Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song

In the first major biography since Ella Fitzgerald’s death, historian Judith Tick offers a sublime portrait of the twentieth century’s most astonishing voices in Becoming Ella Fitzgerald. This ambitious risk-taker transformed the music industry with her exceptional musical spontaneity.

The biography unravels mysteries surrounding Fitzgerald’s life, including her challenging childhood in Yonkers, New York, her mother’s tragic death, and her time in a girls’ reformatory school. Through archival research and family interviews, Tick sheds new light on these aspects of Fitzgerald’s life, including her experiences with racial discrimination and her struggles with the societal expectations of femininity.

Tick’s narrative offers a fresh perspective on Fitzgerald’s complex career, challenging the traditional separation of vocal jazz from mainstream jazz. The book explores Fitzgerald’s role in the bebop movement, her groundbreaking performances with Chick Webb’s big band, and her contributions to Jazz at the Philharmonic. As a female bandleader, Fitzgerald defied stereotypes and revolutionized the popular repertoire with her interpretations of the Great American Songbook.

This masterful biography paints a vivid picture of Ella Fitzgerald, a woman who set a standard for American excellence, blending Black vocal aesthetics with jazz improvisation, reaching audiences worldwide, and leaving an indelible mark on music history.