The late legendary singer Ella Fitzgerald, who was great and sang and performed with the great, would have been 96 and this week Google marked her birthday in its inimitable way.
But in 1969 there was one super-magical moment, captured on video tape, when Fitzgerald did a showstopping, vaudeville number with the star of vaudeville, nightclubs, movies, radio and later TV — and most assuredly in his final years before his stroke, Las Vegas. Jimmy Durante.
Just watch this number (young and old) and study how these two legends sell the song — infusing it with a musical punchiness, stage presence, and perfect execution of a classic duet. She could really sing. And Durante made the best of his voice but sold it with his legendary likeability and pizazz — and his great piano playing. This was done on the old Hollywood Palace (taped in L.A.) in an era when variety shows reigned supreme.
But watch it — and study it:
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.