A swinging bio of young Ella Fitzgerald, who pushed through the toughest of times to become one of America's most beloved jazz singers.
When Ella Fitzgerald danced the Lindy Hop on the streets of 1930s Yonkers, passersby said good-bye to their loose change. But for a girl who was orphaned and hungry, with raggedy clothes and often no place to spend the night, small change was not enough. One amateur night at Harlem's Apollo Theater, Ella made a discovery: the dancing beat in her feet could travel up and out of her mouth in a powerful song --and the feeling of being listened to was like a salve to her heart. With lively prose, Roxane Orgill follows the gutsy Ella from school-girl days to a featured spot with Chick Webb's band and all the way to her number-one radio hit "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." Jazzy mixed-media art by illustrator Sean Qualls brings the singer's indomitable spirit to life.

Dip into this collective biography of ten outstanding female singers of popular music in the twentieth century and meet some of the most remarkable women who've ever lived! Through intimate personal details and numerous photographs, interviews, and tidbits of little-known information, music critic Roxane Orgill brings to life ten "girl singers" and the decades in which they did their best work. Readers of Shout, Sister, Shout! will learn about the lives, the loves, and the music of SOPHIE TUCKER (1900s) MA RAINEY (1910s) BESSIE SMITH (1920s) ETHEL MERMAN (1930s) JUDY GARLAND (1940s) ANITA O'DAY (1950s) JOAN BAEZ (1960s) BETTE MIDLER (1970s) MADONNA (1980s) LUCINDA WILLIAMS (1990s) Writing in a friendly, readable style, Roxane Orgill has created a book of great distinction that will fascinate and inspire readers of all ages.