Why is ella fitzgerald so important

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Search Google Appliance Enter the terms you wish to search for. Unable to adjust to the new circumstances, Ella became increasingly unhappy and entered into a difficult period of her life. Her grades dropped dramatically, and she frequently skipped school. After getting into trouble with the police, she was taken into custody and sent to a reform school. Living there was even more unbearable, as she suffered beatings at the hands of her caretakers.

Eventually Ella escaped from the reformatory. The year-old found herself broke and alone during the Great Depression, and strove to endure. Never one to complain, Ella later reflected on her most difficult years with an appreciation for how they helped her to mature. 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 Ella's name was pulled in a weekly drawing at the Apollo and she won the opportunity to compete in Amateur Night. Ella went to the theater that night planning to dance, but when the frenzied Edwards Sisters closed the main show, Ella changed her mind.

Once on stage, faced with boos and murmurs of "What's she going to do? She asked the band to play Hoagy Carmichael's "Judy," a song she knew well because Connee Boswell's rendition of it was among Tempie's favorites. Ella quickly quieted the audience, and by the song's end they were demanding an encore. Off stage, and away from people she knew well, Ella was shy and reserved. She was self-conscious about her appearance, and for a while even doubted the extent of her abilities.

On stage, however, Ella was surprised to find she had no fear. She felt at home in the spotlight. In the band that night was saxophonist and arranger Benny Carter. Impressed with her natural talent, he began introducing Ella to people who could help launch her career. In the process he and Ella became lifelong friends, often working together. Fueled by enthusiastic supporters, Ella began entering - and winning - every talent show she could find.

It was there that Ella first met drummer and bandleader Chick Webb. Although her voice impressed him, Chick had already hired male singer Charlie Linton for the band. He offered Ella the opportunity to test with his band when they played a dance at Yale University. In mid , Ella made her first recording. Ella played with the new style, often using her voice to take on the role of another horn in the band. Throughout her career, Ella would master scat singing, turning it into a form of art.

In , at the age of 21, Ella recorded a playful version of the nursery rhyme, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket. Suddenly, Ella Fitzgerald was famous. On June 16, , Ella mourned the loss of her mentor Chick Webb. In his absence the band was renamed "Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Band," and she took on the overwhelming task of bandleader. Perhaps in search of stability and protection, Ella married Benny Kornegay, a local dockworker who had been pursuing her.

Upon learning that Kornegay had a criminal history, Ella realized that the relationship was a mistake and had the marriage annulled. The two were married and eventually adopted a son, whom they named Ray, Jr. She also returned to the Gershwin canon with her old friend, Andre Previn.

Leaving her final musical mark In Ella did her third album with the brilliant guitarist, Joe Pass; it was also the year she needed to have open-heart surgery. Two years after that she recorded her final studio album, appropriately entitled, All That Jazz. In , she had both legs amputated below the knees because of complications arising from diabetes. Ella passed away on June 15, , leaving the world a better place from her magical gift to sing and swing better than it seemed possible for anyone to do.

And to conclude on what makes Ella so great it was in part her diversity. She started out a swing singer, moved to bebop, she sang perfect scat, was an extraordinary jazz vocalist, and had no fear of modern material as the s and 70s came along. From the Blues to bossa nova and calypsos to carols she imbued all with her unique voice, sounding forever young. Ella will live forever, or until people stop listening to music. She was good but, by no stretch of the imagination, was she the greatest.

Probably, not even among the top five. Billie Holiday was and is the best Jazz vocalist. Jimmy Scott and Etta James were better than Ella. To my mind, she had the best voice of all the singers. Her enunciation was so pure that I did not know that she was Black. There was something different about her rich voice that made me feel loved and accepted that none of the other singers could do for me. I wish I were gone with them. A sizable portion of that range may not be what many older folks would understand another having an appreciation for, but beyond any reasonable doubt, Mrs.

Ella was the greatest singer ever to me. She conveyed the words, spirit and tune of a song as well as any singer, but her voice was richer and purer than most, her pitch bang on and her improvisation so beautiful that she will never be surpassed, or even matched, I suspect.

To hear her is to love her. She always makes me smile.