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I chose to analyze the life and accomplishments of Ella Fitzgerald for several reasons. She used her beautiful voice and talent to promote the Civil Rights movement and achieve her dreams, despite the many obstacles she faced. Additionally, as a fan of Ella and jazz, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to learn about the “ First Lady of Song.” Over the course of this paper, the childhood and lifespan of Ella Fitzgerald will be discussed as well as why Ella Fitzgerald is notable and how she inspires me.
Ella Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, which was a unique time in the changing United States ("Ella Fitzgerald", 2018). At the time, Jim Crow Laws were the norm in the south and the woman's suffrage movement was in full
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swing. She was born in Newport News, Virginia, where she remained until she moved to Yonkers, NY with her mother after the separation of her parents ("Ella Fitzgerald", 2018). In her youth, Ella dreamed of becoming a dancer and worked as a numbers runner for local gamblers to help her family financially until her mother died in a car accident in 1932 and she was sent to reform school ("Biography", 2017). Her stay in reform school did not last long as she was kicked out for skipping classes which led to her living on the streets during the time of the Great Depression("Biography," 2017). Despite the dire circumstances of her life on the streets, dreams of becoming an entertainer remained, and her life changed forever in 1934 when she got the opportunity to compete on Amateur Night at The Appollo, where she won first place and was awarded twenty-five dollars ("Ella Fitzgerald", 2018). Despite widespread prejudice and discrimination, her singing career took off, recording many albums and performing across the country.
Ella’s manager, Norman Granz, believed wholeheartedly in the Civil Rights Movement and demanded equal treatment for his musicians at music venues, hotels, and restaurants ("Ella Fitzgerald," 2018). Ella and the members of her band were arrested for shooting dice backstage at a show by Houston police who were irritated over her manager's beliefs ("Ella Fitzgerald: Breaking down racial barriers with her voice," 2018). The voice of Ella Fitzgerald was loved by Americans of all races and lead her to be the first African American to headline at the Copacabana in New York City ("10 important Ella Fitzgerald facts you need to know," 2018). Ella’s voice helped overcome many of the barriers of discrimination, not only for her but, for many African American musicians that followed her footsteps ("Ella Fitzgerald: Breaking down racial barriers with her voice," 2018). In 1957, Marilyn Monroe used her influence to persuade a Hollywood club owner to allow Ella to be the first African American to play at the famous Mocambo club, where Frank Sinatra regularly played ("Ella Fitzgerald: Breaking down racial barriers with her voice," 2018). In 1958, Ella was the first African American to win a Grammy award ("Ella Fitzgerald," 2018). Additionally, Ella Fitzgerald was awarded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Equal
Justice Award and the American Black Achievement Award for her contributions and achievements in jazz and the Civil Rights Movement ("Ella Fitzgerald: Breaking down racial barriers with her voice," 2018). Ella continued to record and perform until she died at her home in Beverly Hills, California in 1996 after battling diabetes and circulatory issues ("Biography," 2017). There are many reasons that Ella Fitzgerald is notable. As mentioned, she faced significant obstacles in her life, but never have up. Broadly, the early to mid-1900’s were a difficult time for many women and African Americans. Despite discrimination and personal struggles, Ella Fitzgerald accomplished many great things, fought discrimination, stood up for Civil rights, and never gave up. Additionally, she won many Grammy awards and was the first African American to do so("Biography," 2017). Ella Fitzgerald has been an inspiration for many, myself included. She had a difficult childhood, worked hard, and stood up for what she believed. She inspires me to go out of my comfort zone. I mildly understand what it is like to be different from everyone else in the room, but have no idea what it’s like to be the first African American to do many great things. Not only was she the first African American to do many great things but, everything she did was with class and grace. As well, Ella did not make excuses; if she wanted something, she went after it. Most importantly, she stood up for her beliefs and did not let anyone or anything get in her way. To conclude, the life of Ella Fitzgerald has been examined from her childhood through her death. Her struggles and accomplishments have been analyzed as well as what makes her a notable figure.The paper finished with how Ella Fitzgerald inspires me.
