A
One of the most successful singers of the twentieth century, Ella Fitzgerald has made several different styles her own. She was born in Virginia but was brought up in an orphanage in Yonkers, New York. Chick Webb spotted her in an amateur competition when she was sixteen. He engaged her to sing with his band and when he died in 1939, she took over.
Unlike Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald taught herself the sentimental music so popular in the 1930’s — songs like “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” — and her recordings became best-sellers. During the 1940’s she developed her own “scat singing” — a breathless, nonsense — syllable style — for songs like “Flying Home” and “Lady Be Good.” Ella Fitzgerald was the perfect musical partner for her friend, the trumpeter Louis Armstrong, matching him in warmth and artistry. “I just like music, period,” she said. “To me, it’s a story. There’s only one thing better than singing…. It’s more singing.”
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. A comparison of Ella Fitzgerald and Bessie Smith.
B. The musical career of Ella Fitzgerald.
C. Ella Fitzgerald’s early childhood.
D. Ella Fitzgerald’s most recent recordings. |
