1930's The Arts | Fitzgerald, Ella 1920-

JAZZ SINGER

Discovered.

Ella Fitzgerald was not quite fifteen years old when she made her professional singing debut at a Yale University party in March 1935. She had been discovered the previous year at the Harlem Opera House, where she won an amateur talent contest for singing a Connie Boswell song. Heartened by the success, Fitzgerald entered more contests, eventually winning a week's performance with Tony Bradshaw's band in February 1935. Bardu Ali, then an announcer with Chick Webb's band, heard her singing for Bradshaw and later brought her to Webb for an impromptu audition, which led to her being hired for the Yale gig a month later. She had made a large leap quickly. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised in Yonkers, New York, by her mother, Ella Fitzgerald made an immediate impact on jazz singing in her time, redefined the role of the jazz singer, and eventually broadened the scope of her music beyond jazz to...