Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.

Author, jazz writer and musician, Stuart Nicholson. He is an expert on and biographer of late jazz great Ella Fitzgerald. Through interviews with those closest to her,. "Ella Fitzgerald: A Biography of the First Lady of Jazz" (1994, Charlse Scribner's Sons) shows the public and private side of the media-shy legend. In her career of over 60 years, she gained the admiration of her contemporaries in the business. At the age of 79 and after years of suffering from diabetes, Fitzgerald died Saturday (June 15) at her home in California.

52:57
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
06:16

Celebrating Ella Fitzgerald's 75th Birthday

Jazz critic Kevin White pays tribute to Ella Fitzgerald who turns 75 this Sunday. He argues that there are two versions of the jazz singer -- an interpreter of ballads and standards, the other a "superhuman" scat singer.

Commentary

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

In pursuit of 'Instagram face,' are we losing the imperfections that make us human?

Jia Tolentino is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the bestselling author of the essay collection "Trick Mirror." Seven years ago, she coined the phrase Instagram face, capturing the beauty ideal of the social media era. Her new essay asks what that face has become.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

52:30

Broadway legend André De Shields helps bring 'Hadestown' to the big screen

De Shields made his Broadway debut in the 1975 original production of The Wiz. He won a Tony in 2019 for his performance in Hadestown and co-stars in the new film of last year's London revival.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

42:18

Harriet Clark's novel 'The Hill' draws on her 37 years visiting her mom in prison

Clark was a baby in 1981 when her mother, a member of a radical left-wing group, acted as a getaway driver in the robbery of a Brink's truck. Her new novel is based on the years that followed.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue