Queen of Song Ella Fitzgerald

Last week I wrote about an unforgettable character who was one of the most courageous men I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Quentin Crisp.

This week’s person of great interest is Ella Fitzgerald.
One of the first albums I bought was Ella Fitzgerald singing “The Cole Porter” songbook. That would have been around 1974.

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It was the beginning of my musical education. Working in a delicatessen attached to a music hall had its benefits. While most people were paying to watch the show, we were privileged to the back stage, and often just great conversation with big name entertainers.

The first show that comes to mind was Ike and Tina Turner, it wasn’t the best of times for Tina, shortly thereafter she left Ike to make a name for herself. Wow! Did she ever make it big!

There were also greats like Patti La Belle, Aretha Franklin, Chick Correa, and Count Basie.

I guess you could say my musical education began with jazz. It will always be my favorite even today.

Ella Fitzgerald just seemed like a natural pick for me. I nearly wore out the grooves playing the lone album in my small collection. It never occurred to me that I would ever hear or see her in concert. She was after all the queen of song.

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Ella was born in Newport News Virginia April 25th 1917. She was just a kid when her Mother married a man she would soon call her father. They pieced together a family during the depression moving to New York City where everyone pitched in to make ends meet. Her Mother died from complications sustained in an auto accident leaving Ella to care for her step father. After his death, lost and alone she was taken in by her half sister.

Ella wasn’t happy at school and was a bit of a trouble maker. She ended up in jail and was placed into a reform school for girls. On a whim she entered a talent contest and I guess you could say the rest is history. She recorded “A Tiskit a Tasket” when she was only 21 years old which turned into a number one hit. By 1974 she was recording songs by Gershwin, and singing along with different big bands. Ella used her voice like an instrument, it became her signature as she perfected the term known as scat in her renditions of a great many songs.

Sometime around 1985 a music hall in Houston featured Ms. Ella. As a birthday present a friend bought us both tickets to the show. I was in absolute heaven. Never in a million years did I ever dream this would happen, that I would actually hear her sing live. She was an angel from the moment she walked on stage to her very last note.

Few people knew she was such a generous person. She gave frequently to wayward children’s foundations and prior to her death she began a foundation providing grants to assist poor children wanting to become a musician. Although she dedicated her life to music, she managed to marry twice. Both marriages ended in divorce. Ella’s true love was music and the audience was her family.

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Just as my life began to turn around, an old friend called to let me know Ella was playing at a local upscale eatery called Rockefeller’s. I jumped at the chance to go see her a second time.

This time our table was right next to the stage and I could hear everything going on behind the curtain. As she grabbed hold of her handkerchief she began singing, but her longtime drummer was a little tipsy leaving Ms. Ella very perturbed with his inability to keep a proper beat. If I didn’t know any better I could have sworn she said a few choice words under her breath, he eventually stepped up.

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Ella Fitzgerald produced over 200 albums during her singing career. She sang at Carnegie Hall 26 times. She disproved doctors after a major heart surgery, continuing to perform until her diabetes and heart problems forced her to stop singing. Her eyesight had become poor. I think her body wore out before the music stopped, but in my heart she will live on forever.

Name your favorite song that Ella Fitzgerald song.

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