“In Western Europe, as in the United States, 1968 was a year of student protests, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, and youth culture. In Fitzgerald’s European tour, starting January 27 and covering twenty countries in twenty-five days, the 'New Ella' was generating a drama all her own. A February 11 concert in the Deutschlandhalle, filmed for German national television, exploded with the creative energy that Berlin audiences seemed to evoke in her, matching the level of the fabled 'Mack the Knife' date in the same venue eight years before. Backed by the Tee Carson Trio and delivering some expected fare, including a great rendition of 'Summertime,' the New Ella moved squarely into soul territory for the finale, a risk-taking ten-minute expansion of Ray Charles’s global hit from 1962, 'I Can’t Stop Loving You.' The trio established the urgent, backbeat-heavy rhythm, then dropped out as Ella delivered a seductive, gospel-infused melisma. Then she stopped and looked back at her trio. Had they missed a cue? The audience was unsure how to respond. 'Soulsville!' she cried with playful irony. She and the band continued joking with each other, confident the audience would indulge her.
“Five minutes in, the band dropped out again, and Fitzgerald sang in a preaching church style with the drummer punctuating the end of each line:
“All I want is respect, in the morning.
In the evening,
Give it to me all night long, give me respect.”
