Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on Wednesday, April 25, 1917. Her parents, William Fitzgerald and Temperance “Tempie” Williams, were both native Virginians. They lived in Newport News, Virginia, hence the culture. William drove a transfer wagon, and Tempie worked in a laundry. When …show more content…
Being an African American and, to make matters worse, an African American woman what with segregation and poverty going on. She had to learn more and work faster and harder. She first learned she could sing in the church choir like most singers such as Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. She loved to dance also. In fact, back in her early teens, she loved to dance more than singing; with that being her mindset she started dancing with her friend Charles Gulliver. “They might have somebody who could sing, somebody who could dance, somebody who played an instrument or a comedian,” Charles once said,” We danced, and that’s what we did to earn a few …show more content…
Ella’s motivation was that all of her fans, business managers, band members and singing came first; her other needs were last. With that thought in mind she was not concerned about her health. She was diagnosed with diabetes, a disease of the endocrine system. Along with diabetes she had overweight problems, which caused heart troubles, poor circulation, and cataracts (an eye condition that can cause blindness). This did not stop her from continuing her career. She sang no matter what. As time grew and years flew by, new music started to take place in the world. She would learn them and add some of those styles to her jazz songs. In fact, one of her sayings is, “If you don’t learn new music, you’re lost.” She died on June 15, 1996, at the age of seventy-nine. She died in her Los Angeles home of diabetes complications. She is still remembered today by her