Dinner is Served

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a State Dinner

Ella Fitzgerald singing with microphone (White House Photographic Office)

Ella Fitzgerald performs October 13, 1981, in the East Room during the state dinner for King Juan Carlos I of Spain. (White House Photographic Office)

Ella Fitzgerald performs October 13, 1981, in the East Room during the state dinner for King Juan Carlos I of Spain. (White House Photographic Office)

Ella Fitzgerald

Ronald Reagan holding Ella Fitzgerald’s hand with two hands (White House Photographic Office)

Ella Fitzgerald with President Ronald Reagan after performing for King Juan Carlos I of Spain at a state dinner October 13, 1981. (White House Photographic Office)

Ella Fitzgerald with President Ronald Reagan after performing for King Juan Carlos I of Spain at a state dinner October 13, 1981. (White House Photographic Office)

Don’t be nervous. The jazz singer delivered a performance fit for a king and queen when she sang for King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain in 1981 during the Reagan era. But even the “first lady of song” gets the jitters. White House Social Secretary Mabel “Muffie” Brandon Cabot told Vanity Fair magazine that Fitzgerald was warming up and said, “Honey, I can’t sing tonight, I’m so scared.” Cabot told her, “Miss Fitzgerald, you can do this.” And she did!

Ella Fitzgerald performs "Honeysuckle Rose" at the White House on October 13, 1981. (White House Communications Agency/NARA)

Ella Fitzgerald performs "Honeysuckle Rose" at the White House on October 13, 1981. (White House Communications Agency/NARA)

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