HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELOVED ELLA
Ella Fitzgerald and adoring fan Marilyn Monroe
(April 25, 1917 - June 15, 1996)
Ella Fitzgerald, known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist who interpreted much of the Great American Songbook. Over the course of her 59-year recording career, she sold 40 million copies of her 70-plus albums, won 13 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Ronald Reagan and thePresidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush.
Ella Fitzgerald was not allowed to play at Mocambo because of her race. Then, one of Ella's biggest fans made a telephone call that quite possibly changed the path of her career for good. Here, Ella tells the story of how Marilyn Monroe changed her life:
"I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt ... she personally called the owner of the Mocambo, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him - and it was true, due to Marilyn's superstar status - that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard. After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman - a little ahead of her times. And she didn't know it."
On March 15, 1955, Ella Fitzgerald opened her initial engagement at the Mocambo nightclub in Hollywood.
