Object Details
- Artist
- Herman Leonard, 1923 - 2010
- Sitter
- Ella Fitzgerald, 25 Apr 1917 - 15 Jun 1996
- Exhibition Label
- Hailed as the “First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald topped DownBeat magazine’s annual readers’ poll as the best female vocalist for seventeen consecutive years (1953–70). She was just a teenager when her victory in an amateur contest at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater led to the opportunity to sing with Chick Webb’s orchestra in 1935. Fitzgerald soon secured her standing as a leading swing-era performer and scored a major hit with “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (1938). After Webb’s death in 1939, she led his orchestra for three years before launching a highly successful solo career. With a supple voice that spanned three octaves, as well as an immense talent for improvisational “scat” singing, Fitzgerald built a wide-ranging repertoire encompassing jazz and popular song. Her long and fruitful association with jazz impresario Norman Granz resulted in the legendary series of “songbook” recordings that marked Fitzgerald as one of the greatest interpreters of American popular music.
- Aclamada como la “Primera Dama de la Canción”, Ella Fitzgerald permaneció en el tope de la encuesta anual de la revista DownBeat como mejor vocalista femenina durante diecisiete años consecutivos (1953–70). Era todavía adolescente cuando ganó un concurso de aficionados en el famoso Teatro Apollo de Harlem que le dio la oportunidad de cantar con la orquesta de Chick Webb en 1935. Pronto consolidó su posición como intérprete cimera de la era del swing y en 1938 logró un éxito importante con “A-Tisket, A-Tasket”. Al morir Webb en 1939, Fitzgerald quedó a la cabeza de la orquesta por tres años para luego lanzarse a una triunfante carrera de solista. Con un amplísimo rango vocal de tres octavas y un inmenso talento para improvisar el scat, Fitzgerald cultivó un abarcador repertorio de jazz y canciones populares. Su larga y fructífera asociación con el empresario Norman Granz produjo la legendaria serie de discos dedicados cada uno a un compositor (los songbooks), los cuales aseguraron su sitial como una de las mejores intérpretes de música popular estadounidense.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- 1949 (printed 1998)
- Object number
- NPG.2014.111.10
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- © Herman Leonard Photography LLC
- Type
- Photograph
- Medium
- Selenium-toned gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 30.1 × 41.2cm (11 7/8 × 16 1/4")
- Sheet: 40.6 × 50.5cm (16 × 19 7/8")
- Frame: 56.5 × 71.8 × 3.8 cm (22 1/4 × 28 1/4 × 1 1/2")
- Place
- United States\New York\Kings\New York
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Interior
- Music\Musical instrument
- Equipment\Sound Devices\Microphone
- Ella Fitzgerald: Female
- Ella Fitzgerald: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer\Jazz singer
- Ella Fitzgerald: Civilian awards\Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Ella Fitzgerald: Performing arts awards\Grammy
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.2014.111.10
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm43d4ab991-6f88-4f18-aebc-df5eeba8cd18
