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Ella Fitzgerald
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Ella Fitzgerald won a talent contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem as a teenager in 1934. The drummer Chick Webb took her into his orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom, and in 1938 they had a big hit with A-Tisket, A-Tasket. Like many singers she had Louis Armstrong as an example; later she made three albums with him. In the 1940s she took over the language of bebop in her scat singing. For Norman Granz and his label Verve she recorded, from 1956, the songbooks of songs by the great American composers. On Ella in Berlin (1960) she forgot the words of Mack the Knife and improvised new ones.
Listening
Listening tip. Listen to the scat: she sings like a horn player, with fast lines and quotations from other songs.
A-Tisket, A-Tasket · Ella Fitzgerald, 1938
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye · Ella Fitzgerald, 1956
How High the Moon (live in Berlijn) · Ella Fitzgerald, 1960
Discography
Studio albums
- 1949Souvenir Album
- 1950Ella Sings Gershwin
- 1954Ella-Songs in a Mellow Mood
- 1955Lullabies of Birdland
- 1955Sweet and Hot
- 1956Ella and Louis
- 1956Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book
- 1956Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book
- 1957Ella and Her Fellas
- 1957Ella and Louis Again
- 1957Ella and Louis Again, Volume Two
- 1957Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
- 1957Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
- 1957Like Someone in Love
- 1957Porgy & Bess
- 1958Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book
- 1958The First Lady of Song
- 1959Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book
- 1959Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Song Book, Vol. 2
- 1959Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Song Book, Volume 1
- 1959Ella Swings Lightly
- 1959Get Happy!
- 1959Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers
- 1960Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
- 1960Hello Love
- 1960Let No Man Write My Epitaph
- 1961Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!
- 1961Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book
- 1962Ella Swings Gently With Nelson
- 1963Ella and Basie!
- 1963Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook
- 1963Ella Sings Broadway
- 1963These Are the Blues
- 1964Hello, Dolly!
- 1965Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book
- 1966Ella at Duke’s Place
- 1966Whisper Not
- 1967Brighten the Corner
- 1967Ella Fitzgerald’s Christmas
- 196830 by Ella
- 1968Misty Blue
- 1969Ella
- 1971Things Ain’t What They Used to Be (and You Better Believe It)
- 1972Ella Loves Cole
- 1974Take Love Easy
- 1976Ella and Oscar
- 1976Fitzgerald and Pass… Again
- 1978“Fine and Mellow”: Ella Fitzgerald Jams
- 1978Dream Dancing: Ella Fitzgerald & Cole Porter
- 1978Lady Time
- 1978The George And Ira Gershwin Songbook
- 1981Ella Abraça Jobim: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Song Book
- 1982A Classy Pair
- 1982The Best Is Yet to Come
- 1983Nice Work If You Can Get It
- 1983Speak Love
- 1986“Easy Living”
- 1989All That Jazz
- 1993Ella Swings Brightly With Nelson
- 1993I Love Paris
- 1993Jazz Portraits Ella Fitzgerald
- 1996How High the Moon
- 1997Sings Christmas
- 1998Lullabies of Birdland / Sweet and Hot
- 1998That Old Black Magic
- 1999One O’Clock Jump
- 1999Rhythm Is My Business
- 2002I Want To Be Happy
- 2005All My Life
- 2007Sings Cole Porter
- 2008Ella & Louis (and Oscar Too)
- 2008Miss Ella’s Playhouse
- 2012This is Christmas
- 2016Jazz at the Philharmonic: The Ella Fitzgerald Set
- 2022The Secret of Christmas
- 2023Bing & Ella
- 2023Ella Sings the Blues
- 2024The Christmas Songs
- 2025Jukebox Ella: The Complete Verve Singles, Volume 2
- ?Cryin' Mood
- ?Ella Et Louis
- ?Ella Fitzgerald Christmas
- ?It Ain't Over...
Other work
- 1938A-Tisket, A-Tasket · with Chick Webb
- 1960Ella in Berlin
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Jazz MapNL Map
- Mixtape 5: Jazz FestivalNL Reader
- After Hours: Session 1NL Reader
- After Hours: Session 2NL Reader
- After Hours: Session 4NL Reader
- Magazine: Van Bessie tot EllaNL Magazine
Mentioned in other articles
- Vocal jazz Genre
Ella Fitzgerald combined a clear timbre with virtuosic scat and, between 1956 and 1964, recorded a series of songbooks for Verve with songs by Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and others.