The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald — Music Videos

A vocal group and a jazz singer

The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald share the credit on a series of collaborative Decca recordings from the 1940s. The Ink Spots were an American male vocal group whose sound combined a high tenor lead, close harmonies, instrumental accompaniment, and sometimes a spoken bass passage. Fitzgerald had developed her career singing with Chick Webb’s orchestra before becoming a major solo artist. Their joint recordings brought those distinct musical identities together rather than creating a new permanent group.

Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall

They recorded “Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall” in 1944, with the Ink Spots’ Bill Kenny and Fitzgerald supplying the principal contrasting voices. The song was written by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher. “I’m Making Believe” was recorded during the same period and paired with it on Decca. Both recordings became familiar examples of the collaboration, connecting the group’s established vocal approach with Fitzgerald’s clear tone and rhythmic flexibility.

Contrasting voices in a common setting

The performances work through the relationship between an individual singer and the texture of a vocal ensemble. Fitzgerald’s phrasing can move lightly across the beat, while Kenny’s tenor and the group’s blended backing provide another color. These records preserve an important meeting between jazz singing, popular-song interpretation, and the close-harmony traditions that influenced later American vocal groups.