Judith Tick News Today

February is Black History Month and to mark the occasion, we’ve put together a list of media that celebrate the achievements of Black artists.

Born in 1917 in Virginia, Ella Fitzgerald carved Cole Porters and Harold Arlens and Johnny Mercers songs into history. She will be remembered for that for as long as people have ears.

Music instinctively is coded with messages of hope and resilience, joy and humor, and the transformative power to love, respect, honor, and assist. Music unfurls our vulnerability, selflessness, and exceptional

Judith Ticks Becoming Ella Fitzgerald corrects much of the public’s understanding of the First Lady of Song, necessarily expanding the cultural memory.

Our picks for the month include a Barbra Streisand memoir, a biography of Ella Fitzgerald, and a reexamination of Revolutionary War hero-turned-traitor Benedict Arnold.

Stan Woodard talks with Executive Director of the Black Public Defender Association Alaina Bloodworth; In the second half, Professor Emerita of music history at Northeastern University Judith Tick joins us to talk about her new book, "Becoming Ella Fitzgerald - The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song."

It won’t surprise PopMatters readers that many of our best books of 2023 are excavations of our increasingly clamorous culture. It wasn’t a year for escapism.

In the mid-1930s, “girl singers” were a novelty on the airwaves and recordings. In live performances, they were recruited as much for their sex appeal as the quality of their

'Becoming Ella Fitzgerald,' by Judith Tick, is the first full biography of the multifaceted singer since her death — and captures her tireless evolution.

In A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Henry David Thoreau described friendship: “They cherish each other’s hopes. They are kind to each other’s dreams.”  So much beautiful music has come to the world through the mutual encouragement of friends. In this post, we will explore some historic friendships in classical music, when great...