American Icons:Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

Phoebe GydesenWorld History Honors Pd. 7

Biographies

When was Ella Fitzgerald born?

What new form of singing did Ella

experiment with?

Where did Ella give her last concert?

What was the name of Ella’s mentor & close

friend in the music business?

Where did Ella first perform?

What surgery did Ella undergo in

1986?

When was Ella inducted into the Down Beat

Magazine Hall of Fame?

How many albums had Ella recorded in her life

by 1990?

What year did Ella die?

Early Childhood

•Born- April 25, 1917•Newport News, Va.•Moved to Yonkers, N. Y. with mother, Tempie, boyfriend Joseph Da Silva, & half-sister, Frances

Adolescent Years

•1932- Tempie died from car crash injuries

•Soon after, Joe died from a heart attack

•Ella and Frances go to live with their Aunt Virginia

•Sent to reform school•Life was unbearable•Suffered beatings from teachers•Finally escaped at age 15, only to find herself broke and alone

Career Beginnings•1934- Drawn out of a hat to perform at Amateur Night at the Apollo

•“Judy”

•In 1935, Ella won the opportunity to perform at the Harlem Opera House with the Tiny Bradshaw band

Ella’s Career

•Ella recorded “Love and Kisses” in 1936

•Performed in Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom regularly

•The era of big swing bands was changing, focus turned more towards bebop

Accomplishments

•In 1979, Ella was inducted into the Down Beat magazine Hall of Fame

•Received Kennedy Center Honors for her contributions to the arts

•She also won many Grammy Awards for her vocal performances

•President Ronald Reagan awarded Ella the National Medal of Arts in 1987

•She received the Commander of Arts and Letters award from France several years later

•Yale, Dartmouth and other universities gave Ella honorary doctorates

Ella’s Career

Comes to a Close

•Ella underwent quintuple coronary bypass surgery in September of 1986

•She also had a valve in her heart replaced and was diagnosed with diabetes

•Everyone said she’d never sing again

•She proved them wrong

•200 albums by 1990

•Last performance at Carnegie Hall in 1991

Ella’s Legacy

•On June 15, 1996, died at home in Beverly Hills

•buried in "Sanctuary of the Bells” in Inglewood Park Cemetery

Ella Fitzgerald

“The First Lady of Song”

Where was Louis Armstrong born?

How many wives did Louis have throughout his

lifetime?

Why was Louis sent to the Colored Waif’s Home

for Boys?

What band did Louis move to Chicago to, to

play for in 1922?

What year did Louis record “What a

Wonderful World” in?

In what year did Louis appear in his first

movie?

Throughout his life, how many movies did

Louis appear in?

When did Louis die?

How many concerts did Louis perform a

year?

Early Childhood

•Born- August 4, 1901•New Orleans, Louisiana

•Father, William, left while Louis was a baby

•Lived with mother Mary Ann (Mayann), grandmother Josephine, and sister Mama Lucy (Beatrice)•Extremely poor

Adolescent Years

•1912- Fires a pistol at New Year’s Eve party

•1913-1914: Sent to the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys

•Receives musical instruction from band director Peter Davis

•Becomes leader of the Home Band

Louis’s Career

Beginning•1914-1917: Joe Oliver becomes Louis’ mentor & perform around New Orleans

•1918- Marries Daisy Parker •Becomes member of the Kid Ory Band the same year

Louis’s Career

•November 1925- moves back to Chicago & starts own group

•Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five

•Records “West End Blues” on June 28, 1928

•One of the most famous early jazz recordings

Louis Goes Internation

al•1933- Louis tours Europe

•Lives in Paris, France for much of 1934

•Returns to the U.S. in 1935

•Marries Alpha Smith in 1938

Louis’s Career

Escalates•1947- Louis performs in Carnegie Hall

•1948- Appears at the first international jazz festival

•From 1949-1954, Louis tours the world including places like:

•Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Canada, Germany, Belgium, and Hawaii

•1957- Records second album with Ella Fitzgerald

Accomplishments

•By end of career:•Recorded five decades worth of hits•Appeared in over 30 films•Appeared in various Broadway performances•Performed an average of 300 concerts every year•Recorded dozens of songs that became jazz standards•Appeared on dozens of television shows

Louis’s Legacy

•Louis Armstrong died on July 6, 1971 in his sleep at his home in Corona, Queens

•He is thought of as the most influential person in jazz history in both vocal and instrumental music

Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong

“The Founding Father of Jazz”

Comparisons

Similarities

•Lacked father figures

•The police

•Musicality.

•Passion for music.

•Equal treatment of all people

•Company

•Worked with each other

•Songs

•“A-Tiskit, A-Tasket” and “What a Wonderful World”

•1st celebrities

•Great leaders.

•Determination, strong will, innovativeness, joy and passion

•Dreams come true.

•Many great successes throughout their lifetimes

Differences

•Country & time period

•Early 1900s- poor neighborhood of New Orleans

•1920s- Virginia.

•Pioneered different fields of the industry.

•Voice- intuitive

•Scat & be-bop era

•Cornet

•Extended solo

•“The First Lady of Song”

•“The Great Satchmo”

Impact

Louis Armstrong•Pioneered new styles of playing

•Changed the perspective people had of jazz music

•Musicians mimicked style

•Inspired many future jazz artists, one of which was Ella Fitzgerald.

•Revolutionized whole music world.

References• The jazz age: The 20s. (2000). Alexandria, VA: Time Life Inc.

• Louis Armstrong House & Archives. (2003). Satchmo.net: The official site of the Lous Armstrong house & archives. Retrieved August 23, 2008, from Queens College Web site: http://www.satchmo.net/ bio/

• The offical website of Ella Fitzgerald. (n.d.). Retrieved August 23, 2008, from http://www.ellafitzgerald.com/ index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

• Parabrisas. (n.d.). Ella Fitzgerald. In Solid! Retrieved August 23, 2008, from http://www.parabrisas.com/ d_fitzgeralde.php

• PBS. (n.d.). American masters: Louis Armstrong. Retrieved August 23, 2008, from http://www.pbs.org/ wnet/ americanmasters/ database/ armstrong_l.html

• Ulanov, B. (1957). A History of Jazz in America. New York: The Viking Press.

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