Edition: Paperback, 1995

Description: 368 Pages

REVIEWS:
"One of the very best biographies of any great American singer ever published.... Stuart Nicholson's long-awaited book is everything we could have hoped a biography could be-thoroughly researched and revelatory about her personal and professional lives. Equally important, Nicholson is a fine writer and critic, with a keen musical sense that allows him to evaluate all the many milestones in Ella's oceanic recorded output. His fresh appreciation of Ella's music will be eagerly devoured by all lovers of great songs and great singing."
-Will Friedwald, author of Jazz Singing

"Meticulously researched ... most revealing, too. Just to state that this book is a full account of this splendid lady's life and times barely hints at the depth and detail which the indefatigable Nicholson has unearthed."
-Crescendo

"Excellent ... [Nicholson] avidly communicates the luminosity and swing of the Fitzgerald sound, the joyful virtuosity of her live performances, the pitch-perfect agility of her scat-singing, and the esteem she inspired in colleagues and listeners."
-The Seattle Times

"Nicholson is both a solid writer and a fairly objective observer of Fitzgerald's career. [He] knows Fitzgerald's work thoroughly and passes critical judgment on the singer's long career from a position of genuine affection for her huge talent."
-The Jazz Report

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DESCRIPTION:
The life of the very private and media-shy Ella Fitzgerald has long been shrouded in a mixture of half-truths and fiction. What emerges in Stuart Nicholson's groundbreaking biography is a remarkable story of a poor black girl's determination to realize the American Dream in the face of racial and sexual prejudice. She succeeded, and is now the definition of "jazz singer" to millions, one of the greatest of all jazz musicians. In this fullest account ever of her life, Nicholson draws on fresh research and interviews with Ella's friends and colleagues. Supplemented by Phil Schaap's authoritative discography, Ella Fitzgerald is a rich and revealing portrait of one of the most popular American singers in history.

BIOGRAPHY:
Stuart Nicholson's books include Jazz: The 1980s Resurgence (also available from Da Capo /Perseus Books Group) and Billie Holiday. He lives in England.