The story behind puzzle No. 56
Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb and His Orchestra · Single · Decca · 1938
A children's rhyme about a lost basket became a number one hit for a young Ella Fitzgerald, singing with Chick Webb's band.
Ella Fitzgerald recorded A-Tisket, A-Tasket with Chick Webb's orchestra on May 2, 1938. Decca released it in June 1938.
It reached number one on Billboard's sheet music and record charts and on Your Hit Parade, and it became a jazz standard.
A-Tisket, A-Tasket was a children's rhyming game, noted in the United States as early as 1879.
Fitzgerald and arranger Al Feldman, later known as Van Alexander, extended and dressed up the rhyme into a swinging jazz piece.
Listen to how lightly Fitzgerald sings, playful and perfectly in time, with the band answering her lines.
Chick Webb led the band from the drums, and his crisp, bouncing beat keeps the whole record moving.
Who's on it
Keep listening
Hear how far Fitzgerald traveled with Mack the Knife (puzzle No. 47), recorded live in Berlin 22 years later.
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