“Ella Fitzgerald is born,” and “Ginger Rogers dies,” - This Day in History – Apr 25th

Future, Songstress, Ella Fitzgerald is born

Back in 1917, Newport News, VA welcomed the future, “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald.  Ms. Fitzgerald was given her first lady title from legendary composer, Ira Gershwin.  According to history.com Mr. Gershwin’s reason for this was,  "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them." Quite apart from the quality of her voice, there was a warmth and intelligence behind it that gave even melancholy songs a plausible tilt toward optimism. Billie Holliday or Frank Sinatra might fully inhabit the dark side of a torch song, but Fitzgerald, in the words of the critic Frank Rich, "could turn any song into an oxygen rush of bouncing melody that reached the listener's ears as pure, untroubled joy—the eternally young sound of a young country." 

Ms. Fitzgerald lived a troubled life after he mother died when she was only 15 years old, she would run in trouble with the law and would later be sent to an Albany, NY reform school for girls.  However, she would later become a superstar singer who would perform duets with legends such as Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank Sinatra. 

History.com stated that, “Ella Fitzgerald never spoke publicly about this period in her life, and she certainly never betrayed any hint of it in her performances. It lends an incredible backdrop, however, to the oft-repeated story of the Apollo Theater Amateur Night performance in 1934 that put her on a path toward stardom. Still technically a ward of the State of New York, Ella was officially paroled in 1935 to Chick Webb's orchestra, the group she would make her name with over the next seven years.”

Ms. Fitzgerald lived to the age of 79 when she passed away in 1979 in Beverly Hills, CA.

Hollywood Legend, Ginger Rogers dies

Back in 1995, Academy Award winning actress and legendary, dancer, Ginger Rogers died on this day at the age of 83.  Known for her dance duos with Fred Astaire, Ms. Rogers who was a Missouri native, would find success not only on the Broadway stage but in Hollywood musicals films as well.

Ms. Rogers is known for he movies, “The Gay Divorcee,” “Swing Time,” and “Shall We Dance.”  Ms. Rogers won her Best Actress Oscar playing the role of “Kitty Foyle,” in the self-titled movie. 

History.com stated that, “According to an obituary published in the New York Times, Rogers was the highest-paid women in America by 1941, earning $355,000 per year. In addition to a hilltop mansion in Beverly Hills, she also bought a ranch on Oregon’s Rogue River, where she spent as much of her free time as possible. Married and divorced five times, Rogers had no children. She continued to perform into the mid-1960s, scoring triumphs on Broadway in Hello, Dolly in 1965 and in London with Mame in 1969. Rogers made her final film appearance in 1965, when she played the mother of the actress Jean Harlow in the biopic Harlow.

All History facts provided from the link below:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ella-fitzgerald-is-born?catId=13