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Events on Wednesday 25 April 1917 2
1917 – 1996Ella FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald (25 April 1917 -- 15 June 1996) was an American jazz vocalist widely considered the greatest female jazz singer in history. Known as the First Lady of Song, her voice combined extraordinary technical range (three octaves), perfect intonation, rhythmic precision and an improvisational gift -- particularly in scat singing -- that placed her alongside the greatest instrumental soloists in jazz. Her Songbook series for Verve Records (1956-1964) -- eight albums dedicated to the great American songwriters -- are the definitive recordings of the American popular song tradition. She won 13 Grammy Awards and sold over 40 million records.
1917Ella Fitzgerald born in Newport News, VirginiaElla Jane Fitzgerald is born on 25 April 1917 in Newport News, Virginia, to William Fitzgerald and Temperance Henry. Her parents separate when she is young and her mother moves with Ella and her stepfather Joseph Da Silva to Yonkers, New York. Her mother dies in a car accident in 1932 when Ella is 15. Her stepfather's abuse of her mother and then Ella drives her away from home; she lives with an aunt in Harlem and briefly on the streets. Her early life is marked by poverty, instability and loss -- a background she rarely discusses publicly but which shapes the emotional depth of her singing.