The Queen of Scat: Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald was the most influential jazz artist of her time. She was an African-American jazz vocalist who was considered by many to be the most outstanding non-operatic singer of the twentieth century (Ch.5, Pg. 85). She was referred to as the “Queen of Jazz”, “First Lady of Song”, and “Lady Ella”. With a career that last longer than forty years, she won thirteen Grammy awards, recorded over two thousand songs, and sold more than over forty million albums. Some of her great singles were: "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" (1938), "Oh, Lady Be Good!" (1947), "Mac the Knife" (1960), "How High is the Moon" (1960) and many more. Ella’s voice was famous for its wide range, flexibility, and rare sweetness. Ella tone …show more content…
Ella moved to Yonkers, New York with her mother and stepfather. When Ella was young she worked odd jobs, like being a lookout for a brothel, and by working as a messenger. Ella Fitzgerald was very shy unlike a lot of jazz artists in the beginning her passion was to dance not singing. Though she had joined her school’s musical glee club, Ella wrote, “I never considered myself a singer. My real ambition was to dance". She was greatly influenced by Connee Boswell, who was the lead singer of a jazz-influenced combo named "The Boswell Sisters". Growing up in Harlem during the late 1920s she was motivated by Earl “Snake hips Tucker” she would imitate him and study his movements with her …show more content…
Some of her great albums were “Ella at The Opera House” (1957), “Ella in Berlin” (1960), “Jazz at Santa Monica ‘72” (1972), “Ella in London” (1974), “The Best Is Yet to Come” (1982), “Nice Work if You Can Get It” (1983), “All That Jazz” (1989), plus many more. In her soundtrack of “Mac the Knife” on the album “Ella in Berlin” she started scat singing because she had forgotten the words. This turned out to be one of her great recordings. In 1958 Ella picked up her first two Grammys and became the first African-American woman in history to win a Grammy for best female vocal performance and distinct jazz performance, correspondingly for her two songbook tasks “Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irvin Berlin Song Book” and “Ella Fitzgerald Sings the