Google Doodle honors jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald

Thursday's Google Doogle raises its voice for the late, great jazz singer.

Ella Fitzgerald as portray in a Google Doogle.

Jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald would've been 96 years old on Thursday, prompting Google to commemorate the date with its latest Doodle.

Known as the "First Lady of Song" and the "Queen of Jazz," Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, and grew up to become one of the world's most celebrated jazz singers, typically ranked at one of the top three female jazz singers of all time along with Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan. "Lady Ella" sang professionally for more than 50 years, selling more than 40 million albums and winning 13 Grammy awards.

Her repetoire included tunes by Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, George and Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, and Rodgers and Hart. Fitzgerald also recorded with fellow jazz great Louis Armstrong and sang with such renowned bandleaders as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Dizzy Gillespie.

She was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush. Fitzgerald passed away on June 15, 1996, in Beverly Hills.

Thursday's Google Doogle portrays the jazz legend in a familiar place -- on stage under the spotlight cozying up to the microphone to wow the audience with her silky voice.

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