Editing Ella Fitzgerald (section)

===Early career===
[[File:Ella Fitzgerald (1940).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Black-and-white photograph of Fitzgerald, smiling at the camera.|A young Fitzgerald, photographed by [[Carl Van Vechten]] in January 1940]]

While she seems to have survived during 1933 and 1934 in part by singing on the streets of [[Harlem]], Fitzgerald debuted at the age of 17 on November 21, 1934, in one of the earliest [[Amateur Night at the Apollo|Amateur Nights]] at the [[Apollo Theater]].<ref name="FrittsVail2003">{{Cite book |last=Fritts |first=Ron |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W13y4UwnHIcC&pg=PA4 |title=Ella Fitzgerald: The Chick Webb Years & Beyond |last2=Vail |first2=Ken |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8108-4881-8 |pages=4–6 |access-date=February 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Oliver2005">{{Cite book |last=Horton |first=James Oliver |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gVBrIZLlqcMC&pg=PA143 |title=Landmarks of African American History |date=2005 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-514118-4 |page=143 |access-date=February 23, 2014}}</ref> She had intended to go on stage and dance, but she was intimidated by a local dance duo called the Edwards Sisters and opted to sing instead.<ref name="Oliver2005" />{{sfn|Hemming|Hajdu|1991|p=97}} Performing in the style of [[Connee Boswell]], she sang "Judy" and "The Object of My Affection" and won first prize.<ref name="cnn">{{Cite news |last=Moret |first=Jim |date=June 15, 1996 |title='First Lady of Song' passes peacefully, surrounded by family |url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9606/15/fitzgerald.obit/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061129231320/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9606/15/fitzgerald.obit/index.html |archive-date=November 29, 2006 |access-date=January 30, 2007 |work=[[CNN]]}}</ref> She won the chance to perform at the Apollo for a week but, seemingly because of her disheveled appearance, the theater never gave her that part of her prize.{{sfn|Nicholson|1996|p=19}}

In January 1935, Fitzgerald won the chance to perform for a week with the [[Tiny Bradshaw]] band at the [[Harlem Opera House]].<ref name="FrittsVail2003" /> Later that year, she was introduced to drummer and bandleader [[Chick Webb]] by [[Bardu Ali]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 24, 2014 |title=5 South Asian American Entertainers You May Not Know About |url=https://www.saada.org/tides/article/5-south-asian-american-entertainers |website=SAADA (South Asian American Digital Archive)}}</ref> Although "reluctant to sign her...because she was gawky and unkempt, a 'diamond in the rough,'"<ref name="nyobit" /> after some convincing by Ali, Webb offered her the opportunity to test with his band at a dance at [[Yale University]].<ref name="FrittsVail2003" />

Met with approval by both audiences and her fellow musicians, Fitzgerald was asked to join Webb's orchestra and gained acclaim as part of the group's performances at Harlem's [[Savoy Ballroom]].<ref name="FrittsVail2003" /> Fitzgerald recorded several hit songs, including "Love and Kisses" and "[[(If You Can't Sing It) You'll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini)]]".<ref name="FrittsVail2003" /> But it was her 1938 version of the nursery rhyme, "[[A-Tisket, A-Tasket]]", a song she co-wrote, that brought her public acclaim. "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" became a major hit on the radio and was also one of the biggest-selling records of the decade.{{sfn |Hemming |Hajdu |1991|p=97}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Robinson |first=Louie |date=November 1961 |title=First Lady of Jazz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=89YDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA131 |access-date=October 10, 2014 |magazine=[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]] |pages=131–132, 139 |volume=17 |issue=1 |issn=0012-9011}}</ref>

Webb died of [[spinal tuberculosis]] on June 16, 1939,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Otfinoski |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnXQSqTx2h0C&pg=PT251 |title=African Americans in the Performing Arts |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4381-2855-9 |page=251 |access-date=February 23, 2014}}</ref> and his band was renamed Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra, with Fitzgerald taking on the role of bandleader.<ref>{{Cite book |last=James |first=Edward T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WSaMu4F06AQC&pg=PA210 |title=Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary |last2=James |first2=Janet Wilson |last3=Boyer |first3=Paul S. |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-674-01488-6 |page=210 |access-date=February 23, 2014}}</ref> Ella and the band recorded for [[Decca Records|Decca]] and appeared at the [[Roseland Ballroom]], where they received national exposure on [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]] radio broadcasts.

She recorded nearly 150 songs with Webb's orchestra between 1935 and 1942. In addition to her work with Webb, Fitzgerald performed and recorded with the Benny Goodman Orchestra. She had her own side project, too, known as Ella Fitzgerald and Her Savoy Eight.{{sfn|Nicholson|2004|p=44}}