Composed and arranged by Ellington, Irving Mills is credited with the lyrics, but clearly the title, which in three short years would become America’s mantra, was Bubber Miley’s credo. By the time this piece was written and recorded, Miley had drunk himself out of the band—he was fired in 1929 and died of tuberculosis on Welfare Island in the spring of 1932 less than six months before this classic recording was made.

Although Black bands such as Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, the Blue Devils, and Bennie Moten had been swinging for years, the Swing Era officially began for White America in the summer of 1935 with Benny Goodman’s success at the Palomar Ballroom in California. The term “swing” entered the American vocabulary and became in Albert Murray’s words, “our national imperative”. It Don’t Mean A Thing is one of the earliest uses in a song title. Other titles using the word “swing” soon followed in abundance.

The basic aaba chord progression shares the same a section as Everybody Loves My Baby with a Honeysuckle Rose bridge. Ellington employed modernistic sophisticated chromatic chord substitution on the a sections.

The spirited vocal is by Ivie Anderson in her recording debut with Ellington. When Ellington decided to add a female vocalist to the band, his choices boiled down to Mae Alix and Ivie Anderson. Mae Alix was more well-known, but Anderson was darker complected, which Ellington felt would present less problems with the White public.

Anderson would remain with the band for 10 years, leaving due to chronic asthma, whereupon she returned to her native Los Angeles and opened Ivie’s Chicken Shack. She did a bit of performing with other bands, but the road proved too much for her. She died in 1949 at the age of 45.

Ellington often cited her excellent diction, but her pitch, rhythm, and personality (both musical and in every other way) were also on the highest level. Though not really a scat singer, she could rise to the occasion in small doses when called for, as on this tune.

This record was a major hit, and It Don’t Mean A Thing was quikly covered by thousands of bands. It stayed in the Ellington book for his entire career in the form of new arrangements and remains a jazz standard to this day.  After Ellington’s death, It Don’t Mean A Thing was used in the Ellington Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies in an arrangement I ghosted for Al Cohn.

Personnel:

Recorded February 2, 1932, NYC. One take for Brunswick B112044-A (later released on Columbia).

Reeds: Harry Carney (alto/baritone saxes), Johnny Hodges (alto sax), Barney Bigard (tenor sax/clarinet),

Trumpets: Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddy Jenkins

Trombones: Tricky Sam Nanton, Juan Tizol

Guitar: Fred Guy

Piano: Duke Ellington

Bass: Wellman Braud

Drums: Sonny Greer

Lawrence Brown is listed in Timner as his first recording with Ellington, but there are only two trombones on this track. Evidently, the arrangement was written before Brown joined the band.

Soloists: Nanton (plunger tbn), Ivie Anderson (vocal), Carney (bari sax), Bigard (clarinet), Alto Solo

Form (key of C):

Intro:                           10 bars

Trombone Solo:          32 bars (aaba)

Vocal Melody w/Bari and Clar solos:  32 bars

Alto Interlude              24 bars (12 bars repeated)

Alto Solo:                    32 bars (Sax/Tbn Bridge)

Shout Half Chorus:      16 bars

Vocal Recap:                20 bars (8-bar bridge+12 bars final a + tag)