“Black History Woman of the Day: Ella Fitzgerald”

Dubbed "The First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums.

Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. She could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz and imitate every instrument in an orchestra. She worked with all the jazz greats, from Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Nat King Cole, to Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman. (Or rather, some might say all the jazz greats had the pleasure of working with Ella.)

She performed at top venues all over the world, and packed them to the hilt. Her audiences were as diverse as her vocal range. They were rich and poor, made up of all races, all religions and all nationalities. In fact, many of them had just one binding factor in common - they all loved her.

HUMBLE BUT HAPPY BEGINNINGS:

Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Va. on April 25, 1917. Her father, William, and mother, Temperance (Tempie), parted ways shortly after her birth. Together, Tempie and Ella went to Yonkers, N.Y, where they eventually moved in with Tempie's longtime boyfriend Joseph Da Silva. Ella's half-sister, Frances, was born in 1923 and soon she began referring to Joe as her stepfather.

To support the family, Joe dug ditches and was a part-time chauffeur, while Tempie worked at a laundromat and did some catering. Occasionally, Ella took on small jobs to contribute money as well. Perhaps naïve to the circumstances, Ella worked as a runner for local gamblers, picking up their bets and dropping off money.

Their apartment was in a mixed neighborhood, where Ella made friends easily. She considered herself more of a tomboy, and often joined in the neighborhood games of baseball. Sports aside, she enjoyed dancing and singing with her friends, and some evenings they would take the train into Harlem and watch various acts at the Apollo Theater.

A ROUGHT PATCH:

In 1932, Tempie died from serious injuries that she received in a car accident. Ella took the loss very hard. After staying with Joe for a short time, Tempie's sister Virginia took Ella home. Shortly afterward Joe suffered a heart attack and died, and her little sister Frances joined them.

Unable to adjust to the new circumstances, Ella became increasingly unhappy and entered into a difficult period of her life. Her grades dropped dramatically, and she frequently skipped school. After getting into trouble with the police, she was taken into custody and sent to a reform school. Living there was even more unbearable, as she suffered beatings at the hands of her caretakers.

Eventually Ella escaped from the reformatory. The 15-year-old found herself broke and alone during the Great Depression, and strove to endure.

Never one to complain, Ella later reflected on her most difficult years with an appreciation for how they helped her to mature. She used the memories from these times to help gather emotions for performances, and felt she was more grateful for her success because she knew what it was like to struggle in life.

"WHAT’S SHE GOING TO DO?":

In 1934 Ella's name was pulled in a weekly drawing at the Apollo and she won the opportunity to compete in Amateur Night. Ella went to the theater that night planning to dance, but when the frenzied Edwards Sisters closed the main show, Ella changed her mind. "They were the dancingest sisters around," Ella said, and she felt her act would not compare.

Once on stage, faced with boos and murmurs of "What's she going to do?" from the rowdy crowd, a scared and disheveled Ella made the last minute decision to sing. She asked the band to play Hoagy Carmichael's "Judy," a song she knew well because Connee Boswell's rendition of it was among Tempie's favorites. Ella quickly quieted the audience, and by the song's end they were demanding an encore. She obliged and sang the flip side of the Boswell Sister's record, "The Object of My Affections."

Off stage, and away from people she knew well, Ella was shy and reserved. She was self-conscious about her appearance, and for a while even doubted the extent of her abilities. On stage, however, Ella was surprised to find she had no fear. She felt at home in the spotlight.

"Once up there, I felt the acceptance and love from my audience," Ella said. "I knew I wanted to sing before people the rest of my life."

In the band that night was saxophonist and arranger Benny Carter. Impressed with her natural talent, he began introducing Ella to people who could help launch her career. In the process he and Ella became lifelong friends, often working together.

Fueled by enthusiastic supporters, Ella began entering - and winning - every talent show she could find. In January 1935 she won the chance to perform for a week with the Tiny Bradshaw band at the Harlem Opera House. It was there that Ella first met drummer and bandleader Chick Webb. Although her voice impressed him, Chick had already hired male singer Charlie Linton for the band. He offered Ella the opportunity to test with his band when they played a dance at Yale University.

"If the kids like her," Chick said, "she stays."

Despite the tough crowd, Ella was a major success, and Chick hired her to travel with the band for $12.50 a week.

JAZZING THINGS UP:

In mid 1936, Ella made her first recording. "Love and Kisses" was released under the Decca label, with moderate success. By this time she was performing with Chick's band at the prestigious Harlem's Savoy Ballroom, often referred to as "The World's Most Famous Ballroom."

Shortly afterward, Ella began singing a rendition of the song, "(If You Can't Sing It) You Have to Swing It." During this time, the era of big swing bands was shifting, and the focus was turning more toward bebop. Ella played with the new style, often using her voice to take on the role of another horn in the band. "You Have to Swing It" was one of the first times she began experimenting with scat singing, and her improvisation and vocalization thrilled fans. Throughout her career, Ella would master scat singing, turning it into a form of art.

In 1938, at the age of 21, Ella recorded a playful version of the nursery rhyme, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." The album sold 1 million copies, hit number one, and stayed on the pop charts for 17 weeks. Suddenly, Ella Fitzgerald was famous.

COMING INTO HER OWN:

On June 16, 1939, Ella mourned the loss of her mentor Chick Webb. In his absence the band was renamed "Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Band," and she took on the overwhelming task of bandleader.

Perhaps in search of stability and protection, Ella married Benny Kornegay, a local dockworker who had been pursuing her. Upon learning that Kornegay had a criminal history, Ella realized that the relationship was a mistake and had the marriage annulled.

While on tour with Dizzy Gillespie's band in 1946, Ella fell in love with bassist Ray Brown. The two were married and eventually adopted a son, whom they named Ray, Jr.

At the time, Ray was working for producer and manager Norman Granz on the "Jazz at the Philharmonic" tour. Norman saw that Ella had what it took to be an international star, and he convinced Ella to sign with him. It was the beginning of a lifelong business relationship and friendship.

Under Norman's management, Ella joined the Philharmonic tour, worked with Louis Armstrong on several albums and began producing her infamous songbook series. From 1956-1964, she recorded covers of other musicians' albums, including those by Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, the Gershwins, Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, and Rodgers and Hart. The series was wildly popular, both with Ella's fans and the artists she covered.

"I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them," Ira Gershwin once remarked.

Ella also began appearing on television variety shows. She quickly became a favorite and frequent guest on numerous programs, including "The Bing Crosby Show," "The Dinah Shore Show," "The Frank Sinatra Show," "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Tonight Show," "The Nat King Cole Show," "The Andy Williams Show" and "The Dean Martin Show."

Due to a busy touring schedule, Ella and Ray were often away from home, straining the bond with their son. Ultimately, Ray Jr. and Ella reconnected and mended their relationship.

"All I can say is that she gave to me as much as she could," Ray, Jr. later said, "and she loved me as much as she could."

Unfortunately, busy work schedules also hurt Ray and Ella's marriage. The two divorced in 1952, but remained good friends for the rest of their lives.

OVERCOMING DISCRIMINATION:

On the touring circuit it was well-known that Ella's manager felt very strongly about civil rights and required equal treatment for his musicians, regardless of their color. Norman refused to accept any type of discrimination at hotels, restaurants or concert halls, even when they traveled to the Deep South.

Once, while in Dallas touring for the Philharmonic, a police squad irritated by Norman's principles barged backstage to hassle the performers. They came into Ella's dressing room, where band members Dizzy Gillespie and Illinois Jacquet were shooting dice, and arrested everyone.

"They took us down," Ella later recalled, "and then when we got there, they had the nerve to ask for an autograph."

Norman wasn't the only one willing to stand up for Ella. She received support from numerous celebrity fans, including a zealous Marilyn Monroe.

"I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt," Ella later said. "It was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub in the '50s. 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."

WORLDWIDE RECOGNITION:

Ella continued to work as hard as she had early on in her career, despite the ill effects on her health. She toured all over the world, sometimes performing two shows a day in cities hundreds of miles apart. In 1974, Ella spent a legendary two weeks performing in New York with Frank Sinatra and Count Basie. Still going strong five years later, she was inducted into the Down Beat magazine Hall of Fame, and received Kennedy Center Honors for her continuing contributions to the arts.

Outside of the arts, Ella had a deep concern for child welfare. Though this aspect of her life was rarely publicized, she frequently made generous donations to organizations for disadvantaged youths, and the continuation of these contributions was part of the driving force that prevented her from slowing down. Additionally, when Frances died, Ella felt she had the additional responsibilities of taking care of her sister's family.

