 1976 Stevie Wonder hit "Sir Duke" from his album Songs in the Key of Life, and the song "I Love Being Here With You", written by Peggy Lee and Bill Schluger. [3] Her half-sister, Frances da Silva, whom she stayed close to for all of her life, was born in 1923. [13] When the authorities caught up with her, she was placed in the Colored Orphan Asylum in Riverdale in the Bronx. She used the memories from these times to help gather emotions for performances, and felt she was more grateful for her success because she knew what it was like to struggle in life. In 1974, Ella spent a legendary two weeks performing in New York with Frank Sinatra and Count Basie. . The press carried rumors that she would never be able to sing again, but Ella proved them wrong. . When she was a child, Fitzgerald lived in the Colored Orphan Asylum in Riverdale, the Bronx. Together, Tempie and Ella went to Yonkers, N.Y, where they eventually moved in with Tempie's longtime boyfriend Joseph Da Silva. They came into Ellas dressing room, where band members Dizzy Gillespie and Illinois Jacquet were shooting dice, and arrested everyone. Sinatra's 1986 recording of "Mack the Knife" from his album L.A. Is My Lady (1984) includes a homage to some of the song's previous performers, including 'Lady Ella' herself. In the Sept. 10, 1953 issue of Jet, a headline in the magazine read: "Ella Fitzgerald sues mate for Mexican divorce." According to the publication, Fitzgerald had filed for divorce in Juarez, Mexico, charging her spouse with incompatibility. [11] This seemingly swift change in her circumstances, reinforced by what Fitzgerald biographer Stuart Nicholson describes as rumors of "ill treatment" by her stepfather, leaves him to speculate that Da Silva might have abused her. Ella Fitzgerald. National Womens History Museum. [79], In 1958 Fitzgerald became the first African-American woman to win at the inaugural show. Fitzgerald and Brown divorced in 1953, due to the various career pressures both were experiencing at the time, though they would continue to perform together. Fueled by enthusiastic supporters, Ella began entering and winning every talent show she could find. She resided in Beverly Hills, California, United States. By 1953, the couple had split. By 1925, Fitzgerald and her family had . On June 15, 1996, Fitzgerald passed away at her home. On June 16, 1939, Ella mourned the loss of her mentor Chick Webb. Webb died of spinal tuberculosis on June 16, 1939,[23] and his band was renamed Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra, with Fitzgerald taking on the role of bandleader. She won first place in the competition, but the theater did not award her the full prize. Ella's mother and her new partner, a Portuguese immigrant named Joseph da Silva, moved to Yonkers, in Westchester County, New York. She became an international legend during a career that spanned some six decades. [35], Fitzgerald was still performing at Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) concerts by 1955. The 15-year-old found herself broke and alone during the Great Depression, and strove to endure. How can food be used as a form of cultural memory & resistance? Many articles list her stepfather as Joseph Da Silva, and her half-sister as Frances Da . I knew I wanted to sing before people the rest of my life.. The family grew in 1923 with the arrival of Fitzgerald's half-sister Frances. They divorced in 1952. Tempie supported him by catering and working at a laundromat. She told him and it was true, due to Marilyns superstar status that the press would go wild. Her father, William, and mother, Temperance (Tempie), parted ways shortly after her birth. In 1923 Frances da Silva, her half-sister was born. . In school, Fitzgerald sang in the glee club, but her real . Tempie and her boyfriend Joseph Da Silva (a Portuguese immigrant and soon, the father of Fitzgerald's half-sister, Frances) raised young Ella. Gleason, Holly. A bust of Fitzgerald is on the campus of Chapman University in Orange, California. When her diabetes forced her to have both of her legs amputated, she traded the stage for sitting in her backyard with her son and granddaughter, Alice. Although "reluctant to sign herbecause she was gawky and unkempt, a 'diamond in the rough,'"[9] Webb offered her the opportunity to test with his band at a dance at Yale University. (1947) was similarly popular and increased her reputation as one of the leading jazz vocalists.[31]. Accessed March 19, 2022. http://www.ellafitzgerald.com/about/biography, Ella Fitzgerald. National Endowment for the Arts. It was one of her most prized moments. [9] A few hours after her death, the Playboy Jazz Festival was launched at the Hollywood Bowl. Toshiko Akiyoshi changed the face of jazz music over her sixty-year career. 