It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

External videos
External videos
	Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington perform "It Don't Mean a Thing" on The Ed Sullivan Show, March 7, 1965
	Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga record "It Don't Mean a Thing," 2014

"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
Song by Duke Ellington
Released	1932
Recorded	February 2, 1932
Genre	Jazz
Label	Brunswick
Composer(s)	Duke Ellington
Lyricist(s)	Irving Mills

"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Bubber Miley,^{[citation needed]} first published by Irving Mills. It is now accepted as a jazz standard, and jazz historian Gunther Schuller characterized it as "now legendary" and "a prophetic piece and a prophetic title".^[1] In 2008, Ellington's 1932 recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[2]

Background

The music was composed and arranged by Ellington in August 1931 during intermissions at the Lincoln Tavern in Chicago;^[3] the lyrics were contributed by Irving Mills. According to Ellington, the song's title was the credo of trumpeter Bubber Miley,^[4] who was dying of tuberculosis at the time;^[5] Miley died the year the song was released.^[6]

The song was first recorded by Ellington and his orchestra for Brunswick Records on February 2, 1932.^[7] Ivie Anderson sang the vocal and trombonist Joe Nanton and alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges played the solos. In later performances, trumpeter Ray Nance often sang the vocal.

The song became famous, Ellington wrote, "as the expression of a sentiment which prevailed among jazz musicians at the time".^[4] It contains one of the earliest uses in popular music of the term "swing".^[8]

Other versions

"It Don't Mean a Thing" (1932) excerpt

Sample of "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" with scat singing by The Boswell Sisters.

Problems playing this file? See media help.

The Mills Brothers (1932)^[8]
The Boswell Sisters (1932)^[9]
Roger Wolfe Kahn (1932)^[10]
Stephane Grappelli with Django Reinhardt (1935)^[7]
Mel Tormé (in Musical Sounds Are The Best Songs, 1954)
Thelonious Monk – Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington (Riverside, 1955),^[7] familiar to listeners of American Public Media's Marketplace radio program, which plays Monk's version as background accompaniment whenever the Dow Jones Industrial Average results are mixed^[11]
Sidney Bechet and Martial Solal – Sidney Bechet-Martial Solal Quartet Featuring Kenny Clarke (1957)^[7]
Buddy Rich (in Buddy Rich Just Sings, 1957)
Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington – The Great Reunion (1961)^[12]
Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa (in Burnin' Beat, 1962)
Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington – Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur^[7] (Verve, 1967)
Teresa Brewer and Duke Ellington (1974)^[13]
Chuck Brown – Go Go Swing Live (1987)^[14]
Diane Schuur with Stan Getz – Schuur Thing (1985)^[7]
Dr. John – Duke Elegant (2000)^[7]
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga – Cheek To Cheek (2014)

References

^ Schuller, Gunther (1991). The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930-1945. Oxford University Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-0195071405.
^ "Grammy Hall Of Fame". Recording Academy. Archived from the original on 2011-01-22.
^ Lasser, Michael (2014). America's Songs II: Songs from the 1890s to the Post-War Years. Taylor & Francis. p. 119. ISBN 9781135094522.
^ ^a ^b Ellington, Duke (1976). Music Is My Mistress. Da Capo Press. pp. 419, 106. ISBN 978-0306800337.
^ Jazz Journal, Dec. 1965
^ Corliss, Richard (21 October 2011). "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)". Time.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
^ ^a ^b Ewen, David (1987). American Songwriters. The H.W. Wilson Company. p. 149. ISBN 0-8242-0744-0.
^ Friedwald, Will (1990). Jazz Singing. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 169. ISBN 0-684-18522-9.
^ Yanow, Scott (2003). Jazz on Record: The First Sixty Years. Backbeat Books. p. 97. ISBN 978-0879307554.
^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Marketplace.org. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
^ Nollen, Scott Allen (2004). Louis Armstrong: The Life, Music, and Screen Career. McFarland and Company. p. 162. ISBN 0-7864-1857-5.
^ "Top Album Picks". Billboard. February 9, 1974. p. 61.
^ Gantt, Diedre R. (2013). "Talking Drums: Soca and Go-Go Music as Grassroots Identity Movements". In Diouf, M.; Nwankwo, I. K. (eds.). Rhythms of the Afro-Atlantic World. University of Michigan Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-472-02747-7.

[1] Schuller, Gunther (1991). The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930-1945. Oxford University Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-0195071405.

[2] "Grammy Hall Of Fame". Recording Academy. Archived from the original on 2011-01-22.

[3] Lasser, Michael (2014). America's Songs II: Songs from the 1890s to the Post-War Years. Taylor & Francis. p. 119. ISBN 9781135094522.

[Mistress-4] Ellington, Duke (1976). Music Is My Mistress. Da Capo Press. pp. 419, 106. ISBN 978-0306800337.

[5] Jazz Journal, Dec. 1965

[Corliss-6] Corliss, Richard (21 October 2011). "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)". Time.

[standards-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.

[Ewen-8] Ewen, David (1987). American Songwriters. The H.W. Wilson Company. p. 149. ISBN 0-8242-0744-0.

[9] Friedwald, Will (1990). Jazz Singing. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 169. ISBN 0-684-18522-9.

[First-10] Yanow, Scott (2003). Jazz on Record: The First Sixty Years. Backbeat Books. p. 97. ISBN 978-0879307554.

[11] "Frequently Asked Questions". Marketplace.org. Retrieved 2023-04-22.

[12] Nollen, Scott Allen (2004). Louis Armstrong: The Life, Music, and Screen Career. McFarland and Company. p. 162. ISBN 0-7864-1857-5.

[13] "Top Album Picks". Billboard. February 9, 1974. p. 61.

[14] Gantt, Diedre R. (2013). "Talking Drums: Soca and Go-Go Music as Grassroots Identity Movements". In Diouf, M.; Nwankwo, I. K. (eds.). Rhythms of the Afro-Atlantic World. University of Michigan Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-472-02747-7.

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v t e Matthew Morrison
Studio albums	Matthew Morrison (2011) Where It All Began (2013)
Singles	"Summer Rain" "Still Got Tonight" "It Don't Mean a Thing"

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"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
Song by Duke Ellington
Released	1932 (1932)
Recorded	February 2, 1932
Genre	Jazz
Label	Brunswick
Composer(s)	Duke Ellington
Lyricist(s)	Irving Mills