Eleanora Fagan (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz artist and artist musician with a vocation traversing almost thirty years. Nicknamed "Woman Day" by her companion and music accomplice Lester Young, Holiday affected jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, firmly propelled by jazz instrumentalists, spearheaded another method for controlling stating and rhythm. She was known for her vocal conveyance and improvisational aptitudes, which compensated for her restricted range and absence of formal music instruction. There were other jazz vocalists with equivalent ability, however Holiday had a voice that caught the consideration of her crowd.
Ella was born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25, 1917. When alled “The First Lady of Song” by some fans. She was known for having beautiful tone, extended range, and great intonation, and famous for her improvisational scat singing. Ella sang during the her most famous song was “A-tiscket A-tasket”. Fitzgerald sang in the period of swing, ballads, and bebop; she made some great albums with other great jazz artists such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong. She influenced countless American popular singers of the post-swing period and also international performers such as the singer Miriam Makeba. She didn’t really write any of her own songs. Instead she sang songs by other people in a new and great way. The main exception
I chose to do my composer report on Florence Price. Florence Price was born April 9, 1887 in Little Rock, Arkansas to Florence Gulliver and James H. Smith. She had two siblings. Florence gave her first recital at four years old. She attended the same elementary school as William Grant Still where they both studied under educator Charlotte Andrews Stephens. Florence Price is considered the first black woman in the United States to be recognized as a symphonic composer. Her training was steeped in European tradition, but still Price’s music consists of mostly the American idiom and reveals her Southern roots. Her mother, who was a soprano and pianist, carefully guided her early musical training. At the age of fourteen, Price enrolled in the New England Conservatory of Music with a major in piano and organ. She studied composition and counterpoint with George Chadwick and Frederick Converse. She wrote her first-string trio and symphony in college, and graduated in 1907 with honors and both an artist diploma in organ and a teaching certificate.
A dancer, singer, activist and spy, Josephine Baker was a star and a hero. Baker grew up poor, but her rocky start did not hold her back from success. Baker had major achievements for a black woman in her time; she was the first African-American to star in a major film. Baker was first to integrate a concert in Las Vegas. Even though Baker got her start during the Harlem Renaissance, her true claim to fame was her success in France. She was the first black woman to receive military honor in France. Since Baker was so successful in Europe, she was able to spy for the French resistance during World War II. Although Baker was very successful in France and had found success during the Harlem Renaissance, she was not welcomed in the United States due to segregation and racism. Racism did not stop Baker from being a part of the Harlem Renaissance.
The movie Lady Day: The Many Faces Of Billie Holiday paints an interesting, and thought provoking portrait of one of jazz and blues most charismatic, and influential artists. The incomparable talent of Billie Holiday, both truth and legend are immortalized in this one-hour documentary film. The film follows Holiday, also referred to as “Lady Day” or “Lady”, through the many triumphs and trials of her career, and does it’s very best to separate the facts from fiction. Her autobiography Lady Sings The Blues is used as a rough guide of how she desired her life story to be viewed by her public. Those who knew her, worked with her, and loved her paint a different picture than this popular, and mostly fictional autobiography.
Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday were both prominent jazz singer-songwriters during the same time and masters in their own right, but their worlds could not have been further apart. In 1939, while they were both in the midst of experiencing mainstream success, Ella was touring with Ella and her Famous Orchestra and showcasing her perfect pitch and tone to the world while singing songs that would soon become standards to fellow singers and musicians. Billie was singing solo, comfortable with her limited range, and gaining the adoration of audiences nationwide who loved her soulful voice. Both of these historic singers made contributions to the art of jazz, with vocalists and instrumentalists still using elements of their style today. Ella
According to Ruth Feldstein “Nina Simone recast black activism in the 1960’s.” Feldstein goes on to say that “Simone was known to have supported the struggle for black freedom in the United States much earlier, and in a more outspoken manner around the world than many other African American entertainers.” Her family ties to the south, her unique talent, her ability to travel and make money are similar to the Blues women movement that preceded her. It can be said that Nina Simone goes a step further the by directly attacking inequities pertaining to race and gender in her music. However, what distinguishes her is her unique musicianship and that is what ultimately garners her massive exposure and experiences over those of her past contemporaries.
