Fitzgerald's recording of 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket' reached No. 1 on January 17, 1938, her first chart-topping hit.
On January 17, 1938, Ella Fitzgerald's recording of 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket', co-written by Fitzgerald herself and based on a nursery rhyme, reached the No. 1 position on the popular music charts. Recorded with Chick Webb's orchestra, the song became a massive commercial success and sold over a million copies.
This achievement marked Fitzgerald's transformation from a promising band vocalist into a bona fide star in her own right. It was one of the first major hit recordings by a Black female vocalist to achieve such widespread crossover popularity with both Black and white audiences during the height of the swing era, at a time when the music industry remained deeply segregated.
The success of 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket' elevated Fitzgerald's public profile enormously and gave her significant creative and commercial leverage. When Chick Webb died in 1939, Fitzgerald took over leadership of his orchestra, an unprecedented role for a woman—let alone a Black woman—in the male-dominated world of big band leadership. This first No. 1 hit is widely cited as the foundation of her seven-decade career and her eventual status as one of the most celebrated vocalists in American history.