THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 12, 1996 TAG: 9607100110
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 92 lines
Sidney C. Evans Jr. was on his way to eat breakfast at Waffletown on Saturday, June 15, when his beeper went off.
The 35-year-old longshoreman and former Chesapeake resident made the call and learned the sad news: The first lady of song, Newport News native Ella Fitzgerald, had died of diabetic complications at the age of 78.
For Evans, it was a shock and the loss of a lifelong friend.
He's president and founder of the Chesapeake-based Ella Fitzgerald Music Fan Club with members from all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America and elsewhere around the world.
``I knew she was in a bad way, but it still caught me off guard,'' Evans said from his Norfolk apartment. ``When she passed away, the music book closed, that's for sure.''
But he won't close the book on his organization, which publishes an Ella appreciation newsletter several times a year. It's just that its thrust will be a little different.
``I want to keep on educating people, especially young people, on the artistry, talent and beauty of Ella Fitzgerald,'' said Evans, who's also known as ``Ella's Fella.''
``She was, and still is through her recordings, an American treasure.''
The club's name will now change to the Ella Fitzgerald Legacy Society International.
Evans said it will continue to sing the praises of the woman who has literally entertained millions of fans over the years and all over the world through live performances, radio broadcasts, television, films and, of course, many recordings now on tape, vinyl and compact disk.
In fact, after Evans learned of his hero's death, he did the most natural thing a Fitzgerald fan could do. He went on the radio and played her songs.
WFOS-FM 88.7 broadcast instructor and station manager Dennis L. McCurdy immediately contacted Evans after he learned of Fitzgerald's death and invited him to join Annalisa Murden to help co-host her ``Saturday Bandstand.''
Undaunted, Evans accepted McCurdy's invitation and hauled hundreds of her recordings into the Cedar Road station for an intense four-hour Fitzgerald Fest. Evans said he tried to play as much of her music as time allowed.
``Gee, what didn't I bring in?'' he said about the recordings he brought along for the hastily arranged Saturday Fitzgerald tribute. ``You name it, I played it. But that just scratched the surface.''
And that's one thing that always makes Evans feel good: Fitzgerald left behind a huge recorded legacy spanning more than 60 years.
``She kept up with the times in terms of the songs she recorded and the types of recordings she made,'' Evans said. ``She went from wax to the CD era and never missed a beat. Many people were upset with Norman Ganz, her record producer, for keeping Ella in the recording studio so long and working her so much. But let's be glad he did. The result is a wealth of songs and records.''
And there's still stuff out there that even Evans hasn't heard yet.
To help console Evans, a French fan club member recently sent him a bunch of cassette recordings of live concerts Fitzgerald made in Europe with the Tommy Flanagan Trio and with Duke Ellington. Evans said he's grateful for the gift, one he'll play over and over again and include in his vast library of all things Ella.
Since Fitzgerald's death, Evans said he's been flooded with calls and letters from family and friends and from local and international club members.
``On that weekend, I was swamped with calls from all over the country,'' he said. ``I really appreciated them. I also talked with her people in California. They're supposed to send me a few of her original musical arrangements. I can't wait for those. You know I'm going to frame those and hang them up on my wall. And just the other day, another club member sent me autographs of Ella and Mel Torme.''
Those autographs and musical arrangements will join the hundreds of other newspapers, magazines, newsletters, advertisements, photographs, books, playbills, posters and other Fitzgerald memorabilia he has collected over the years.
He said he was only 16 when he first heard her sing on television one Sunday evening. Ever since then he's been ``Ella's Fella.''
``She has a voice like an instrument,'' he said about her in a recent newspaper article. ``No one can get as close to an instrument as she can.''
Evans said that in this day and age of hip-hop and what he calls ``rap-crap,'' his mission is as important as ever: to educate the uninformed to the rich musical legacy of Ella Fitzgerald.
He has several plans to help honor and spread the Fitzgerald magic.
``I plan to travel to the Brentwood (California) area to place flowers at her mausoleum,'' he said. ``I also plan to print up some memorial T-shirts and I want to raise and then donate money to the American Diabetes Society and help support the jazz vocal arts. And I'll keep on publishing my club newsletters.''
Evans said he's also planning a memorial show at Waterside and his return to WFOS on Sept. 29, which was planned many months ago, will now take on a special significance as he and McCurdy will spin more music in honor of the First Lady of Song.
``The lady was good, let me tell you,'' Evans said. ``The song was her.'' MEMO: For information on or to join the Ella Fitzgerald Legacy Society
International, write to Sidney C. Evans Jr., P.O. Box 1461, Chesapeake,
Va. 23327. by CNB