【美国人物志】艾拉·费兹杰拉（3/5）

英语自学网

艾拉·费兹杰拉，爵士三女伶之一的急智歌后，被誉为「爵士第一夫人」。艾拉曾赢得13个葛莱美奖，并分别被前美国总统里根和乔治·H·W·布什颁赠国家艺术勋章和总统自由勋章。
Hints:
Norman Granz
Ella Fitzgerald
"Mack the Knife”
Norman Granz
"Songbooks"
Cole Porter
Irving Berlin
Duke Ellington
Jerome Kern
Johnny Mercer
Harold Arlen
George
Ira Gershwin
"I Got Rhythm"

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In 1949, jazz musician Norman Granz invited her to join his band. It was with his band in Berlin, Germany in 1960 that Ella sang a famous song in a very different way. A man asked her if she knew the song "Mack the Knife.” Ella said she had heard it a few times but the band did not have the music for it. She said she would try to sing it anyway. This recording shows how she continued to sing "Mack the Knife" when she did not remember the words. The people listening loved it.
Norman Granz later became her manager. He started a new recording company just for her. It was his idea for Ella to record the now famous series of record albums called the "Songbooks". On each record, she sang works of a different songwriter. She recorded songbooks of the music of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen. Critics say the best songbook is Ella singing the songs of George and Ira Gershwin. Ira Gershwin reportedly said: "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard Ella Fitzgerald sing them. Here, she sings the Gershwin song, "I Got Rhythm".