The “First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald, was born 100 years ago today.
We’re celebrating the centennial of her birth and the legendary career that followed with this portrait on view at our National Portrait Gallery. Dizzy Gillespie, on the right, is all of us as he gazes at Lady Ella in song.
The photographer, William P. Gottlieb, learned to use a camera so that he could include images in his weekly music column for TheWashington Post. Today, his photos of jazz musicians from the 1930s and ’40s are regarded as invaluable visual records of jazz’s Golden Age.
Ella Fitzgerald et al v. Pan American Racism or “honest mistake”?
By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs
Born 105 years ago today, April 25, 1917, jazz singer extraordinaire Ella Fitzgerald faced discrimination on tour in 1954. En route to a concert in Australia she was denied the right to board a Pan American flight. She had to spend three days in Hawaii before other transportation to Australia could be secured, and she missed her concert dates.
She sued Pan Am claiming racism and seeking financial compensation. Pan Am claimed it was “an honest mistake” due to a reservation mix-up. The district judge dismissed the complaint, but the plaintiffs appealed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed that decision, ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.
New York Times, 12/31/1954.
Complaint, Ella Fitzgerald, John Lewis, Georgiana Henry, and Norman Granz v. Pan American, Inc., 12/23/1954 Records of U.S. District Courts (NARA ID 2641486)
President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford with Ella Fitzgerald at White House Bicentennial concert 6/20/1976, Ford Library, NARA ID 7840021.
Ella Fitzgerald Performs at the White House State Dinner for King Juan Carlos I of Spain, 10/13/1981, Reagan Library, NARA ID 75855955.
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (1917-1996) was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. Her career started at age 17 when she won the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night contest on November 21, 1934, after which she began performing with the Chick Webb Band and recording under the Decca label. It was with Decca that Fitzgerald’s 1938 song “A-tisket, A-tasket” reached number one on the Billboard charts. With Webb’s passing in 1939, Fitzgerald began recording under the name Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra. She went on to become the “First Lady of Song,” one of the most famous jazz musicians of all time.
Looking for more information on legendary women of jazz? The Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, the world’s largest jazz archive, has posted the finding aids it produced through a CLIR Hidden Collections grant to arrange and describe the collections of five women in jazz: Wilma Dobie, Ella Fitzgerald, Abbey Lincoln, Annie Ross, and Victoria Spivey.
Celebrating Jazz Architect, Genius and Legend Louis Armstrong to Close Out #JazzAppreciationMonth (LISTEN)
by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson) We end our celebration of #JazzAppreciationMonth today with a short tribute to a seminal architect of the sound, the legendary New Orleans son, Louis Armstrong. To read about Armstrong, read on. To hear about him, press PLAY:
MUSIC MONDAY: Born #OnThisDay in 1917 – “First Lady of Song” Ella Fitzgerald (LISTEN)
MUSIC MONDAY: Born #OnThisDay in 1917 — “First Lady of Song” Ella Fitzgerald (LISTEN)
[Photo: Ella Fitzgerald via ellafitzgerald.com] by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson) GBN is pulling a trifecta today — celebrating #MusicMonday, #JazzAppreciationMonth, and dropping in on absolutely one of the best singers past, present — or ever — Ella Fitzgerald! Born 105 years ago #OnThisDay, through her stunningly timeless gifts (and vast catalog), Ella Fitzgerald is still surprising…
MUSIC MONDAY: “Ear Food” - A New Jazz Playlist (LISTEN)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Ear Food” – A New Jazz Playlist (LISTEN)
by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest) Happy #JazzAppreciationMonth, good people! For most the word “Jazz” conjures up images of the giants like Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, and Louis Armstrong. Though this collection, “Ear Food: A New Jazz Playlist“ features a new school of Jazz artists re-imagining…
Celebrating Jazz Piano Virtuoso Oscar Peterson for #JazzAppreciationMonth (LISTEN)
by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson) In continued celebration of #JazzAppreciationMonth, today we drop in on virtuoso pianist Oscar Peterson, who hailed from Canada, composed the de facto Civil Rights Movement anthem “Hymn to Freedom,” and was dubbed the “Maharaja of the Keyboard” by none other than fellow piano master Duke Ellington. To read about Peterson, read on. To hear about him,…
The Difference SP is the very first installment of a long lineup of SP’s for Yancy Deron this year. This specific SP was created in only 7 days and was mixed in 2 days by Intricate Sound. It features original production, including a collaboration with his 2 year old homie, combined with a selection of fine-picked instrumentals. The theme here is exactly what the title declares, different. If one thing is for certain, it’s the fact that this SP is like a big pot of gumbo served to all yet enjoyed by few. ThankQ for listening, sharing, posting.
“SP” which usually stands for “short-play” has instead been used to abbreviate the term “standalone project”. Each SP will take on its own theme and feeling; its own personification. I don’t feel a need to stay within a certain lane with my music. I feel the need to give you what I feel. I feel the need to express my individuality in hopes that it may inspire listeners to accept the usually unaccepted and just listen. - YD
Frank Sinatra and Peggy Connelly at the Mocambo for an Ella Fitzgerald performance, March 1955. Also seated at their table are Jimmy Van Heusen, Judy Garland, and Sid Luft. Photo by David Sutton
![themaninthegreenshirt:Count Basie, Chicago [1978] with an all star band - Roy Eldridge, Zoot Sims](https://64.media.tumblr.com/2c26e915cfd08146322a4d046b4a8cd1/tumblr_ovkhz9yCbl1so28u7o1_1280.jpg "themaninthegreenshirt:Count Basie, Chicago [1978] with an all star band - Roy Eldridge, Zoot Sims")
