ELLA FITZGERALD & MARILYN MONROE - An Unlikely FRIENDSHIP

A NEW BOOK EXPLORES THE WARM RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THESE TWO ICONIC PERFORMERS

In the 1950s, Tiffany Club in Los Angeles' Wilshire district became the hottest place to catch jazz legends like Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald perform. One night in 1954, audience member Marilyn Monroe wrangled herself an introduction to the famed "Summertime" singer and it became the start of a beautiful friendship.

Can't We Be Friends, a new novel by historical fiction authors Denny S. Bryce and Eliza Knight, explores the decade-long bond between these two iconic women. "Marilyn was fascinated by Ella's talent, and so she came into the relationship already admiring her," says Knight. In fact, Marilyn and her second husband Joe DiMaggio's favorite love song was Ella's "Embraceable You."