From Amateur Hour to America's First Lady of Song

Ella Fitzgerald’s unmistakable voice was sweet, bell-clear, and powerful enough to soar above a big band. Her pitch was flawless and her timing and communicative ability made her interpretations of the great American songbook definitive. Above all, she was an improviser of the first order; her brilliant scat singing took harmonic fluency and melodic invention to new heights. As Bing Crosby said, “Man, woman or child, Ella is the greatest of them all.”

But the singer’s early years bore little hint of her later success. She was raised in Yonkers, NY by her mother, who worked in a laundromat, and her step-father, who dug ditches. Conflicting accounts of her teen years all agree on one thing: Ella Fitzgerald led a hardscrabble adolescence.

When she was just 15, Ella lost both her mother and her step-father within the space of a year. The young girl’s inability to adjust led to difficult times at school, and she ran cash and bets for local gamblers to help pay for food and shelter. The law quickly caught up with her, and she was sent to a reformatory later that year, where she became a ward of the state.

Ella’s unstoppable nature didn’t take well to confinement, though, especially in a facility known for excessive force against the children in its care. She soon ran away, opting instead to hit the streets of New York.

In New York, a chance visit to the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night brought Ella her first break. Although she originally planned to dance, her competition proved fierce and she changed her mind at the last minute. Standing on stage, nervous and facing a rowdy crowd, she broke into song and immediately knew what she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing.

While Stanford Jazz Workshop participants Laila Smith and Holly Smolik can’t speak to the same hardships Ella faced as a young girl, the two teenaged vocalists both embody the spirit of Fitzgerald’s dedication to jazz singing. Close to the same age Ella was when she recorded her hit A-Tisket, A-Tasket, it’s fitting that Smith and Smolik honor the singer’s legacy tonight alongside seasoned vocalists Mary Stallings (a San Francisco native) and Kenny Washington (from New Orleans).

Our July 11th tribute to Fitzgerald’s unmatched legacy is led by musical director Larry Dunlap. Tickets are available for purchase online, or by calling 650 725-ARTS.

 

Additional Resources:

Wallace, Rebecca. "An Evening for Ella," Palo Alto Weekly (July 2, 2010).

Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation: Created and funded in 1993 by Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song, in order to fulfill her desires to use the fruits of her success to help people of all races, cultures and beliefs.