Black History Month Music: Ella Fitzgerald

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What am I doing up so early? Well, it’s the end of the line with Bestill and me. I’m taking the car to my niece in Lexington to begin a new life. Before I leave, I’ll give you another great singer to help you celebrate Black History Month in style. Ella Fitzgerald And with a voice like Ella’s ringing out There’s no way the band could lose (Stevie Wonder, “Sir Duke”) The First Lady of Song. If you have any doubt about this woman’s contribution to music, look at the 13 Grammy awards, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the countless praises of everyone in all genres. Like many other performers of her era, she had to face discrimination, but she overcame it with her unbelievable talent. There’s a great story on her website about Marilyn Monroe calling the manager of the Macambo Nightclub in West Hollywood and telling him to book Fitzgerald there; and, if he did, she (Monroe) would be front and center every night. Fitzgerald said she never had to play a small jazz club again after that engagement. She was one of the best friends a song ever had. Ira Gershwin once said, “I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them.” One of the obituaries mentioned that Fitzgerald was never brimming with self-confidence and would frequently leave the stage, asking, “Did I do all right?” Oh yes, Lady Ella. You certainly did. Ella Fitzgerald Born Ella Jane Fitzgerald, April 25, 1917, Newport News, Virginia Died June 15, 1996, Beverly Hills, California (stroke) (age 79) HALLS OF FAME: Down Beat Jazz, 1979; National Women’s, 1995 I could use yesterday’s song (“It Don’t Mean a Thing”) with Fitzgerald singing it with Ellington, but instead I picked one of my favorite songs, “It’s Only a Paper Moon”: