Ella Fitzgerald

My next book, Ella Fitzgerald: up close tells the story of one of the most famous female jazz singers of all time.  Fitzgerald was known for her smooth, silky voice that captivated thousands of people all over the world. Her unique voice was the key to her success as a jazz singer. She managed to create a career for herself at a time when female musicians weren't taken seriously and many music venues were segregated. Her obsession for jazz music and constantly performing led to distant relationships with friends and family. But she never wanted to end the career she made for herself, because she put pleasing her fans above everything else.

It is going to be hard to get concrete information about her, especially information about her childhood because Fitzgerald was an extremely private person. Parts of her life have been misreported because so little information about her is available. She is also known for altering the truth, often about her rough childhood. She grew up in the streets of Harlem and she ran away from home at the age of sixteen. She sang at local clubs and music venues to earn money. If it wasn't for a last-minute decision at an amateur night contest in 1934, the world might never have heard her inspiring voice.

I will focus on more of her influence on jazz music and what she added to the music industry at the time. She did many duets with Louis Armstrong, like "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and many others. I want to write about their relationship together as jazz musicians. I also want to dig a little deeper about her struggle to making a living as an African American, female jazz singer. Life was hard on the road and I want to share into greater detail in my research paper of how she overcame her struggles in the music industry, dealing with segregation. She earned respect and I want to share how she earned it.