Sunday Spotlight

I feel the need to spotlight my favorite female singer of all time.

This is Ella Fitzgerald.

When I hear her singing, at the risk of sounding cheesy, I would say that it soothes my soul. The clearness and the range she had have no comparison for me. She could hit a high note with such beauty, it was never forced. And when she scats, I want to scat too.

To describe what kind of lady she was, I found these quotes by her:

"It isn't where you came from, it's where you're going that counts."
"Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong."
"The only thing better than singing is more singing."
"Some kids in Italy call me 'Mama Jazz'; I thought that was so cute. As long as they don't call me 'Grandma Jazz.'"
"Oh, I have gobs and gobs of ideas, but... well, you dream things like that, and that's what these are, you know—my day dreams."
"I sing like I feel."
"A lot of singers think all they have to do is exercise their tonsils to get ahead. They refuse to look for new ideas and new outlets, so they fall by the wayside... I'm going to try to find out the new ideas before the others do."
"I know I'm no glamour girl, and it's not easy for me to get up in front of a crowd of people. It used to bother me a lot, but now I've got it figured out that God gave me this talent to use, so I just stand there and sing."
"Coming through the years, and finding that I not only have just the fans of my day, but the young ones of today—that's what it means, it means it was worth all of it."
"Once, when we were playing at the Apollo, Holiday was working a block away at the Harlem Opera House. Some of us went over between shows to catch her, and afterwards we went backstage. I did something then, and I still don't know if it was the right thing to do—I asked her for her autograph."