Billie Holiday at the Downbeat Club in New York City, 1947, photo by William Gottlieb
It’s the birthday of the “First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald, born in Newport News, Virginia in 1917. She loved to sing and dance as a child and when she was 16 she entered a contest at the Apollo Theater. She had a dance routine worked out and walked on stage wearing ragged clothes and men’s boots, but she froze up. Later she said, “I got out there and I saw all the people and I just lost my nerve. And the man said, ‘well, you’re out here, do something!’ So I tried to sing.” She won the contest and soon became a celebrity across all of New York. She joined Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington as the only performers who could draw audiences at the Apollo from south of 125th Street.
Ella Fitzgerald said, “The only thing better than singing is more singing.”
It’s the birthday of Ella Fitzgerald | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor
The Nat King Cole Trio received acceptance from the mainstream American public through frequent performances on national radio shows.
Jazz Masters of the 1920s // Louis Armstrong: From 1923 to 1931
Krooked Blues | King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band
Everybody Loves My Baby | Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra
Cake Walkin’ Babies | Clarence Williams and the Blue Five
St. Louis Blues | Bessie Smith
My Heart | Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five
Heebie Jeebies | Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five
Cornet Chop Suey | Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five
Potato Head Blues | Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven
Struttin’ With Some Barbecue | Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five
West End Blues | Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five (revised group, actually a sextet)
Weather Bird Rag | Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines
Sweethearts on Parade | Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra
