When Chick Webb first met Ella Fitzgerald in 1934, she was a shy, ungainly 16 year old girl. Over a career that would span nearly 6 decades, she would establish herself as jazz royalty; The first Lady of Song.
At the pair’s first meeting, Webb was reportedly underwhelmed by Fitzgerald’s shabby appearance. All that changed when she started singing. Over the next couple of years Ella would become the main draw of the Chick Webb Orchestra. Here they are with Lady Ella’s first big hit, A Tisket A Tasket, from 1938.
There was no such thing as the Billboard “Charts” back then, but this song was number one on the Billboard Sheet Music and Record-Buying Guide.
Ella performed this song in the Abbott and Costello film Ride Em Cowboy in 1942. See the clip here.