Ella Fitzgerald’s song “A Tisket a Tasket “is based on a children’s lullaby, and a game that she turned into a Jazz song. As a game the children would sing and dance in a circle, dropping and picking up a hankie. Whoever won the game would get a kiss. The Queen of Jazz created a tune with a catchy rhyme with the simple words for the time period. Which was a time of innocence, a naïve world, filled with sweet notes that lull an infant to sleep. The year was 1938, what seems to be a song for babies to sleep, is really shadowed with death, fear, and a longing to be home. (Azizi Powell, p1)
Many black female jazz vocalists of Ella's era found themselves caught. up in the industry. Many of these artists became driven by money, sex. and drugs and died at a young age, like the late Billie Holiday. Ella... ...
Amy Beach was a very famous and influential composer and pianist from New Hampshire, United States. She fought long and hard to get to where she got in her lifetime. Back in the late 1800’s, it was hard for women to get noticed because they believe that their role in society was to stay at home and take care of the family. Amy Beach defeated all the odds of a female gender role in her lifetime. She became a role model for young girls wanting to become a composer or becoming anything they wanted to be, as long as they fought for it. She has made an enormous impact on music in America. The following paper will discuss Beach’s life, her struggles, her musical training, how her music was shaped by the society she lived in and famous compositions
Ella Fitzgerald Singer. Born April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. (Though many biographical sources give her birth date as 1918, her birth certificate and school records show her to have been born a year earlier.) Often referred to as the "first lady of song," Fitzgerald enjoyed a career that stretched over six decades. With her lucid intonation and a range of three octaves, she became the preeminent jazz singer of her generation, recording over 2,000 songs, selling over 40 million albums, and winning 13 Grammy Awards, including one in 1967 for Lifetime Achievement.
“No two people on earth are alike, and it’s got to be that way in music or it isn’t music,” -Billie Holiday. (PBS) Billie Holiday was one of the most famous blues and jazz artists of her time and still is today, but there are many people who only know her for her music and know nothing of her past. Given the fact that her life was not perfect by any means, Holiday would never had made the impact that she did if she were to have lived any differently.
Whitney Houston is considered one of the greatest singers of our generation. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, she holds the record of being the most rewarded female artist of all time. I chose her as my topic, because she represents resiliency and tenacity, despite her troubled experiences with drugs and her personal life. Whitney Houston comes from a family with an amazing, musical pedigree; her mother, Cissy Houston, was a successful back-up singer for Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley. Dionne Warwick is her first cousin, and Aretha Franklin is her godmother.
Bessie Smith was arguably one of the most influential blues singer during the Harlem Renaissance. Bessie Smith was brought up in poverty. Born on April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of seven children in a small one room shack. After the death of her mother and father, her older sister, Viola took care of her and the rest of her siblings. Bessie finished school until the eighth grade; when Bessie was 12, she was recruited by her brother’s mezzo troop, where she met a woman by the name of Gertrude “Ma” Rainey. Bessie defied racial barriers, she wanted to make a difference in peoples’ lives with her music and voice. She made more money than any African American before her. She dealt with a lot of
Throughout her career, Ella Fitzgerald took jazz singing to new heights of fame and popularity, influencing the style of jazz and future generations of musicians. Today, her music remains well-known and loved, and her long and prolific career reflects her impeccable skill and style. Her influence is still strong today, with singers such as Adele, Mica Paris, Lady Gaga, and Lana Del Rey all citing Fitzgerald as a major influence on their style and their love of music. Fitzgerald is often referred to as one of the greatest jazz vocalists, along with Billie Holiday. However, Fitzgerald’s style was not dominated by the typical approach to jazz singing, instead being defined by her simplicity and directness. In fact, some critics thought that she was no longer a jazz singer later on in her career, too which Fitzgerald responded: “But we all try to grow and improve. What is jazz, anyhow? I don't know. To me, jazz is music.” Fitzgerald’s unique approach to music is evident throughout the evolution of her style and performance. Ella Fitzgerald remains a timeless artist, and her passion for singing is evident to this day.