Ella Fitzgerald

Until now, Fitzgerald had essentially been a pop/swing singer. She undoubtedly possessed a beautiful voice but her performances were under-used on several novelty hits. It wasn't until a meeting with Verve Records boss Norman Granz, that Ella would get the opportunity to expand her repertoire and improvise and scat on her songs. Ella had been touring with Dizzy Gillespie's big band, adopting be-bop as part of her style and she started including her exciting, scat style singing in her Jazz At The Philharmonic series of concerts. Her recordings of How High The Moon and Flying Home were concert highlights and her stock as a major jazz singer rose. Soon Ella had remarried, to the jazz bassist Ray Brown. The pair eventually adopted a son, Ray Jr, who went on to become an established jazz musician himself. But by 1952 their busy work schedules hurt the marriage and the pair divorced.

When Ella's Decca contract ran out in 1955, after an appearance in the film Pete Kelly's Blues, she signed for Granz's Verve label and in 1956 began a long series of recordings based on the 'Songbook' concept. With orchestral backing by Nelson Riddle and others, Ella performed the works of such songwriters as Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart and Duke Ellington. This was Ella at her best, her technical skill meshed with the polished lyrics of such sophisticated songs as Manhattan, Love For Sale and Every Time We Say Goodbye.

A similar set of albums found Ella paired with leading jazz musicians such as Ellington, Oscar Peterson and Louis Armstrong with whom she made an album of songs from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in 1960. Ella was now managed by Norman Granz and the record label boss felt strong about civil rights and racial discrimination. Granz refused to accept any type of discrimination at hotels, restaurants or concert halls for his artists, even when they travelled to the Deep South. Marilyn Monroe also stood up for Ella. In the '50s black performers were barred from a popular nightclub called the Mocambo but Monroe phoned the club owner and told him she wanted Ella booked immediately and that if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. "I owe Marilyn a real debt," said Ella at the time. "After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again."

In 1960 Ella hit the charts again with a live version of Kurt Weill's Mack The Knife. Four years later her version of The Beatles Can't Buy Me Love was also a hit. Illness interrrupted her career in the late 60s but Ella returned to recording with Norman Granz's new label, Pablo in the '70s. Ella continued to work hard, touring all over the world. On record her voice was showcased on albums with the likes of Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, and Joe Pass.

In September of 1986, Ella underwent quintuple coronary bypass surgery. She was also diagnosed with diabetes which blamed for her failing eyesight. Despite protests from family and friends she returned to the stage.

In 1987, United States President Ronald Reagan awarded Ella the National Medal of Arts. It was one of her most prized moments. France followed suit several years later, presenting her with their Commander of Arts and Letters award, while Yale, Dartmouth and several other universities bestowed Ella with honorary doctorates.

In 1991 Ella gave her final concert New York's Carnegie Hall. In 1993 however her diabetes worsened, leading to the amputation of both her legs beneath the knees. She never full recovered from the surgery and afterwards, was rarely able to perform. "I now just want to smell the air, listen to the birds and hear my granddaughter Alice laugh," she said.

On June 15, 1996, Ella died in her Beverly Hills home. After a private memorial service, traffic on the LA freeway was stopped to let her funeral procession pass through.