What a beautiful tribute to Ella! I remember learning "Who Fed the Chickens" in elementary school. This was a great tale about how integral music is to the movemen. Music helps shapes and push the movement that was taking place during the time it was created. Music is so needed and important, but more importantly, is the store, triumphsm and journey of those who created it.

I live in Chicago and when my son was younger, we used to go see children's concerts with Ella Jenkins. Her style of engaging with the audience (kids and adults) based on call and response was very engrossing and helped instill a love of music in all listeners. In reading this book, I learned so much more about her life - the fact that she grew up in Bronzeville, performed at the Regal Theater (among many greats), etc. What I did not know is that she excelled at ping-pong and was the top female player. Another cool fact is she worked for a time at Wrigley's chewing gum factory at 31st and Ashland. Her mother was a Christian Scientist and when Ella's father died she tried to pray at one of their churches, but in a racist response, they would not let her. In the mid 1950's she played at Gate of Horn here in Chicago (opened by Albert Grossman - who was Dylan's manager among others). She ended up rejecting him as her manager because he viewed music as a path to enrichment whereas she viewed it as a path to self fulfilment. Grossman took the news badly and told her she would be a failure. She met Billie Holiday and Odetta. She worked with Moe Ash (who often neglected to pay her royalties owed to her)' In 1961, she met her life partner, who also became her manager. She was in a loving relationship with her until Ella died. This book was such a great and interesting read about a remarkable woman. I wish I had known more about her because I would have gone to more concerts with her! I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and University of Chicago Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.