The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation has appointed Evolution as its global licensing and brand management. The Foundation was established by the First Lady of Song in 1993 to help those in need.

The announcement was made by Richard D. Rosman, President and Chairman, Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation and Travis J. Rutherford, Partner/Chief Revenue Officer, Evolution.

“Ella Fitzgerald has touched audiences the world over with her singular voice, transcending all races, religions, and nationalities, and her passion to help families in need,” said Rutherford.

“To work with the Ella Fitzgerald Foundation to develop new licensing, marketing and promotional initiatives that will further the charitable legacy of Ella Fitzgerald and increase revenues to fund its philanthropic programs, is an incredible honour and we can’t wait to get started.”

13-time Grammy Award-winner and Recording Academy® Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Ella Fitzgerald is one of the most beloved and influential vocalists of all time.

She created and funded the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation to fulfill her desire to use her celebrity and success to help people of all races, cultures, and beliefs.

She hoped to make their lives more rewarding, and wanted to foster a love of reading, as well as a love of music. In addition, Ella worked to provide assistance to the at-risk and disadvantaged members of our communities.

The 100^th anniversary of Ella Fitzgerald’s birthday (April 25, 1917) is being celebrated throughout 2017 to April 2018 with multiple major initiatives around the world honouring her career and extraordinary legacy.  Her successes were hard-won and even more remarkable considering that Fitzgerald, a young black women, rose from a childhood scarred by poverty and abuse, to the greatest heights of success in a field dominated by white men, paving the way for other women to follow her inspiring example.

In Washington, D.C., a year-long exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History titled First Lady of Song: Ella Fitzgerald at 100, features awards, letters, sheet music and costumes from Fitzgerald’s archives as well as videos of her performances demonstrating the scope of her achievements and character.   The GRAMMY Museum® in Los Angeles also opened a new exhibit on April 25, titled Ella at 100: Celebrating the Artistry of Ella Fitzgerald.  Additionally, Fitzgerald’s Song Book recordings, widely considered her greatest achievement and a cornerstone of 20th century recorded popular music, are the focal point for the Great American Songbook Foundation’s recently opened exhibit, Ella Sings The Songbook, located in Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Ind.

Verve and UMe are celebrating Ella’s centennial with a slate of exciting releases throughout the year and into 2018 including the April 21 releases of 100 of her most popular songs available as a 4CD box set titled 100 Songs For A Centennial; and Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gershwin Song Books, a collaboration with Nelson Riddle released as a limited edition 6LP vinyl box set. Later in the year, all of Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong’s beloved duets, combining for the first time their Decca singles with three ageless Verve albums and bonus tracks, will be released as a 4CD/digital set titled Cheek To Cheek: The Complete Ella & Louis Duets.