In 1987, United States President Ronald Reagan awarded Ella the National Medal of Arts. It was one of her most prized moments. France followed suit several years later, presenting her with their Commander of Arts and Letters award, while Yale, Dartmouth and several other universities bestowed Ella with honorary doctorates.

END OF AN ERA:

In September of 1986, Ella underwent quintuple coronary bypass surgery. Doctors also replaced a valve in her heart and diagnosed her with diabetes, which they blamed for her failing eyesight. The press carried rumors that she would never be able to sing again, but Ella proved them wrong. Despite protests by family and friends, including Norman, Ella returned to the stage and pushed on with an exhaustive schedule.

By the 1990s, Ella had recorded over 200 albums. In 1991, she gave her final concert at New York's renowned Carnegie Hall. It was the 26th time she performed there.

As the effects from her diabetes worsened, 76-year-old Ella experienced severe circulatory problems and was forced to have both of her legs amputated below the knees. She never fully recovered from the surgery, and afterward, was rarely able to perform. During this time, Ella enjoyed sitting outside in her backyard, and spending time with Ray, Jr. and her granddaughter Alice.

"I just want to smell the air, listen to the birds and hear Alice laugh," she said.

On June 15, 1996, Ella Fitzgerald died in her Beverly Hills home. Hours later, signs of remembrance began to appear all over the world. A wreath of white flowers stood next to her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a marquee outside the Hollywood Bowl theater read, "Ella, we will miss you."

After a private memorial service, traffic on the freeway was stopped to let her funeral procession pass through. She was laid to rest in the "Sanctuary of the Bells" section of the Sunset Mission Mausoleum at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, Calif.

www.ellafitzgerald.com

 

“It isn't where you came from, it’s where you're going that counts.”

“Coming through the years, and finding that I not only have just the fans of my day, but the young ones of today—that's what it means, it means it was worth all of it.”

“Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong.”

“I guess what everyone wants more than anything else is to be loved. And to know that you loved me for my singing is too much for me. Forgive me if I don't have all the words. Maybe I can sing it and you'll understand.”

“Not bad for someone who only studied music to get that half credit in high school.”

“I know I'm no glamour girl, and it's not easy for me to get up in front of a crowd of people. It used to bother me a lot, but now I've got it figured out that God gave me this talent to use, so I just stand there and sing.”

“I’m very shy, and I shy away from people. But the moment I hit the stage, it’s a different feeling, I get nerve from somewhere; maybe it’s because it’s something I love to do.” 

“I stole everything I ever heard, but mostly I stole from the horns.”

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine #KnowYourHistory #ShareYourHistory #CelebrateYourHistory

"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)

“Black History Woman of the Day: Dr. Jane Cooke Wright”

American physician Jane Cooke Wright (November 20, 1919 – February 19, 2013) was a prominent twentieth-century cancer researcher. The daughter of a prominent physician, Jane Cooke Wright followed her father into medicine and eventually became the Highest-Ranked African-American Woman at a major medical institution. Her contributions to the nascent field of chemotherapy have led some to call her “the Mother of Chemotherapy.”

 

BORN INTO A MEDICAL FAMILY:

Born in New York City on November 20, 1919, to Dr. Louis Tompkins Wright and elementary school teacher Corinne Cooke Wright, Jane Cooke Wright came from a long line of pioneers in the field of medicine. Her paternal grandfather, Dr. Ceah Ketcham Wright, was a graduate of the Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee; after he died, her paternal grandmother married Dr. William Fletcher Penn, the First African-American to graduate from Yale Medical School. This man inspired Wright's father, Louis Tompkins Wright, who attended Harvard Medical School in the face of racial discrimination. Louis Wright later went on to become a successful surgeon and medical researcher and was the First African-American to be a staff physician at a New York City hospital. Writing in To Fathom More: African American Scientists and Inventors, Edward Sidney Jenkins commented, “That these men, and the families who supported and encouraged them, could aim so high, even in the shadows of slavery, and achieve such lofty goals, is a striking commentary on their character.” Both Jane Cooke Wright and her younger sister, Barbara, followed in the family tradition and became doctors.

