02/01/2026
Ella Jane Fitzgerald was the first woman to win multiple GRAMMY awards, and the first African American woman to win a GRAMMY. Her singing debut happened in 1934, at the Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater, as a seventeen year old who planned to do a dance routine! When she realized she would be on stage after a local dance group, she made a quick decision to sing Hoagy Carmichael's song 'Judy.' The crowd loved it! She took home first prize that night. In 1938, her jazzy rendition of 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket' sold over one million copies. This version was her first recording to be inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame. During her career, Ella Fitzgerald recorded more than 200 albums. At the first GRAMMY Awards, in 1958, two of her albums were nominated and she won for both! She was awarded Best Jazz Performance, Individual, and Best Vocal Performance, Female. She was the first woman to receive the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the first person to win the Society of Singers Award (creased by Ginny Mancini, Henry Mancini's widow), in honor of her musical achievements and charitable support. The award was renamed the Ella Award.
She received the U.S. National Medal of Arts, the French Commander of Arts and Letters Award, and a number of honorary doctorates.
She also won 13 GRAMMY Awards, and had 8 recordings inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame.
Ella Fitzgerald's motto was, 'Just don't give up doing what you love to do.'
“A-Tisket, A-Tasket” by Ella Fitzgerald from the album "The Complete Decca Singles 1935-1939.” Subscribe and ring the bell to never miss an update: https://e...