Black Music History and Ella Fitzgerald

The "First Lady of Song"

I'm going to name a few songs; let me know if you have ever heard of them. "Cheek to Cheek", "Summertime", "Dream a Little Dream of Me". All of these songs were popularized by the one and only Ella Fitzgerald. Her story began on April 25th, 1917, in Newport News City, Virginia. She was later raised in Yonkers, New York, and primarily expressed her artistry through dance, although she also sang in her school's glee club at the time. At only 17 years old, she sang in an amateur competition at the Apollo in Harlem and soon became a singer in an orchestra run by Chick Webb, a black drummer hailed as the "King of Swing". After his passing in 1939, she became the leader of the band. At this point in her career, she had primarily been singing bebop music, a fast-paced form of jazz pioneered by prominent African American musicians such as Max Roach and Thelonious Monk. Then, in 1946, she became a part of the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert tours, where she sang alongside other legendary singers like Louis Armstrong.

Ella has been dubbed the "Queen of Jazz" and has had a massive influence on the genre. There would be no jazz without the African American community, as it was born from their unique experience and history. Adrian Haldrich writes, "Jazz grew from a distinctively African American sensibility. In the aftermath of slavery, large black communities existed across America with their own heritage and influences. Combining African rhythmic and percussive styles with more European forms of harmony and structure, African Americans created a musical fusion born out of this duality. Jazz was also unique in its focus on improvisation, allowing for unprecedented freedom of expression through music." Through jazz music, many Black singers and instrumentalists were able to advocate for their communities. One example is influential saxophonist John Coltrane's song "Alabama", which was inspired by one of Dr. Martin Luther King's speeches that addressed the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Alabama. Associates of the Ku-Klux Klan carried out the attack, where civil rights meetings took place frequently, and 4 young Black girls were killed. And so, we cannot separate jazz music from its powerful and transformative origins.

Ella's one-of-a-kind approach to singing, velvety and piercing voice, innovative scatting and improvisation, as well as her incredibly personable style of performance, led her to winning 13 Grammys, selling 40 million albums, and being the only female artist with 9 recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Rebecca Kuske for the National Museum of American History writes, "Over her long career, her voice took her to many different venues, cities, and countries. It even took her to places that many African Americans dared not go in the late 1950s and 1960s, an era of racial segregation. Her undeniable talent, however, allowed her to open doors not only for herself, but for the many African American performers who followed her." Ella's incredible talent transcended so many of the barriers that surrounded her and set the precedent for many young singers to come, including me. If you have never heard her music, I seriously recommend that you do. Words cannot fully convey the power of her voice and just how influential she is to Black music history, which is, of course, American music history.

Happy Listening!

Miss K