Wright was educated in New York City, first at the private Ethical Culture elementary school and later at the Fieldston School, where she particularly enjoyed science and mathematics. She also served as art editor for the yearbook and became captain of the swim team. After graduating from Fieldston in 1938, she attended Smith College in Massachusetts on a scholarship. There, she excelled in her studies and swam on the varsity swim team. She also studied German, living for a time in the college's German house. Although she briefly considered pursuing art or physics as a career, Wright settled on medicine. After graduating from Smith in 1942, she enrolled at New York Medical College, again attending on a scholarship due to her academic strength.

Due to World War II, the college required students to complete their studies in only three years, and in 1945 Wright graduated from the college with honors and began an internship at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. She remained at Bellevue for nine months as an assistant in internal medicine. After completing this internship, she continued her training at Harlem Hospital, where she served as a resident in internal medicine in 1947 and 1948. Also in 1947, she married David D. Jones Jr., a graduate of Harvard Law School; the couple would later have two daughters, Jane and Allison. After completing her training, Wright continued to work at Harlem Hospital. In 1949 she took a position as a staff physician with the New York City public school system, and continued to serve as a visiting physician at Harlem Hospital.

BECAME CANCER RESEARCHER:

In 1948 Dr. Louis Tompkins Wright, Jane Cooke Wright's father, had founded the Harlem Hospital Cancer Research Foundation to investigate the possibilities for and effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs in cancer treatment. The following year, Jane Cooke Wright joined the staff of the Harlem Cancer Research Foundation as a clinician; Jenkins noted that “she made the transition from medical practice to medical researcher quickly and smoothly.” Much of her work centered on patient trials. Wright studied the reactions of different drugs and chemotherapy techniques on tumors, as well as what her biography in Notable Scientists: From 1900 to the Present called “the complex relationships and variations between test animal and patient, tissue sample and patient, and individual patient responses to various chemotherapeutic agents.” In 1951 the researchers had some success in using the drug methotrexate to destroy breast cancer cells; up to that time, what little research had been conducted focused on the drug's efficacy with cancers of the lymph nodes or blood, rather than cancerous tumors. With her father, Wright also performed research into the effects of triethylene melamine. When Dr. Louis Tompkins Wright died in 1952, Jane Cooke Wright became the head of the Harlem Cancer Research Foundation.

Other cancer researchers began to acknowledge the importance of the discoveries made by Wright and her team of researchers. During the 1940s and 1950s, chemotherapy was a new, untested cancer treatment that many physicians either disregarded or outright ridiculed for its presumed ineffectiveness in aiding cancer patients. Despite these obstacles, Wright continued to seek out all the information she could find on chemotherapy research and developments, reading widely, attending conferences, and sharing knowledge with other national and international researchers.

ADVANCED CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENT:

When Wright left the Harlem Cancer Research Foundation in 1955 to take a position at the New York University Bellevue Medical Center, she continued her research. In 1961 she became an adjunct professor of research surgery at the medical center, where she remained until 1967. That year, Wright left to accept a position as associate dean and professor of surgery at New York Medical College; Wright's biography on the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health Web site noted that “at a time when African American women physicians numbered only a few hundred in the entire United States, Dr. Wright was the Highest Ranked African American Woman at a Nationally Recognized Medical Institution.” She remained at the college until her retirement, creating a program of study into cancer, heart diseases, and stroke, as well as one to teach doctors how to use chemotherapy in addition to conducting medical research.

Wright was particularly interested in the effectiveness of a series of chemotherapeutic drugs administered in a specified order, rather than simply as a combination of medicines; her research into this idea was the first of its kind. Wright also began experimenting with different drugs and cancer tissues in order to determine the specific effects of certain drugs and thus increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment for different forms of cancer. Jenkins noted that “this was a significant contribution because then there were few guidelines for any chemotherapy procedures.” Wright and her team developed new techniques of administering drugs that ultimately led to an increased reduction of cancer cells via chemotherapy.

In 1960 Wright and her fellow researchers successfully caused a form of skin cancer to regress using chemotherapy. Before this accomplishment, the cancer had been treated with radiation therapy. Wright noticed that by including chemotherapy in early cancer treatments, the lifespan of the treated cancer patients increased by up to ten years.

