Collection 135-M

Ella Fitzgerald Collection

Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on Apr. 25, 1917 in Newport News, VA; grew up in Yonkers, NY, and in 1932 went to live with an aunt in Harlem; was virtually a homeless school dropout who danced and sang on street corners for money and was in state reform school for over a year; won an amateur talent contest at the Apollo theater; sang with Chick Webb Orchestra, 1934-39; became recording artist for Decca (1936-55) and Verve (which became Pablo Records); recorded nearly every year from 1939-89, while touring with jazz bands and more than 40 symphony orchestras; won 12 Grammy awards and countless other awards, including Commander of Arts and Letters, Paris (1990), the American Music award (1978), National Medal of the Arts (1987), and was honored by the Kennedy Center (1979); her numerous recordings include her series of eight "Songbook" albums made from 1956-64, featuring the music of Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, and Johny Mercer; she died on June 15, 1996 in Beverly Hills, CA.

Collection consists of fourteen photographs of Ella Fitzgerald, and about 4600 music sheets (70%), folios (20%), and ozalid copies (10%), some sheets accompanied by correspondence to Fitzgerald or manuscripts lyrics.

For additional information about this collection consult:

Catalog record
Finding aid

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