Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book “I Get a Kick Out of You”, “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)”, “Night and Day”
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book – includes “Cheek to Cheek”, “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, “Blue Skies”
Songs in a Mellow Mood (1954). Examples include “Someone to Watch Over Me”, “My Heart Belongs to Daddy”, “Stardust”, “Nice Work If You Can Get It”
Dream Dancing) – features a Cole Porter set including “I Get a Kick Out of You”, “Love for Sale”, “Just One of Those Things”, “Anything Goes”
Ella Fitzgerald’s Noteworthy Duet Albums & Collaborations
1. Duets with Louis Armstrong
Ella and Louis (1956): Her first studio duet album with Louis Armstrong, backed by the Oscar Peterson Quartet—a classic pairing featuring tracks like “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” and “Cheek to Cheek.”
Ella and Louis Again (1957): A mix of twelve vocal duets alongside seven solo tracks by either artist. Highlights include “Autumn in New York” and “Don’t Be That Way.”
Porgy and Bess (1959): A suite from the Gershwin opera with only a few true vocal duets, including “Summertime”, paired with orchestral arrangements by Russell Garcia.
Piano-Only Duets
“Someone to Watch Over Me”, “I’ve Got a Crush on You”), collaborations with Paul Smith (“Miss Otis Regrets”), a live recording with Tommy Flanagan (“Somewhere in the Night”), and later tracks with Oscar Peterson (“Mean to Me”, “How Long Has This Been Going On?”, “April in Paris”).
The song “Blue Skies” performed by Ella Fitzgerald was recorded on March 18, 1958 during the sessions for Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Song Book. However, it was not included on the original release of that album—it was eventually issued on her 1959 album Get Happy!
| Piece / Album Title | Release Date / Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| “(If You Can’t Sing It) You’ll Have to Swing It” | October 29, 1936 | Early recording; became a live staple |
| “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” | 1938 | Breakthrough hit with Chick Webb Orchestra |
| For Sentimental Reasons (album) | 1955 | Decca album of earlier single recordings |
| Cole Porter Song Book | 1956 | First in the famed Songbook series |
| Rodgers & Hart Song Book | 1956 | Same year as the Cole Porter installment |
| Duke Ellington Song Book | 1957 | Part of the Songbook saga |
| Irving Berlin Song Book | 1958 | Continuing the Songbook series |
| Gershwin Song Book | 1959 | With Nelson Riddle arrangement |
| Get Happy! (album) | 1959 | Studio album with multiple arrangers |
| Hello, Love (album) | 1959 | Another notable Verve release |
| Harold Arlen Song Book | 1961 | Songbook installments continue |
| Jerome Kern Song Book | 1963 | Part of songbook collection |
| Johnny Mercer Song Book | 1964 | Finale of original Songbook series |
all songs are before 1965 are in public domain