Ella Fitzgerald

Norman Granz took 28-year-old Ella Fitzgerald under his wing in 1946, enlisting the singer to take part in his Jazz At The Philharmonic all-star concert series. However, it was not until Granz signed Fitzgerald to his new Verve label, and set her working on a series of albums, each devoted to the works of the great American songwriters - Richard Rodgers and Duke Ellington among them - that her reputation became unassailable.

While a little of Cole Porter's archness was lost in Ella's translation, and not every Rodgers and Hart song proved worthy of her attention, her easygoing voice and George Gershwin's unmatchable melodies were simply made for each other.