Black Heritage Stamp Series: Ella Fitzgerald

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University of North Florida University of North Florida

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Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Stamp Collection Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Papers

1-10-2007

Black Heritage Stamp Series: Ella Fitzgerald Black Heritage Stamp Series: Ella Fitzgerald

United States Postal Service. Stamp Division

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Black Heritage Stamp Series: Ella Fitzgerald. 2007. Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Papers. University of North Florida. Thomas G. Carpenter Library. Special Collections and Archives. UNF Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/hurst_stamps/30

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AMERICAN COMMEMORATIVE CANCELLATIONS

Issue Date Colors January 10, 2007 Black, Cyan, Magenta,

Yellow, Yellow (PMS 115), First Day City Blue (PMS 550) New York, NY

Image Area (w x h) Artist 0.84 X 1.42 in. Paul Davis 31.336 x 36.068 mm New York, NY

Format Designer Pane of 20 (1 design) Ethel Kessler Bethesda, MD Plate Numbers

"P" followed by six Art Director single digits Ethel Kessler

Marginal Markings Typographer © 2006 USPS, plate Ethel Kessler position diagram,

header"BLACK Modeler HERITAGE" "30th IN A Joseph Sheeran SERIES," price, plate

numbers, biographical Manufacturing Proces text, barcodes, Offset/ Microprint proprietary notice, "USPS" USPS logo

Printer Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)

Engraver N/A

Ella Fitzgerald® licensed by CMG Worldwide, Indianapolis, IN.

© 2007 United States Postal Service (0701)

Ella Fitzgerald

As a child, Ella Fitzgerald made people laugh when she told them she was

going to be famous. She who laughs last, of course, laughs best: Fitzgerald

became a supremely talented figure on the American music scene of the

20th century.

Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia, and was

still very young when she moved with her mother to Yonkers, New York. In

1932, after her mother died, Ella went to live with her aunt in Harlem. By

the time she was 16, she was on her own, dancing on the street for tips.

Intending to show off her dancing skill, she entered an amateur competition

at the Apollo Theater in November of 1934. At the last minute, she decided

to sing instead, and was pronounced the winner. Not long after, at the

Harlem Opera House, she won another talent competition. Her success as

an amateur brought Fitzgerald to the attention of band leader and drummer

Chick Webb, who hired her to sing with his orchestra.

From such humble beginnings, great careers can be made. Over the years,

Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy Awards and many other honors, including the

National Medal of Arts, presented to her in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan.

She was one of five artists awarded Kennedy Center Honors in 1979. In

1989, the Society of Singers created an award for lifetime achievement,

called it the "Ella," and made her its first recipient.

By the time of her death in 1996, Fitzgerald had long been known as "the

first lady of song."

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AMERICAN COMMEMORATIVE PANELS

Ella Fitzgerald

ONE OF THE MOST distinctive and instantly

recognizable singers of both jazz and popular

tunes, Ella Fitzgerald was widely known as

"the first lady of song." Her extraordinary

vocal range and flexibility, combined with her

gift for pitch, rhythmic sense, and flawless

diction, made her a favorite of fans, song

writers, and other singers. In a recording

career spanning decades, there were

countless highlights.

In 1938, with band leader Chick Webb and

his orchestra, Fitzgerald had a number one hit

record with "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," a novelty

song she co-wrote with Van Alexander, based

on a child's rope-skipping rhyme. In this early

phase of her career, Fitzgerald showed her

mastery of swing music.

The song "Flying Home," recorded in the

autumn of 1945, is widely considered a

masterpiece of scat singing-the vocalizing of

nonsense syllables, often as if the singer were

an instrumental soloist. Ella's scat reflected

her growing interest in bebop, a jazz style that

improvised around chords and harmony, as

well as melody. Her recordings of songs like

"Lady Be Good" and "How High the Moon"

consolidated Fitzgerald's reputation as a jazz

singer; the latter title became one of her

signature tunes.

An early highlight among Fitzgerald's

several dozen albums was Ella Sings Gershwin,

recorded in 1950. The later George and Ira

Gershwin Songbaak is cited by many as one of

Fitzgerald's most special collections; her Duke

Ellington Sangboak also has many admirers.

Her collaborations on record with Louis

Armstrong, including Ella and Louis, were

among her most popular efforts.

Ella Fitzgerald continued to perform until

only a few years before her death, when

worsening health compelled her reluctant

retirement. She died at her home in Beverly

Hills, California, on June 15, 1996. Fans and

colleagues alike mourned the passing of this

beloved singer, of whom Ira Gershwin once

remarked, "I never knew how good our songs

were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them."

background, top le~. and bottom right: Ella Fitzgerald Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution; bottom left: Yale Collection of American literature, Beinecke Rare

Book and Manuscript library, used with permission of the Carl Van Vechten Trust; top right: Bob Parent/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images; Ella Fitzgerald® licensed by CMG Worldwide, Indianapolis, IN.

