The Song Book standards
Ella recorded whole albums devoted to single writers, the famous Song Book series. Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin and the Gershwins each got one, so a quiz often asks who wrote the standard, not just its name.
Ella Fitzgerald Quiz: Guess the Song & Test Your Trivia
Test your knowledge of Ella Fitzgerald's biggest hits, deep cuts and iconic moments.
Top 5 Scores
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Ella Fitzgerald at a glance
- Main genre
- Pop (vocal jazz and the Great American Songbook)
- Real name
- Ella Jane Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song
- Best-known songs to guess
- Dream a Little Dream of Me, Summertime, Cheek to Cheek, It Don't Mean a Thing, A-Tisket A-Tasket
- Deep cuts fans miss
- How High the Moon, Mack the Knife (live), Blue Skies, Misty, They Can't Take That Away from Me
- Eras in the quiz
- 1930s Chick Webb swing, 1950s-60s Song Book albums, the live scat showcases
- Songwriters she recorded
- Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart
- Related artists
- Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole
- Quiz difficulty
- Easy on the standards, hard on the scat breaks and who-wrote-it rounds
Guess the Ella Fitzgerald Song
'Dream a Little Dream of Me', 'Summertime' and 'Cheek to Cheek' are the standards players catch first.
- 01
Dream a Little Dream of Me
- 02
Summertime
- 03
Cheek to Cheek
- 04
It Don't Mean a Thing
- 05
A-Tisket A-Tasket
- 06
How High the Moon
- 07
Mack the Knife (live)
- 08
Blue Skies
Ella Fitzgerald Trivia: Scat, Grammys and the Song Book
The improvised Berlin classic, the thirteen Grammys, and the composers she gave whole albums.
- Ella Fitzgerald won 13 competitive Grammy Awards.
- Her 1938 breakthrough 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket' was recorded with Chick Webb's orchestra and based on a nursery rhyme.
- Singing 'Mack the Knife' live in Berlin in 1960, she forgot the lyrics, improvised new ones, and won a Grammy for the recording. That 1960 date is a good anchor for a quiz on music by decade.
- Her 'Song Book' series devoted full albums to composers including Cole Porter, Duke Ellington and George and Ira Gershwin.
- She recorded the duet album 'Ella and Louis' (1956) with Louis Armstrong, and their 'Porgy and Bess', recorded in 1957, was released in 1959. Those duets are a good round when you guess the artist behind the trumpet.
How Well Do You Know Ella Fitzgerald
The standards are easy points; the scat breaks and who-wrote-it rounds decide the game.
Scat singing and the live showstoppers
Her scat turned songs into solos. 'How High the Moon' and her 1960 Berlin 'Mack the Knife', where she forgot the words and invented new ones, are where casual fans lose the melody line.
The duets with Louis Armstrong
The albums 'Ella and Louis' and 'Porgy and Bess' paired her with Louis Armstrong. 'Summertime', 'Cheek to Cheek' and 'They Can't Take That Away from Me' turn up as duets, so the second voice is a clue.
From the Apollo and Chick Webb
Before the standards she was a swing-band singer. Her 1938 breakthrough 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket' came with Chick Webb's orchestra, after she won amateur night at the Apollo in 1934. Early sides catch superfans out.
About Ella Fitzgerald
The crystal-clear voice behind the Great American Songbook and peerless scat. Singing 'Mack the Knife' live in 1960, she forgot the words and improvised a Grammy winner.
Two things give an Ella Fitzgerald quiz away: a voice with no rough edges and a scat break no one else could match. Guess the Ella Fitzgerald song from 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' and 'Summertime' to 'Cheek to Cheek' and the swing anthem 'It Don't Mean a Thing', then test your trivia on which composer's Song Book each standard came from. She cut whole albums of Cole Porter, Duke Ellington and the Gershwins, so the writer is often the real question. Jazz listeners can carry on with another music genre quiz. See how well you know the First Lady of Song. Then challenge your friends on the same standards.
Ella Fitzgerald Quiz FAQ
How does the Ella Fitzgerald quiz work?
You hear a clip of an Ella Fitzgerald recording and name it, then answer trivia across her Song Book standards, her scat features, and her duets with Louis Armstrong.
Which Ella Fitzgerald songs are in the quiz?
Standards like 'Dream a Little Dream of Me', 'Summertime' and 'Cheek to Cheek', plus swing sides such as 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket' and live takes of 'Mack the Knife'.
Why is the Ella Fitzgerald quiz tricky?
Many rounds ask who wrote a standard rather than name it, and her scat passages hide the melody, so knowing the Song Book helps.
Which song did Ella famously improvise live?
Her 1960 Berlin performance of 'Mack the Knife', where she forgot the words and made up new lyrics on the spot, won a Grammy.
Who was Ella Fitzgerald?
Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song, was an American jazz singer famed for her clear tone and scat. She lived from 1917 to 1996 and won 13 Grammys.
Is the Ella Fitzgerald quiz free?
Yes. The Ella Fitzgerald quiz is free on Songtrivia, with no account and no Spotify required. From there you can guess the song with friends in a multiplayer music quiz.
Sources & methodology
Sources consulted
Wikipedia · AllMusic · Pitchfork · Billboard · Songtrivia editorial team.
Our methodology
Each topic is curated by a Quiz Master with category expertise. Selection crosses cultural impact, chart performance, recognition potential and era variety.