Ella Fitzgerald vs Jimi Hendrix
Two music prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Ella Fitzgerald | Jimi Hendrix | |
| Field | Music | Music |
| Sub-field | Composer | Pop |
| Born | 1917 | 1942 |
| Died | 1996 | 1970 |
| Country of birth | United States | United States |
| Star sign | Taurus | Sagittarius |
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 →
Jimi Hendrix
The first instrument Jimi Hendrix ever played was a ukulele with a single string. He found it while helping his father clean out a house in Seattle in 1957, and he spent weeks working out the melody to "Honky Tonk Women" on that single string before his father relented and bought him a five-dollar acoustic guitar. He was fifteen years old, completely self-taught, and he could already hear in his head sounds that no existing guitarist had yet produced. Within four years, by his own account, he had listened to every blues record he could…
Full biography of Jimi Hendrix →
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 (1917 and 1942).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Ella Fitzgerald or Jimi Hendrix?
- Ella Fitzgerald. Ella Fitzgerald was born in 1917, Jimi Hendrix in 1942.
- What field is each of them in?
- Ella Fitzgerald is filed under Music (Composer). Jimi Hendrix is filed under Music (Pop).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.