Because the drugs used in chemotherapy can be harmful to patients, Wright worked to develop treatment guidelines to provide the maximum benefit to patients with a minimum danger of drug intolerance. Wright carefully monitored all chemotherapy patients, lessening or stopping treatment if a person showed signs of damage from the drugs. She also stopped chemotherapy treatment on patients whose tumors disappeared or, in certain circumstances, were greatly reduced in size. Wright had the joy of seeing some of her patients with advanced stages of cancer recover and live for years after chemotherapy treatments.

A RESPECTED CAREER:

Wright's many contributions to the field of chemotherapy included services other than research. In 1957 she traveled to Ghana on a medical mission; four years later she returned to Africa representing the African Research and Medical Foundation. She would later serve as vice president of that foundation from 1973 to 1984. Wright also led a delegation of medical professionals to China, Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union as an ambassador of People to People International.

Wright was a member of the highly-respected American Association for Cancer Research, a professional organization dedicated to the study of cancer treatments, and later served on its board of directors. In 1964 she helped found the American Society of Clinical Oncology (cancer medicine); within 15 years, this organization's membership grew from 60 to 8,800. Wright also held membership in the New York City Division of the American Cancer Society, the Medical Advisory Board of the Skin Cancer Foundation, and the New York Cancer Society. In 1971 she became the New York Cancer Society's First Female President.

Wright also sat on many government committees. In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson invited Wright to serve on the cancer subcommittee of the President's Commission of Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke. Her suggestions as part of this commission led to the foundation of regional cancer centers throughout the United States. From 1966 to 1970, Wright served on the National Cancer Advisory Committee, and from 1966 until her retirement she also sat on several committees under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Wright received a number of awards for contributions to cancer research. One of her first came in 1952 from Mademoiselle magazine. In 1965 the Albert Einstein College of Medicine awarded Wright its Spirit of Achievement Award; two years later, she was a recipient of the Hadassah Myrtle Wreath award. The following year, Smith College awarded her the Smith Medal. During the 1960s and 1970s Wright was also recognized by the American Association for Cancer Research, the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, and Denison University. Later, Wright was featured in a poster series of “Exceptional Black Scientists” released by CIBA-GEIGY and included by the Smithsonian Institution in its traveling exhibit Black Women: Achievement Against the Odds.

RETIREMENT YEARS:

Becoming an emeritus professor, Wright retired from the New York Medical College and active cancer research in 1987. In the years since then, she has spent much of her time pursuing her hobbies, which include watercolor painting, reading mystery stories, and sailing. At her Smith College 50-year class reunion in 1992, Wright spoke about the place of cancer during the history of the human race, noting that the increases in life span aided by chemotherapy she had witnessed during her life time “justified her faith in chemotherapy as a major weapon against a tough adversary,” according to Jenkins.

In 2006 Wright's personal and professional papers were added to the Sophia Smith collection at the Smith College archives. Also in 2006, the first “Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship,” named in honor of Wright's contributions to the field of cancer research, was awarded by the American Association of Cancer Research to Nigerian scientist and researcher Professor Olufunmilayo Olopade. According to the Africa News, “The Lectureship is given to an outstanding scientist who has made meritorious contributions to the field of cancer research and who has, through leadership or by example, furthered the advancement of minority investigators in cancer research.” This description encapsulates the legacy of Jane Cooke Wright, whose own contributions to cancer research—including 135 scientific papers and contributions to nine books—have had significant and lasting effects on the field of medicine.

Books

Jenkins, Edward Sidney, To Fathom More: African American Scientists and Inventors, University Press of America, 1996.

Notable Black American Women, Book 1, Gale Research, 1992.

Notable Scientists: From 1900 to the Present, Gale Group, 2001.

Sammons, Vivian Ovelton, Blacks in Science and Medicine, Hemisphere, 1990.

Periodicals

Africa News, April 18, 2006.

Online

“Changing the Face of Medicine: Dr. Jane Cooke Wright,” National Library of Medicine, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceodmedicine/physicians/biography_336.html, (December 30, 2007).

“Jane C. Wright Papers, 1920–2006 Finding Aid,” Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/sophiasmith/mnsss402.html, (December 30, 2007).

Cite this article
"Wright, Jane Cooke." Encyclopedia of World Biography. . Encyclopedia.com. 27 Dec. 2016 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. 

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #KnowAndShareYourHistory

"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)