THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602160074
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARSHA GILBERT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
SIDNEY EVANS was a sixth-grader at Robert Gatewood Elementary School when he first heard about her during Black History Month.
A new world of music opened up to him one Sunday night when he actually heard her sing on ``The Ed Sullivan Show.'' It was a sound unlike any Evans had ever heard. That evening he fell in love with the voice of legendary songbird Ella Fitzgerald.
``She has a voice like an instrument,'' said Evans, now 34. ``No one can get as close to an instrument as she can.''
Since that first awakening, Evans has been reading and collecting all the material he can find on the Queen of Scat.
Evans, a Norfolk native, probably has one of the largest collections of memorabilia on Fitzgerald, with 150 compact discs, tapes and albums of her music. He also has hundreds of pictures and articles about his idol.
Three years ago, he decided to share all that information with other Ella lovers by forming the Ella Fitzgerald Music Fan Club. Of course, Evans is the president.
Six times a year, he mails a newsletter to more than 200 fan club members about the ``First Lady of Song.'' The mailing list includes names from across the United States, Canada and Europe.
Last week, on stage at Waterside, he paid homage to Fitzgerald in a second annual tribute.
``I just love her,'' said Evans. ``I want to share her with everybody.''
The stage was aglow with that love. Red balloons formed a 7-foot heart-shaped cluster. There was a collage of 97 photos of Fitzgerald at various ages, and reproductions of album covers and posters.
``I'm overjoyed to do anything for Ella,'' proclaimed Evans.
Evans works full time as a longshoreman hatch boss, supervising the unloading of ship containers.
But the full-time love for this divorced father of three is making sure the music of Ella Fitzgerald is remembered.
Fitzgerald retired after suffering from numerous health problems, said Evans. Her legs were amputated in 1994 because of complications from diabetes.
``When she retired, I wanted to do something to keep her name out there,'' Evans said. ``She did a lot for music. Kids need to know where the music came from.''
To keep her name out there at the recent tribute, Evans gave away 60 CDs and tapes that he bought, and 100 T-shirts that he paid to have printed. He has obtained letters of permission from Fitzgerald's attorney to reproduce her image on the shirts and newsletters.
``I won't sell them,'' Evans said. ``I'm not trying to make a living off of it.''
Evans doesn't keep track of how much he spends. Instead, he refers to his generous devotion as a hobby. The only money that he collects is the annual fan club membership fee of $5.
``I'm sharing her with everybody,'' said Evans.
The next best thing to having the queen herself perform at Sunday's Ellafest was to feature soloist Brenda E. Ash Livermon of Norfolk. Close you eyes and Livermon was Ella.
Memorable melodies like ``Over the Rainbow,'' ``My Funny Valentine'' and ``The Girl From Ipanema,'' were performed second only to Ella herself.
``Ella's music was always there,'' said Livermon, 47. ``It's part of me. I grew up on it.''
The singer and the band, Against All Odds, drew a local following.
``I came for the show,'' said Harriet Skinner, 48, of Hampton. ``I heard them perform before at different festivals.''
Reuben Gord, 58, also from Hampton, made the drive to hear Livermon's rendition of the classics.
``The first time I saw Ella was about 40 years ago,'' said Gord. ``She was with Dizzy Gillespie. I never heard anyone sing like her. She has such a wide range of octaves.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
An annual tribute in Norfolk organized by Sidney Evans pays homage
to Ella Fitzgerald.
by CNB