HARLEM (WHSV) – 91 years ago on the evening of Nov. 21, 1934, Ella Fitzgerald stepped onto the stage for Amateur Night at Harlem’s Apollo Theater.
Entering by chance, Fitzgerald — a native of Newport News, Virginia — meant to dance but switched to singing “The Object of My Affection.” After a shaky first try and encouragement from emcee Ralph Cooper, her second performance won the crowd and the contest when she was just 17 years old, according to History.com…