Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
Studio album by
Ella Fitzgerald
Released1960
RecordedJuly 15 – August 5, 1960
Genre
Length34:00 (original 1960 release)
52:14 (2002 CD release)
LabelVerve
ProducerNorman Granz
Ella Fitzgerald chronology
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book
(1959) 		Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
(1960) 		Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from the Soundtrack of "Let No Man Write My Epitaph"
(1960)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[3]

Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas is a 1960 album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, recorded in the summer of 1960, with a studio orchestra arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol. The tracks are all secular Christmas seasonal songs, in contrast to her second Christmas album released in 1967.

It is Fitzgerald's only Verve complete album of Christmas tunes. Verve had issued a 7" 45rpm single in 1959, featuring "The Christmas Song" with "The Secret of Christmas" on the B-side; both were recorded with Russ Garcia and His Orchestra in September 1959. The album has been reissued several times and there have been variations to the sleeve's artwork.

Track listing

Original 1960 vinyl issue

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jingle Bells"J.S. Pierpont2:21
2."Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
2:56
3."Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
2:56
4."What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"Frank Loesser3:32
5."Sleigh Ride"
2:56
6."The Christmas Song"
3:00
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Good Morning Blues"
3:15
8."Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"
2:43
9."Winter Wonderland"
2:16
10."Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"Johnny Marks2:51
11."Frosty the Snowman"
2:12
12."White Christmas"Irving Berlin3:02
Total length:34:00

2002 CD release

Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)NotesLength
13."The Secret of Christmas"
Released in 1959, 7" single, B-side2:45
14."Medley: We Three Kings of Orient Are/O Little Town of Bethlehem"John Henry Hopkins/
Released in UK 1960, 7" single, A-side3:35
15."Christmas Island"Lyle L. MoraineReleased in UK 1960, 7" single, B-side2:18
16."The Christmas Song" (alternate take)
  • Mel Tormé
  • Bob Wells
 3:41
17."White Christmas" (alternate take)Irving Berlin 3:44
18."Frosty the Snowman" (alternate take)
  • Steve Nelson
  • Jack Rollins
 2:11
Total length:52:14

Personnel

Recorded July 15–16, August 5, 1960, New York, New York:

Track 13 recorded September 3, 1959, United Records, Hollywood:

Charts

Chart performance for Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
Chart (2019–2024) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4] 45
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[5] 55
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[6] 111
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[7] 54
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[8] 24
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] 37
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 47
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[11] 38
Irish Albums (IRMA)[12] 93
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[13] 33
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 33
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 33
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 29
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 68
US Billboard 200[18] 88

References

  1. ^ "Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  3. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 491. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  4. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Ella Fitzgerald – A Swinging Christmas" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  5. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  6. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  7. ^ "Ella Fitzgerald Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  8. ^ "Album Top-40 Uge 1, 2024". Hitlisten. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  9. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  11. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2023. 52. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  12. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Ella Fitzgerald". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  13. ^ "2023 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. December 29, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  14. ^ "Album 2023 uke 52". VG-lista. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  15. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 52". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  17. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  18. ^ "Ella Fitzgerald Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
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