Between 1935 and 1955, American singer Ella Fitzgerald was signed to Decca Records. Her early recordings as a featured vocalist were frequently uncredited. Her first credited single was 78 RPM recording "I'll Chase the Blues Away" with the Chick Webb Orchestra. Fitzgerald continued recording with Webb until his death in 1939, after which the group was renamed Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra. With the introduction of 10" and 12" Long-Playing records in the late 1940s, Decca released several original albums of Fitzgerald's music and reissued many of her previous single-only releases. From 1935 to the late 1940s Decca issued Ella Fitzgerald's recordings on 78rpm singles and album collections, in book form, of four singles that included eight tracks. These recordings have been re-issued on a series of 15 compact disc by the French record label Classics Records between 1992 and 2008.
In 1956 Ella Fitzgerald signed with Verve Records, the Norman Granz record label. Fitzgerald recorded with Verve until the mid-1960s. Included in this era were a series of eight Song Book albums, with interpretations of the greater part of the Great American Songbook, with songs from the pens of Cole Porter (1956), Rodgers & Hart (1956), Duke Ellington (1957), Irving Berlin (1958), George and Ira Gershwin (1959), Harold Arlen (1961), Jerome Kern (1963) and Johnny Mercer (1964). Ella Fitzgerald released many stand alone singles throughout her Verve years. These were re-issued in 2003 on the 2-CD set, .
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw Fitzgerald release albums on several major record labels, including three albums on Capitol Records and two on the Reprise Records label. In 1972 Norman Granz formed Pablo Records, the label continued to release Ella Fitzgerald's albums up until her last recorded album All That Jazz in 1989.
In recent years the Ella Fitzgerald back catalogue has continued to grow, this includes complete albums of previously unreleased live material and alternative recordings from her studio sessions.
| Title | Album Details | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ella Sings Gershwin |
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| Songs in a Mellow Mood |
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| Lullabies of Birdland |
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| For Sentimental Reasons |
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| Miss Ella Fitzgerald & Mr Gordon Jenkins Invite You to Listen and Relax |
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| Sweet and Hot |
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| Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues (with Peggy Lee) |
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| Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book |
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| Ella and Louis (with Louis Armstrong) |
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| Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Song Book |
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| Ella and Louis Again (with Louis Armstrong) |
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| Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (with Duke Ellington) |
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| Ella and Her Fellas |
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| Like Someone in Love |
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| One O'Clock Jump (with Count Basie and Joe Williams) |
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| Ella Swings Lightly |
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| Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book |
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| Porgy and Bess (with Louis Armstrong) |
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| Hello, Love |
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| Get Happy! |
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| Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers |
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| Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book |
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| Title | Album Details | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas |
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| Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" |
| Later re-issued as The Intimate Ella with no differences. | |
| Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook |
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| Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! |
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| Rhythm Is My Business |
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| Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson |
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| Ella Swings Gently with Nelson |
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| Ella Sings Broadway |
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| Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Song Book |
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| Ella and Basie! (with Count Basie) |
| Later re-issued as Ella and Basie!: On the Sunny Side of the Street with no differences. | |
| These Are the Blues |
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| Ella and Basie! On the Sunny Side of the Street (with Count Basie) |
| Re-issue of the album Ella and Basie! with no differences. | |
| Hello, Dolly! |
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| Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Song Book |
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| Ella at Duke's Place (with Duke Ellington) |
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| Whisper Not |
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| Brighten the Corner |
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| Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas |
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| 30 By Ella |
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| Misty Blue |
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| Ella |
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| Title | Album Details | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Things Ain't What They Used to Be (And You Better Believe It) |
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| Ella Loves Cole |
| Later re-issued as Dream Dancing with two more tracks. | |
| Take Love Easy (with Joe Pass) |
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| Ella and Oscar (with Oscar Peterson) |
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| Fitzgerald and Pass... Again (with Joe Pass) |
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| Lady Time |
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| Dream Dancing |
| Re-issue of the album Ella Loves Cole with two more tracks. | |
| Fine and Mellow |
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| A Classy Pair (with Count Basie) |
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| Title | Album Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ella Abraça Jobim Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Song Book |
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| The Best Is Yet to Come |
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| Speak Love (with Joe Pass) |
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| Nice Work If You Can Get It: Ella Fitzgerald and André Previn Do Gershwin (with André Previn) |
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| Easy Living (with Joe Pass) |
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| All That Jazz |
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| The Intimate Ella |
| Re-issue of the album Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs From The Soundtrack Of "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" with no differences. |
The albums are sorted by release date.
