Ella Fitzgerald (with Chick Webb): Chew, Chew, Chew

During her performances with Chick Webbs orchestra, Ella not only served as featured vocalist, but also stood out as the bands cheerleader. She is audibly in evidence on live recordings, encouraging soloists and in general egging the band on to greater deeds of derring-do. Rhythm was king in the Webb orchestra, and this kind of nightly character-forming experience helped shape both Ellas style, and, as Mel Tormé has pointed out, her instrumental approach to scat. Chew, Chew, Chew, like A-Tisket, A-Tasket, is another novelty penned by Ella. Cashing-in on the runaway success of Tasket, she celebrates the merits of bubble gum. The lyrics may be forgettable, but Ellas powerful rhythmic approach is not. Band and singer are as one riffing this tune, and its easy to see why she was such a success with Webb; even the radio announcer is already calling her The First Lady of Song, an epithet that would stick for the rest of her life.