Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald was a famous African American jazz singer. Fitzgerald was born August 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia. As a child, after her parents separated Fitzgerald moved with her mother to Yonkers, New York where they eventually began to struggle. To help out, Fitzgerald began to work as a messenger for a brothel.
After the death of her mother, Fitzgerald went to live with her aunt. She started doing poorly in school, cutting class and eventually was sent to a reform school. A couple of years later in 1934 Fitzgerald found herself living in the streets to survive.
A little later on Fitzgerald ended up entering a contest at the Harlem Apollo theater and won. This win jump started her career in the music industry. After the win she met a couple of people in a band and joined as a lead singer. Fitzgerald went on to record a song called “Love and Kisses” and her first hit “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” followed by her second hit “I Found My Yellow Basket.”
Eventually Fitzgerald joined Decca Records and towards the 40s and 50s her career began to take off. She began to perform more and more, dropped more hits, and even debuted in a film called Ride ‘Em Cowboy.
In 1958 Fitzgerald won her first two grammys and became the first African American woman to win the award. Through her continued success in the music industry, Ella Fitzgerald became known as one of the leaders, most influential people, and face of jazz.