| Title | Album Details | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jazz At The Hollywood Bowl |
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| Ella Fitzgerald And Billie Holiday At Newport |
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| Ella At The Opera House |
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| Ella In Berlin: Mack The Knife |
| Later re-issued as with additional tracks. | |
| Ella In Hollywood |
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| Ella At Juan-Les-Pins |
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| Ella In Hamburg |
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| Duke & Ella In Concerto (with Duke Ellington) |
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| Ella And Duke At The Cote D'Azur (with Duke Ellington) |
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| Sunshine Of Your Love |
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| Jazz At Santa Monica Civic '72 |
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| Newport Jazz Festival: Live At Carnegie Hall, July 5, 1973 |
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| Ella In London |
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| Ella Fitzgerald And Her Orchestra Live From The Roseland Ballroom, 1940 |
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| Ella Fitzgerald At The Montreux Jazz Festival 1975 |
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| Montreux '77 (with the Tommy Flanagan Trio) |
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| Digital III At Montreux |
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| A Perfect Match (with Count Basie) |
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| Ella À Nice |
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| Return To Happiness: Jazz At The Philharmonic, Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo, 1983 |
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| The Stockholm Concert, 1966 (with Duke Ellington) |
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| Ella In Rome: The Birthday Concert |
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| The Greatest Jazz Concert In The World (with Duke Ellington) |
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| Ella Returns To Berlin |
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| Re-issue of the album Ella In Berlin: Mack The Knife with additional tracks. | ||
| Ella Fitzgerald With The Tommy Flanagan Trio |
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| Ella Fitzgerald In Budapest |
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| Sophisticated Lady (with Joe Pass) |
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| Live At Mister Kelly's |
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| Twelve Nights In Hollywood |
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| Ella In Japan: 'S Wonderful |
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| Live in Paris, Vol. 1 (May 8 – October 7, 1957) |
| Previously unreleased live recordings, released over 3 volumes, from a series of concerts recorded between 1957 and 1962 at the Paris Olympia. | Previously unreleased live recordings, released over 3 volumes, from a series of concerts recorded between 1957 and 1962 at the Paris Olympia. |
| - | Live in Paris, Vol. 2 (May 1, 1958; February 23 & 29, 1960) |
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| - | Live in Paris, Vol. 3 (February 28 & March 11, 1961; March 16, 1962) |
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| Ella At Zardi's |
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| Previously unreleased live concert recording from Berlin, Germany, 1962. | ||
| Live In East Berlin 1967 |
| Previously unreleased live concert recording from Friedrichstadt-Palast, 1967 |
The albums are sorted by release date.
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US A/C | UK [5] | US R&B | GER | US Cou. | |||
| 1936 | "All My Life" (with Teddy Wilson) | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Sing Me a Swing Song (and Let Me Dance)" (with Chick Webb) | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "My Melancholy Baby" (with Teddy Wilson) | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "(If You Can't Sing It) You'll Have To Swing It" (with Chick Webb) | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1937 | "Goodnight My Love" (with Benny Goodman) | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Dedicated to You" (with The Mills Brothers) | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Big Boy Blue" (with The Mills Brothers) | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "If You Ever Should Leave" | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "All Over Nothing At All" | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1938 | "Rock It for Me" (with Chick Webb) | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "I Got a Guy" (with Chick Webb) | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" (with Chick Webb) | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Found My Yellow Basket" (with Chick Webb) | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Wacky Dust" (with Chick Webb) | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "MacPherson Is Rehearsin' to Swing" (with Chick Webb) | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "F.D.R. Jones" (with Chick Webb) | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1939 | "Undecided" (with Chick Webb) | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)" (with Chick Webb) | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Chew, Chew, Chew (Your Bubble Gum)" (with Chick Webb) | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Want the Waiter (With the Water)" | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "My Wubba Dolly" | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1940 | "The Starlit Hour" | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Sing Song Swing" | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Imagination" | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Sugar Blues" | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Shake Down the Stars" | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Five O'Clock Whistle"[6] | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1941 | "Louisville K.Y." | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Hello Ma | I Done It Again" | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "The Muffin Man" | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1943 | "My Heart and I Decided" (with The Keys) | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | |
| 1944 | "Cow-Cow Boogie" (with The Ink Spots) | 10 | — | — | 1 | — | — | |
| "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" | 27 | — | — | — | — | 2 | ||
| "Once Too Often" | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I'm Making Believe" (with The Ink Spots) | 1 | — | — | 2 | — | — | ||
| "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" (with The Ink Spots) | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | ||
| 1945 | "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "I'm Beginning to See the Light" (with The Ink Spots) | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "It's Only a Paper Moon" | 9 | — | — | 4 | — | — | ||
| 1946 | "The Frim Fram Sauce" (with Louis Armstrong) | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | |
| "You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)" (with Louis Armstrong) | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Stone Cold Dead in the Market (He Had It Coming)" (with Louis Jordan) | 7 | — | — | 1 | — | — | ||
| "Petootie Pie" (with Louis Jordan) | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | ||
| "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1947 | "That's My Desire" | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | |
| "Guilty" | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1948 | "My Happiness" | 6 | — | — | 8 | — | — | |
| "Tea Leaves" | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "It's Too Soon to Know" | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | ||
| 1949 | "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (with Louis Jordan) | 9 | — | — | 6 | — | — | |
| 1950 | "Can Anyone Explain (No, No, No)" (with Louis Armstrong) | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "I'll Never Be Free" (with Louis Jordan) | — | — | — | 7 | — | — | ||
| 1951 | "Smooth Sailing" | 23 | — | — | 3 | — | — | |
| 1952 | "Trying" | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Walkin' By the River" | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1953 | "Crying in the Chapel" | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1954 | "Melancholy Me" | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "I Need" | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956 | "A Beautiful Friendship" | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1958 | "The Swinging Shepherd Blues" | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | |
| 1959 | "But Not for Me" | — | — | 25 | — | — | — | |
| 1960 | "Mack the Knife" | 27 | — | 19 | 6 | — | — | |
| "How High the Moon (Part 1)" | 76 | — | 46 | — | — | — | ||
| 1961 | "Mr. Paganini (You'll Have to Swing It)" | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1962 | "Desafinado (Slightly Out of Tune)" | — | — | 38 | — | — | — | |
| "Stardust Bossa Nova" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963 | "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1964 | "Hello, Dolly!" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Can't Buy Me Love" | — | — | 34 | — | 24 | — | ||
| 1965 | "Ringo Beat" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1968 | "I Taught Him Everything He Knows" | — | 22 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1969 | "Get Ready" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||