Aretha Franklin vs Ella Fitzgerald
Two music prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Aretha Franklin | Ella Fitzgerald | |
| Field | Music | Music |
| Sub-field | Rock | Composer |
| Born | 1942 | 1917 |
| Died | 2018 | 1996 |
| Country of birth | United States | United States |
| Star sign | Aries | Taurus |
Who they are
Aretha Franklin
There are voices, and then there is Aretha Franklin. Born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Aretha Louise Franklin possessed something that cannot be taught, manufactured, or replicated — a raw, torrential instrument that transformed every room it entered. By the time she was twelve years old, singing in her father's New Bethel Baptist Church, gospel insiders already whispered that they were witnessing something singular. By the time she was twenty-five, the entire world had no choice but to agree.
Full biography of Aretha Franklin →
Ella Fitzgerald
On the night of November 21, 1934, a seventeen-year-old girl walked onto the stage of the Apollo Theater in Harlem for Amateur Night and froze. She had entered intending to dance — she was a known dancer among her friends in Yonkers — but when she looked out at the audience, something failed. She stood there, in a dress borrowed from a friend, in shoes that didn't fit, before an audience that was already restless. Then she opened her mouth and sang. The audience went quiet. She won first place. The bandleader Chick Webb heard…
Full biography of Ella Fitzgerald →
What they share
- Both are held here under Music.
- Both born in United States.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- 25 years separate their births (1942 and 1917).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Aretha Franklin or Ella Fitzgerald?
- Ella Fitzgerald. Aretha Franklin was born in 1942, Ella Fitzgerald in 1917.
- What field is each of them in?
- Aretha Franklin is filed under Music (Rock). Ella Fitzgerald is filed under Music (Composer).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.