Ella Fitzgerald, another one of our African American sisters that has taken the world for everything that it's worth. She's not afraid to be black because she knows the worlds need to hear her voice. Ella had a rocky patch growing up, her parents separated, she made a big move from VA to NY and only a decade later her mother died, but that only helped to make her who she is today. Being in the big apple was the best thing she could ever wish for, even if she didn't know it at the time of the move. The Apollo Theater was built only three years before her birth and she would be one of the first black women who hit it big there. Would you believe this huge star started off by having her name pulled out of a raffle for amateur night? Originally having planned to dance and knowing she couldn't compare to the person before her, singing was her only choice. This coy reserved girl lit up when she hit the spot light for her very first time. "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."And that she did.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/ella-fitzgerald/something-to-live-for/590/
http://www.ellafitzgerald.com/about/biography.html