Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas

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.

Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas
Studio album by Ella Fitzgerald
Released	1960
Recorded	July 15 – August 5, 1960
Genre	Vocal jazz Christmas
Length	34:00 (original 1960 release) 52:14 (2002 CD release)
Label	Verve
Producer	Norman 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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[3]

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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Jingle Bells"	J.S. Pierpont	2:21
2.	"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"	J. Fred Coots Haven Gillespie	2:56
3.	"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"	Hugh Martin Ralph Blane	2:56
4.	"What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"	Frank Loesser	3:32
5.	"Sleigh Ride"	Leroy Anderson Mitchell Parish	2:56
6.	"The Christmas Song"	Mel Tormé Bob Wells	3:00

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Good Morning Blues"	Count Basie Eddie Durham Jimmy Rushing	3:15
8.	"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"	Sammy Cahn Jule Styne	2:43
9.	"Winter Wonderland"	Felix Bernard Richard B. Smith	2:16
10.	"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"	Johnny Marks	2:51
11.	"Frosty the Snowman"	Steve Nelson Jack Rollins	2:12
12.	"White Christmas"	Irving Berlin	3:02
Total length:			34:00

2002 CD release

Bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Notes	Length
13.	"The Secret of Christmas"	Jimmy Van Heusen Sammy Cahn	Released in 1959, 7" single, B-side	2:45
14.	"Medley: We Three Kings of Orient Are/O Little Town of Bethlehem"	John Henry Hopkins/ Phillips Brooks Lewis Redner	Released in UK 1960, 7" single, A-side	3:35
15.	"Christmas Island"	Lyle L. Moraine	Released in UK 1960, 7" single, B-side	2:18
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:

• Ella Fitzgerald: Vocals
• Frank DeVol: Arranger, Conductor
• Russ Garcia and His Orchestra (track 13): Arranger, Conductor

Charts

Chart performance for Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas

Chart (2019–2025)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4]	34
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 (OCC)[12]	46
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[13]	33
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14]	33
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[15]	33
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16]	28
UK Albums (OCC)[17]	44
US Billboard 200[18]	61