Popular song - Jazz: Ella Fitzgerald (OCR) p122-125 Flashcards
(40 cards)
What was her first recording?
1935, “I’ll chase the blues away” with Chick Webb and his orchestra
Where was she brought up?
In Yonkers, New York (15 when her mother died)
Where did she learn to sing?
From performing gospel music in church and from popular artists of the day
What was regularly heard on the radio?
Louis Armstrong’s jazz solos on trumpet and vocals, and the hard driven swing of the Boswell Sisters (often in partnership with Bing Crosby) on record and radio
What contest did she enter?
She modelled her singing in Connee Boswell, won a talent contest at Apollo Theatre in Harlem at 17
What followed when winning the contest?
Work with the Chick Webb orchestra
Why was she so important to the band?
Her vocal contributions became important to the band’s success. While the instrumental swing numbers were popular with dancers, there were plenty of similar bands in a competitive market, it was her singing which made the band stand out and gave it more than a local profile
Recordings with vocals sold… than instrumental recordings
More
At a young age she became….
A leading figure in popular music
How long did she stay with the band for?
6 years and became leader when Webb died
What was her stand-out hit with Chick Webb?
A Tisket, A Tasket (1938), a hard swinging arrangement of a nursery rhyme from her childhood
Why was A Tisket A Tasket so popular to the public?
It sold successfully to both black and white audiences, who responded to its combination of child-like simplicity and emotional depth
Why was A Tisket A Tasket so popular to vocalists?
It set a trend for other female vocalists to look for simple melodies in order to top charts, and perhaps signalled a move away from the sophisticated artistry of the successful song composers of the 1920s and 1930s
What if she often referred to as?
The First Lady of Song
After a Tisket A Tasket did she top the charts?
Not often make the Top Ten singles charts, but her recordings always sold reliably
In 1954, Decca claimed that their recordings of her had sold…
22 million copies
What magazine did she regularly top for Best Female Vocalist until 1971?
Down Beat magazine readers’ poll
Sing early in her career who was her manager, what did this show?
Moe Gale, the industry was dominated by white business men and opportunities for black singers were limited
What could white singers have that black singers couldn’t?
Radio shows, blacks relied on guest appearances
How did Gale increase her public profile?
Strong connections with the broadcasting company NBC
What was the controversy that happened with Gale?
She performed at Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts, earning $50,000 a year by 1953, he overlooked the need to pay taxes, leaving her shocked when the US tax authorities demanded back payment
Who took over her management?
Gales contact as manager expires the year of controversy, Granz took over management and payed the tax bill out of his own pocket
What was Granz’s plan?
Get her to be the vocal star of his new record label, Verve, determined to prise her away from long-standing contract with Decca
LP became established, the album format was developing, Sinatra has achieved success with…
albums which grouped songs under themes
