Ella Fitzgerald

First Lady of Song

By: Charles Giuliano - Mar 20, 2016

Ella Fitzgerald

Just a kid
Talent night at the Apollo
Off the hook
Rocked Harlem
Then the world
Broke out with
Drummer Chick Webb
Big band era
He died young at 34
Her novelty hit
A-tisket, a-tasket
A brown and yellow basket
That was 1938
When Swing was King
She was 21
Never looked back
First Lady of Song
Soaring to stratosphere
Scat out of hell
Untouchable
Nudged and challenged
Bested her friend
Sarah Vaughan
Cutting contests
Ella reaching higher
Always inventive
Porgy and Bess
With Satchmo
Called him Pops
Oil and vinegar
Top chops
Even when messing up
Out there improv
Like Mack the Knife
Live in Berlin
Forgetting lyrics
Faking them
Over the top
Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur
With legend Coleman Hawkins
You wanted her to
Screw up
Ella's special mojo
Always at her best
Radiant warmth
Infectious humor
Incredible invention
Less so in later gigs
Superb but melancholy
Thick glasses
So many operations
Heart wrenching
Those final festivals
Poignant memories
Such a great artist
Class to the max
Caught on wax
But not waning
In Hall of Fame