Ella Fitzgerald — Jazz Singer
Creative
Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz Singer from the United States

Ella Fitzgerald Quotes

Jazz Singer

Ella Fitzgerald was jazz singer from the United States

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It isn't where you came from, it's where you're going that counts.
Ella Fitzgerald

Ella lost her mother at 15, spent time in a reform school, and was homeless before winning an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater in 1934. She never let her origin define her ceiling.

The Story of Ella

Legacy

Legacy

The later years were hard. Diabetes took hold. In 1993, both legs were amputated below the knee. She had given her whole life to standing on stages and now she couldn't stand at all. Ella Fitzgerald died on June 15, 1996. She was 79. She sold over 40 million albums. Think about where she started. A girl whose mother died young. A reformatory where they beat her and told her she couldn't sing. Streets with no shelter. A stage at the Apollo where her legs gave out but her voice did not. She built one of the greatest careers in the history of music from that ground zero. No connections. No safety net. Just a voice she refused to silence and a will that outlasted every obstacle they put in front of her. The First Lady of Song. Earned from scratch.

Best Ella Fitzgerald Quotes

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong.
Ella Fitzgerald

Ella faced racial segregation throughout her career, was denied hotel rooms and club bookings. Marilyn Monroe famously called the Mocambo club owner in 1954 to secure Ella a booking. Despite it all, she never quit.

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