2022. In 1923, Fitzgerald's half-sister, Frances Da Silva, was born. [43][57] Fitzgerald's appearance with Sinatra and Count Basie in June 1974 for a series of concerts at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, was seen as an important incentive for Sinatra to return from his self-imposed retirement of the early 1970s. With her mother, Fitzgerald moved to Yonkers, New York. The press went overboard. She is also honored in the song "First Lady" by Canadian artist Nikki Yanofsky. Harlem was the right place for Ella for a few reasons. Once on stage, faced with boos and murmurs of Whats she going to do? from the rowdy crowd, a scared and disheveled Ella made the last minute decision to sing. During this period, she had her last US chart single with a cover of Smokey Robinson's "Get Ready", previously a hit for the Temptations, and some months later a top-five hit for Rare Earth. Perhaps nave to the circumstances, Ella worked as a runner for local gamblers, picking up their bets and dropping off money. In 2007, he appeared in a BBC documentary talking about his mother entitled Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song. Eventually Ella escaped from the reformatory. The marriage was annulled in 1942. Also in 2007, he attended the ceremony for the Ella Fitzgerald stamp produced by the United States Postal Service. Frances da Silva's uncles and aunts: Initially living in a single room, her mother and Da Silva soon found jobs and Ella's half-sister, Frances Da Silva, was born in 1923. Dubbed The First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. Find out about Frances da Silva's family tree, family history, ancestry, ancestors, genealogy, relationships and affairs! [7] She and her family were Methodists and were active in the Bethany African Methodist Episcopal Church, where she attended worship services, Bible study, and Sunday school. In 1938, at the age of 21, Ella recorded a playful version of the nursery rhyme, A-Tisket, A-Tasket. The album sold 1 million copies, hit number one, and stayed on the pop charts for 17 weeks. [15][16] She had intended to go on stage and dance, but she was intimidated by a local dance duo called the Edwards Sisters and opted to sing instead. He is the adopted son of Raymond Brown and Ella Fitzgerald. Her first marriage was in 1941, to Benny Kornegay, a convicted drug dealer and local dockworker. In January 1935, Fitzgerald won the chance to perform with the Tiny Bradshaw Band at the Harlem Opera House where she met Chick Webb, the drummer and band leader. It was there that Ella first met drummer and bandleader Chick Webb. Born in Newport News, Va., in 1917, Fitzgerald came north with her mother, Temperance "Tempie" Fitzgerald, and stepfather, Joseph da Silva, when she was 2, at the start of the Great Migration. . Her half-sister, Frances da Silva, whom she stayed close to for all of her life, was born in 1923. Once up there, I felt the acceptance and love from my audience, Ella said. Her parents separated their common-law marriage early in Ella's life, and Ella and her mother moved to Yonkers, near New York City with Fitzgerald's mother's new partner, a Portuguese immigrant named Joseph da Silva. Ella Fitzgerald, in full Ella Jane Fitzgerald, (born April 25, 1917, Newport News, Virginia, U.S.died June 15, 1996, Beverly Hills, California), American jazz singer who became world famous for the wide range and rare sweetness of her voice. She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. [43] Plagued by health problems, Fitzgerald made her last recording in 1991 and her last public performances in 1993. [67], Fitzgerald was a civil rights activist, using her talent to break racial barriers across the nation. Ella Fitzgerald website. Outside of the arts, Ella had a deep concern for child welfare. Her half-sister, Frances Da Silva, was born in 1923. Although her intention was to dance, she decided to sing instead after seeing the dance competitors. Norman saw that Ella had what it took to be an international star, and he convinced Ella to sign with him. Her first career aspiration was to become a . Struggling financially, the young Fitzgerald helped her family out by working as a messenger "running numbers" and acting as a lookout for a brothel. Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 - June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". Her accolades included 14 Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts, the NAACP's inaugural President's Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ella had one sister: Frances Da Silva . Hours later, signs of remembrance began to appear all over the world. Yes she has a half-sister name Frances Da Silva. [61] In March 1990, she appeared at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, with the Count Basie Orchestra for the launch of Jazz FM, plus a gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel at which she performed. Tempie and Ella went to Yonkers, New York, where they eventually moved in with Tempie's longtime boyfriend Joseph Da Silva. Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia, the child of a common-law marriage between William and Temperance "Tempie" Fitzgerald. Throughout her career, Ella would master scat singing, turning it into a form of art. She worked as a lookout at a bordello and with a Mafia-affiliated numbers runner. Her audiences were as diverse as her vocal range. Fitzgerald also loved dancing and singing, often catching shows at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book was the only Song Book on which the composer she interpreted played with her. https://www.biography.com/musician/ella-fitzgerald. She lived in a diverse neighborhood and made friends easily by playing games and sports in the street. In 1993, after a career of nearly sixty years, she gave her last public performance. "[9], Days after Fitzgerald's death, The New York Times columnist Frank Rich wrote that in the Song Book series Fitzgerald "performed a cultural transaction as extraordinary as Elvis' contemporaneous integration of white and African-American soul. Despite her declining health, she continued performing, sometimes two shows a day in different cities. [51], Fitzgerald also appeared in TV commercials, her most memorable being an ad for Memorex. Initially living in a single room, her mother and Da Silva soon found jobs and Ella's half-sister, Frances Da Silva, was born in 1923. She was also frequently featured on The Ed Sullivan Show. The sets are the most well-known items in her discography. Ella Fitzgerald. . France followed suit several years later, presenting her with their Commander of Arts and Letters award, while Yale, Dartmouth and several other universities bestowed Ella with honorary doctorates. . In 1955, Granz created Verve Records for Fitzgerald to expand her repertoire from bebop to other genres of music. [86], In April 2013, she was featured in Google Doodle, depicting her performing on stage. [81] In 1990, she received an honorary doctorate of Music from Harvard University.[82]. Off stage, and away from people she knew well, Ella was shy and reserved. Ella in Berlin is still one of her best-selling albums; it includes a Grammy-winning performance of "Mack the Knife" in which she forgets the lyrics but improvises to compensate. Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 - June 15, 1996), known as the "First Lady of Song," "Queen of Jazz," and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz vocalist. Drawing influence from touring with Dizzy Gillespie, Fitzgerald gained major acclaim in the world of jazz with her scat singing and unique style that inspired singers like Louis Armstrong. From 1956-1964, she recorded covers of other musicians albums, including those by Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, the Gershwins, Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, and Rodgers and Hart. Well never share your email with anyone else. She escaped the reform school and found herself alone during the Great Depression. With Verve she recorded some of her more widely noted works, particularly her interpretations of the Great American Songbook. [26][27] While working for Decca Records, she had hits with Bill Kenny & the Ink Spots,[28] Louis Jordan,[29] and the Delta Rhythm Boys. Chicago- Angelucci, Ashley. Years later, when Joesph Da Silva had a heart attack, Aunt Virginia also took in Fitzgerald's sister, Frances. 2. Fitzgerald married at least twice, and there is evidence that suggests that she may have married a third time. Fitzgerald also recorded albums exclusively devoted to the songs of Porter and Gershwin in 1972 and 1983; the albums being, respectively, Ella Loves Cole and Nice Work If You Can Get It. In the early 1920s, Fitzgerald's mother and her new partner, a Portuguese immigrant named Joseph da Silva,[3] moved to Yonkers, in Westchester County, New York. Callaway's album To Ella with Love (1996) features 14 jazz standards made popular by Fitzgerald, and the album also features the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. She never knew her father, William Fitzgerald. The family grew in 1923 with the arrival of Fitzgerald's half-sister Frances. Ann Hampton Callaway, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Patti Austin have all recorded albums in tribute to Fitzgerald. After running away from reform school, Fitzgerald found herself . Her song selections ranged from standards to rarities and represented an attempt by Fitzgerald to cross over into a non-jazz audience. Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia, the child of a common-law marriage between William and Temperance "Tempie" Fitzgerald. I realized then that there was more to music than bop. Frances Da Silva - Biographical Summaries of Notable People - MyHeritage Frances Da Silva In Biographical Summaries of Notable People Save this record and choose the information you want to add to your family tree Save record Alternatives title Spotted an error Suggest an alternative Share your comments about this record Perhaps her most unusual and intriguing performance was of the "Three Little Maids" song from Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta The Mikado alongside Joan Sutherland and Dinah Shore on Shore's weekly variety series in 1963. Frances Da Silva, her half-sister, was born in 1923. All I can say is that she gave to me as much as she could, Ray, Jr. later said, and she loved me as much as she could.. At the Opera House shows a typical Jazz at the Philharmonic set from Fitzgerald. 