How Do You Celebrate The Life Of Ella Fitzgerald?
Why celebrate Ella Fitzgerald? Let some fans tell you. Bing Crosby: “Man, woman or child, Ella is the best.” Mel Tormé: “Ella was the greatest singer on the planet.” Ira Gershwin: “I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them.” Splurge. Treat yourself to some of the best recordings ever made: Ella’s Songbook series, available as separate CDs and as a complete collection. Each features the music of a different songwriter, and you’ll quickly learn why the likes of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and George and Ira Gershwin considered these performances the definitive treatments of their work. Read Geoffrey Mark Fidelman’s biography, “First Lady of Song: Ella Fitzgerald for the Record.” Rent a video of “Ride ‘Em Cowboy” starring Abbott and Costello, make a big bowl of popcorn, and laugh your way through one of the handful of movies Ella made. Visit the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History and peruse their Ella Fitzgerald collections. To
