Ella Fitzgerald vs Janis Joplin
Two music prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Ella Fitzgerald | Janis Joplin | |
| Field | Music | Music |
| Sub-field | Composer | Composer |
| Born | 1917 | 1943 |
| Died | 1996 | 1970 |
| Country of birth | United States | United States |
| Star sign | Taurus | Capricorn |
Who they are
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 →
Janis Joplin
In June 1967, at the Monterey International Pop Festival in California, a twenty-four-year-old woman from Port Arthur, Texas, walked onto an outdoor stage with a psychedelic blues band called Big Brother and the Holding Company and sang "Ball and Chain" — a song originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton in 1952 — with such ferocity that the audience of 7,000 people went silent in the middle of the song before erupting at its close. Seated in the audience was Mama Cass Elliott of the Mamas and the Papas, one of the most commercially successful acts…
Full biography of Janis Joplin →
What they share
- Both are held here under Music.
- Same sub-field: Composer.
- Both born in United States.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- 26 years separate their births (1917 and 1943).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Ella Fitzgerald or Janis Joplin?
- Ella Fitzgerald. Ella Fitzgerald was born in 1917, Janis Joplin in 1943.
- What field is each of them in?
- Ella Fitzgerald is filed under Music (Composer). Janis Joplin is filed under Music (Composer).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.