I Shall Not Be Moved

It is not known who wrote the song and when, only that the lyrics stretch back to the slave era. It later became a song used for labour and civil rights movements, for resistance in general (via).

::: Ella Fitzgerald: I Shall Not Be Moved: LISTEN 

::: Johnny Cash: I Shall Not Be Moved: LISTEN

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Glory hallelujah, I shall not be moved 

Anchored in Jehovah, I shall not be moved 

Just like the tree that's planted by the waters 

I shall not be moved 

In His love abiding, I shall not be moved 

And in Him confiding, I shall not be moved 

Just like the tree that's planted by the water 

I shall not be moved  

I shall not be, I shall not be moved 

I shall not be, I shall not be moved 

Just like the tree that's planted by the waters 

I shall not be moved 

Though all Hell assail me, I shall not be moved 

Jesus will not fail me, I shall not be moved 

Just like the tree that's planted by the water 

I shall not be moved  

Though the tempest rages, I shall not be moved 

On the rock of ages, I shall not be moved 

Just like the tree that's planted by the water 

I shall not be moved 

I shall not be, I shall not be moved 

I shall not be, I shall not be moved 

Just like the tree that's planted by the water 

I shall not be moved 

I shall not be, I shall not be moved 

I shall not be, I shall not be moved 

Just like the tree that's planted by the water 

I shall not be moved  

lyrics via

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photographs of the amazing Ella Fitzgerald (Empire Room at Waldorf Astoria Hotel, N.Y., 30 March 1971, AP Photo/Ron Frehm) via and via 

Ella & Marilyn

"I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt…it was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub in the ’50s. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him - and it was true, due to Marilyn’s superstar status - that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard. After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman - a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it."
Ella Fitzgerald



In 1955, Marilyn Monroe approached Charlie Morrison, the owner of the Mocambo (1941-1958), a nightclub in West Hollywood frequented by celebrities (such as Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Errol Flynn, Charly Chaplin, Elizabeth Taylor, Henry Fonda, Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Marlene Dietrich, and many others), when she discovered that Ella Fitzgerald was not allowed to play in her (Monroe's) favourite nightclub. She promised him to attend every performance seated at the front table if he let Fitzgerald play. Morrison agreed, Monroe sat in the front row, and Fitzgerald never again had to play in a small, second-rate jazz club (via).



Marilyn Monroe, however, also seemed to owe something to Ella Fitzgerald. When jazz pianist and composer Hal Schaefer was hired as Monroe's vocal coach he told her to listen to Ella Fitzgerald. She became a fan of hers and the two became friends (via).



“In the very beginning, I told her to buy Ella Fitzgerald’s recording of Gershwin songs. And I ordered her to listen to it a hundred times.” “She wasn’t really into jazz when she came to me. But I told her: ‘Look, I’m going to be your guide. This is where we have to start: listening to the best female singer there is.’ ”
Hal Schaefer



Ella Fitzgerald YouTube Selection:

- It don't mean a thing (1974): WATCH/LISTEN
- This girl in love with you (1969): WATCH/LISTEN
- Hey Jude (1969): WATCH/LISTEN
- Girl from Ipanema (1965): WATCH/LISTEN
- Hard Day's Night (1965): WATCH/LISTEN

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photographs via and via and via and via

"Just a little impromptu thing"

Scat singing, a "vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all" that puts emphasis on rhythm rather than melody is a most difficult technique that requires highly developed skills and humour (via). With her vocal range spanning over three octaves, Ella Fitzgerald had both. Her first scat song was "Flying Home" (1945) which was a very symbolic title and referred to World War II. "Like much African American music, 'Flying Home' spoke differently to black and white audiences. Even as the song signalled the end of a conflict for most white veterans, their black counterparts knew that for them, a new battle was just beginning." 



Since the era of the Harlem Renaissance, African American's musical styles were commercialised by white musicians, club owners, or executives of record companies while black musicians "never got their share". Scat, in this context, could be seen as a reaction, as a statement to these conditions. "Tired of the lyrics that were given by the white music industry, scat singing might have been an ironical reaction to the many shallow swing songs that had been produced over the last decade. The art of scat singing in this context also bears resemblance to the artistic movement known as Dadaism" (Demetriou, 2008).



"I do not believe there's such a thing as a jazz singer." "Every pop singer is influenced a little by jazz, because it's our native folk art."
Mel Tormé

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (1917-1996), "Lady Ella", "Queen of Jazz" or the "First Lady of Song" explains jazz together with Melvin Howard Tormé (1925-1999), also known as "The Velvet Fog":

::: Here the most(!) wonderful introduction in jazz: WATCH/LISTEN/ENJOY

More scatting Ella:
::: One Note Samba (1969) watch
::: One Note Samba with Joe Pass (1975) watch



- Demetriou, R. (2008). Programmatic Presentations in the Songs of African American Female Singers. Norderstedt: GRIN
- photographs of Ella Fitzgerald via and via and via