The First Lady of Song

5003 people liked this video when I grabbed it. 27 disliked it. If we can get the names of the dislikers and send them to Mars, we will improve the Earth enormously and find suitable astronauts for the long haul at the same time, without having to worry too much about having them return. Win-win, if you ask me.



Ella Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917. To suggest that her voice was the greatest jazz instrument ever will cause most fans to not even bat an eye. In the clip above, she's shaking it up. How about going a little mellow?



At Grinwout's HQ, there are about a million Ella albums. But we have no compunctions about which to recommend: her Ella and Louis collaboration albums are required for all desert islands. Alone, go for the Cole Porter. If you need a big band, then it's her album with Duke Ellington. Then again there's the Joe Pass albums toward the end of her career. And of course—

Hell, we can't pick. There was never a bad one. We're going to need a bigger desert island.

Thank you, Ella, for all of it.
.