95 (approx.) There, she was beaten by her caretakers and faced terrible treatment. If the conditions were not met shows were cancelled. [15] Later that year, she was introduced to drummer and bandleader Chick Webb by Benny Carter[20] or Buck Ram[21] who had heard from singer Charlie Linton that Webb wanted to add a female singer. Frances, Fitzgerald's half-sister, was born in 1923. The two were married and eventually adopted a son, whom they named Ray, Jr. At the time, Ray was working for producer and manager Norman Granz on the Jazz at the Philharmonic tour. Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. Aside from music, Fitzgerald was a child welfare advocate and regularly made donations to help disadvantaged youth. [24] Ella and the band recorded for Decca and appeared at the Roseland Ballroom, where they received national exposure on NBC radio broadcasts. Ella Fitzgerald had a son before she died nearly three decades ago and he ended up following in her musical footsteps. Fitzgerald also had celebrity supporters, such a Marilyn Monroe, who personally called venues to make sure they booked her for performances. Although the four members of Fitzgerald's entourage Fitzgerald, her pianist John Lewis, her assistant (and cousin) Georgiana Henry, and manager Norman Granz all had first-class tickets on their scheduled Pan-American Airlines flight from Honolulu to Australia, they were ordered to leave the aircraft after they had already boarded and were refused permission to re-board the aircraft to retrieve their luggage and clothing. Photography by William P. Gottlieb. Dizzy Gillespie gazes rapt at Ella Fitzgerald while her husband and bassist Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, and Timmie Rosenkrantz keep it swinging during a 1947 concert at the Downbeat jazz club in New . She could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz and imitate every instrument in an orchestra. Ella Fitzgerald. While Fitzgerald appeared in films and as a guest on popular television shows in the second half of the twentieth century, her musical collaborations with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and The Ink Spots were some of her most notable acts outside her solo career. He traveled to events commemorating what would have been her 90th birthday. "[54] Her last commercial campaign was for American Express, in which she was photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Born in Newport News, Virginia, the child of a common law marriage between William and Temperance Fitzgerald. Frances Da Silva Ella Fitzgerald Marriage, Affairs and Children SPOUSE Benny Kornegay (1941-1943) SPOUSE Ray Brown (1947-1953) Fame & Address DEBUT Souvenir Album (1949) FAMOUS FROM/AS Ella and Louis (1956) www.facebook.com/EllaFitzgerald Official Website www.ellafitzgerald.com Education, Net Worth & More SCHOOLING FROM in Westchester County, New York. Initially living in a single room, her mother and Da Silva soon found jobs and Ella's half-sister, Frances Da Silva, was born in 1923. The trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie, the guitarist Herb Ellis, and the pianists Tommy Flanagan, Oscar Peterson, Lou Levy, Paul Smith, Jimmy Rowles, and Ellis Larkins all worked with Fitzgerald mostly in live, small group settings. Although her voice impressed him, Chick had already hired male singer Charlie Linton for the band. 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. The album was nominated for a Grammy. Worth To Know She died of stroke in 1996. Ella Fitzgerald turned to singing after a troubled childhood and debuted at the Apollo Theater in 1934. She loved the Boswell Sisters' lead singer Connee Boswell, later saying, "My mother brought home one of her records, and I fell in love with itI tried so hard to sound just like her. In tribute, the marquee read: "Ella We Will Miss You. They were rich and poor, made up of all races, all religions and all nationalities. "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" became a major hit on the radio and was also one of the biggest-selling records of the decade.[17][22]. I just want to smell the air, listen to the birds and hear Alice laugh, she said. Her half-sister, Frances Da Silva, was born in 1923. Ultimate Symbol Incorporated. [6], Starting in third grade, Fitzgerald loved dancing and admired Earl Snakehips Tucker. "[48], After Pete Kelly's Blues, she appeared in sporadic movie cameos, in St. Louis Blues (1958)[49] and Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960). 2014. 1, We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Artist, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ella_Fitzgerald&oldid=1151875043, African-American history of Westchester County, New York, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners, United States National Medal of Arts recipients, 20th-century African-American women singers, Articles with dead external links from February 2022, Articles with permanently dead external links, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2014, Articles needing additional references from April 2020, All articles needing additional references, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, From 1943 to 1950, Fitzgerald recorded seven songs with the Ink Spots featuring Bill Kenny.