Ella Fitzgerald

Throughout her life she remained uncomfortable about giving interview and would become more uncomfortable if she was pressed to discuss her past

Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Va. on April 25, 1917. Her parents were William Fitzgerald who was 32 and Temperance “Tempie” Williams, 23. William drove a transfer wagon which was a vehicle that moved railroad freight and Tempie Worked in laundry. Within a year William left the family and Tempie found a new partner, Joseph DaSilva. Joseph was an immigrant from Portugal. Tempie and Joseph were tired of being poor, so in 1921 they gathered up their few possessions and moved to Yonkers, New York. Like a many African American from the

South that migrated to northern cities in search of better jobs and a better life they were met with disappointment and continued poverty. They didn’t have enough money to rent a house of apartment so they had to rent a room in a big brick building. Joseph finally got a job at a sugar factory and Tempie also found a work at Silver Lining Laundry.

In 1923 Tempie had a second child, Frances. In September of that year Ella started school.

Tempie and Joseph were religious people and attended they Bethany African Methodist Episcopal church in Yonkers. Ella first learned that she could sing at church, singing hymns. She eventually joined the church choir.

Television didn’t exist when she was growing up so the family would sit around the radio listening to their favorite shows. When people like Duke Ellington started broadcasting live from the Cotton Club a whole new musical world opened for Ella.

As much as Ella loved to sing, she loved to dance even more. She dreamed of becoming a famous dancer. When she was younger, her and her friend Charlie would ride the subway into New York City and sneak into the dance halls in Harlem to learn all the latest dance moves, and then they would go back to the neighborhood and teach other kids the dances they had...