25 beloved holiday albums to rediscover this winter

Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas – Ella Fitzgerald

Speaking of beautiful voices singing Christmas songs, one of the greats, Ella Fitzgerald, released a Christmas album of her own back in 1960. The album was a huge jazz production, as you would expect from Ella, with a full orchestra and covers of some of the best Christmas songs you can think of.

Ella put her jazz twist on such standards as “Jingle Bells”, “Sleigh Ride”, ‘What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”, “Frosty The Snowman”, “Winter Wonderland”, and more. If you love a good jazz holiday album, you should definitely mix this one into your playlist (which should also have some of those Leslie Odom Jr. songs I talked about just a minute ago!). Ella’s voice is made for the joy of Christmas music, and the full orchestra accompanying her makes every song pop even more. It’s like stepping into a time capsule!

When the album was re-issued in 2002 on CD, there were several bonus tracks included along with all the classics Ella recorded decades earlier. Some of the new songs included “The Secret of Christmas” and a medley of “We Three Kings of Orient Are” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. The 2002 version also had alternative versions of some of the tracks from 1960, like “White Christmas” and “Frosty the Snowman.”

Ella’s version of “Sleigh Ride” might be one of my favorites because it’s simple and Ella’s voice is flawless and soothing. It’s also refreshing to see a cover of “Frosty the Snowman” because not many of the other albums on this list featured that one, and it’s obviously a classic.