Stamps printed by Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU) / No. 782 in a series/ January 10, 2007 / Printed in U.S.A./© 2007 United States Postal Service

.::!!!J!!fl UNITEDST/J.TES IJ.iffi, POST/J.L SERVICE@

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© 2006 USPS

P1 11 '

P1 11

BlACK HERITAGE 30th IN A SERIES

PLATE CIIl POSITION~

P1 11

P1 11

.39 X 20

$7.80

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Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) (1917-1996) (1917-1996) (1917-1996) (1917-1996)

-- was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as --

iiiiii "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "1he first lady of song." Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal --.. = -0 "' -- range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, --o o-- - 6 ...J = combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift combined wi1h her gift o-- for pitch, rhythmic sense, for pitch, rflythmic sense, for pitch, rflythmic sense, for pitch, rflythmic sense, for pi1ch, rflythmic sense, -- "' 0- =" and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made -- her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers --

of jazz and popular tunes. of jazz and popular tunes. of jazz and popular tunes. of jazz and popular tunes. of jazz and popular tunes.


was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal

range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift

for pitch, rhythmic sense, for pitch, rflythmic sense, for pitch, rflythmic sense, for pitch, rhythmic sense, for pitch, rflythmic sense, and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made

her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers



was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal

range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift

for pitch, rhythmic sense, for pitch, rhythmic sense, for pitch, rhythmic sense, for pitch, rhythmic sense, for pitch, rflythmic sense, and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made

her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers

of jazz and popular tunes. of jazz and popular tunes. of jazz and popular tunes. of jazz and popular tunes. of jazz and popular tunts.


-- was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as was widely known as --

iiiiii "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "the first lady of song." "1he firs1 lady of song." --.. = Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal Her extraordinary vocal -0 a, -- range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, range and flexibility, --o o-- -- r-...J = combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift combined with her gift = o o-- for pitch, rflythmic sense, for pitch, rflythmic sense, for pitch, rflythmic sense, for pitch, rflythmic sense, for pitch, rhythmic sense, -- "' 0- = " -- and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made and flawless diction, made !!!!!!!!!! - her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's her one of America's -= most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers most distinctive singers


Ella Fitzgerald licensed by CMG Worldwide, Indianapolis, IN. i1lJ UNITED ST/lTES ~ POST/lL SERVICE.

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~ UNITED ST/JTES ~ POST/JL SERVICE.

FITZGERALD COMMEMORATIVE STAMP

PRELUDE JUILLIARD JAZZ ENSEMBLE

The Juilliard School

MASTER OF CEREMONIES NANCY WILSON

Song Stylist

NATIONAL ANTHEM/LIFT EVERY VOICE THE CHILDREN'S Arn SocIETY CHORUS

Peter Frost, Director of Music

INVOCATION REV. DR. CALVIN 0. BUTTS, III Abyssinian Baptist Church, New York, NY

WELCOME KATHERINE E. BROWN

Executive Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center

MUSICAL TRIBUTE To ELLA JENNIFER SANON

JONATHAN BATISTE

PHILLIP KING

JOE SAYLOR

Vocalist Piano Bass Drums

OFFICIAL STAMP DEDICATION DELORES KILLETTE

Vice President and Consumer Advocate, United States Postal Service

REMARKS PHOEBE JACOBS

Executive Vice President, Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation

RAY BROWN, JR.

Son of Ella Fitzgerald

CLOSING NANCY WILSON

FIRST DAY OF ISSUE CEREMONY January 10, 2007, 11 :00 a.m. The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center New York, NY

SPECIAL GUESTS VINNIE MALLOY

New York District Manager/Postmaster, United States Postal Service

BARBARA A. MCKINZIE

International President, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

PAUL DAVIS

Artist

SYLVIA H ARRIS

Member, Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee

JESSICA H ELSAND


MARUCHI SANTANA


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FITZGERALD

THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE honors Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer, and

Grammy Award winner with the 30th stamp in its popular Black Heritage commemorative stamp series.

ART DIRECTOR ETHEL KESSLER lauds the stamp portrait of Fitzgerald by illustrator Paul Davis of New York, for the way it captures the joy and excitement of Fitzgerald's music.

BORN APRIL 25, 1917, IN NEWPORT NEWS, VA, Fitzgerald was still very young when she moved with her mother to Yonkers, NY. From an early age, she loved to sing and dance. Although charmed by her performances, people laughed when she told them she was going to be famous. In 1932, after her mother died, she went to live with her aunt in Harlem. By the time she

was 16, she was on her own, dancing on the street for tips. In November 1934, Fitzgerald entered an amateur competition at the historic Apollo Theater to show off her dancing skills. At the last minute, she decided to sing instead and was named

the winner. Not long after that, at the Harlem Opera House, she won another talent competition.

OVER THE YEARS, Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy Awards and many other honors, including the National Medal of Arts, presented to her in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan. She was one of five artists awarded Kennedy Center Honors in 1979. In 1989, the Society of Singers created an award for lifetime achievement, called it the "Ella," and made her its first recipient.

MANY REMEMBER FITZGERALD as one of America's most distinctive singers of jazz and popular tunes and widely known as "The First Lady of Song."

Photograph: Ella Fitzgerald Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

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~ UNITEDST/J.TES ~ POST/J.L SERVICE

first day of issue ceremony

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Documents

Black Heritage Stamp Series: Ella Fitzgerald