The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

The song of the day for Tuesday, April 27, 2021, is “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

About This Song

Duke Ellington wrote “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” in 1931, with lyrics by Irving Mills. This song was one of the first songs to use the word “swing” in the title and this song certainly defined what it meant to swing. Ellington recorded the song with Ivie Anderson on vocals and it was an immediate hit. It has been widely recorded since it was written and the song is a lot of fun to play and to listen to. Significant recordings include those by Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Gigi Gryce, Tony Bennett, and Thelonious Monk.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” in 1999 for his album dedicated to Duke Ellington, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, which was released in the centenary year of Ellington’s birth. Ralph Burns wrote the very swinging arrangement.

It Don"t Mean A Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing)

Listen to It Don"t Mean A Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1999.

“It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, is available from Apple Music.

There are a lot of fantastic recordings of this song; I’ve narrowed it down to three.

First is Ellington’s original recording, featuring Ivie Anderson on vocals:

It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing)

Listen to It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) on Spotify. Duke Ellington · Song · 2018.

Next is Louis Armstrong and Ellington, who got together for The Great Summit in 1961. I love this recording because of Armstrong singing the verse.

It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) - 1990 Remaster

Listen to It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) - 1990 Remaster on Spotify. Louis Armstrong · Song · 2001.

And finally, I just discovered this video of Ella Fitzgerald yesterday and it’s just great!

Ella Fitzgerald - It Don"t Mean a thing (If it ain"t got that swing) [1974]

Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass and others performing this Duke Ellington"s and Irving Mills" song in London, in 1974. This live date was recorded at Ronnie Scott"...

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Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean a Thing

The song of the day for Monday, February 1, 2021, is “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

About This Song

Written in 1931, “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” was one of the first songs to use the word “swing” in the title, and this song certainly defined what it meant to swing. Irving Mills wrote the lyrics. Ellington recorded the song with Ivie Anderson on vocals and it was an immediate hit. It has been widely recorded since it was written and the song is a lot of fun to play and to listen to. Significant recordings include those by Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Gigi Gryce, Tony Bennett, and Thelonious Monk.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” in 1999 for the album Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool. Ralph Burns, who Bennett first started working with Bennett 40 years earlier, wrote the arrangement. And yes, it sure does swing.

It Don"t Mean A Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing)

Listen to It Don"t Mean A Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1999.

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, is available from Apple Music.

The first recording, by Ellington with Ivie Anderson on vocals, is terrific:

It Don"t Mean A Thing

Listen to It Don"t Mean A Thing on Spotify. Ivie Anderson · Song · 2007.

I also love this recording by Ellington and Louis Armstrong, recorded at the Great Summit in 1961. It’s one of the few recordings where the verse is sung:

It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) - 1990 Remaster

Listen to It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) - 1990 Remaster on Spotify. Louis Armstrong · Song · 2000.

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Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean a Thing

The song of the day for Saturday, October 31, 2020, is “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

About This Song

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” was written by Duke Ellington in 1931; the lyrics are by Irving Mills. This song was one of the first songs to use the word “swing” in the title and this song certainly defined what it meant to swing. Ellington recorded the song with Ivie Anderson on vocals and it was an immediate hit. It has been widely recorded since it was written and the song is a lot of fun to play and to listen to. Significant recordings include those by Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Gigi Gryce, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, and
Thelonious Monk.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” for his album of Duke Ellington songs, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, released in 1999 (the centennial anniversary of Ellington’s birth). The arrangement is by Ralph Burns, who worked first with Bennett in 1959 for Hometown, My Town. It features great guitar from Gray Sargent and great drumming from Clayton Cameron. It does swing!

It Don"t Mean A Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing)

Listen to It Don"t Mean A Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1999.

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, is available from Apple Music.

There two other versions of this song that I just love, so I’m adding them to today’s post.

First, is the original Ellington recording in 1931 with Ivie Anderson on vocals:

It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing)

Listen to It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) on Spotify. Duke Ellington · Song · 2000.

Next, is Ellington and Louis Armstrong from The Great Summitt, recorded in 1961. This recorded also has the verse, which you almost never hear.

It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) - 1990 Remaster

Listen to It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) - 1990 Remaster on Spotify. Louis Armstrong · Song · 2001.

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Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

The song of the day for Saturday, June 29, 2019, is “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

About This Song

Today’s song, “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” was written in 1931 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills. This song was one of the first songs to use the word “swing” in the title and this song certainly defined what it meant to swing. Ellington recorded the song with Ivie Anderson on vocals and it was an immediate hit. It has been widely recorded since it was written and the song is a lot of fun to play and to listen to. Significant recordings include those by Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Gigi Gryce, Tony Bennett, and Thelonious Monk.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” in 1999 for the album Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool. This album was released in the centennial year of Ellington’s birth in 1899. Ralph Burns did the terrific arrangement. Burns first worked with Bennett for the 1959 mini-masterpiece Hometown, My Town, followed by My Heart Sings in 1961, as well working on other albums, including this 1999 Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool.

Today, The Year of Tony Bennett is celebrating the career of Ralph Burns, who was born on June 29, 1922. I adore the work he did for Bennett over the years. His big-band sound makes me smile every time I listen to his arrangements. In addition to his work as an arranger, Burns was a noted jazz pianist and composer. He said that he learned the most about jazz by transcribing the works of Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington. He also worked on films, where he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Score for All That Jazz, and on Broadway, where he won Tony Awards for Best Orchestration for Fosse and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Ralph Burns died in 2001, just a few years after his work on Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool.

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), a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, is available from iTunes.

I love this Ellington song so much that I’m adding a couple of different versions, because I love them both equally!

First up is the original recording by Ellington, featuring Ivie Anderson on vocals.

It Don’t Mean A Thing

It Don’t Mean A Thing, a song by Ivie Anderson With Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra on Spotify

Next is from 1961’s The Great Summit, with Ellington and Louis Armstrong:

It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) – 1990 Remaster

It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) – 1990 Remaster, a song by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington on Spotify

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Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing

The song of the day for Friday, June 29, 2018 is “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.”

About This Song

“It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing” was written in 1931 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills. This song was one of the first songs to use the word “swing” in the title and this song certainly defined what it meant to swing. Ellington recorded the song with Ivie Anderson on vocals and it was an immediate hit. It has been widely recorded since it was written and the song is a lot of fun to play and to listen to. Significant recordings include those by Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Gigi Gryce, Tony Bennett and Thelonious Monk.

About This Version

Tony Bennett’s first recording of today’s song was in 1994 for the MTV Unplugged concert. His most recent version is his duet performance with Lady Gaga from their 2014 album Cheek To Cheek. Today’s version, though, was recorded in 1999 for Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool and features a great arrangement from Ralph Burns.

I adore this arrangement for a lot of reasons. I love the light touch that Bennett has at the beginning, followed by a fine guitar solo by Gray Sargent, who plays with Tony Bennett to this day. All this is followed by drumming showcase from Clayton Cameron. And then … boom! The big band is back. Yes, it’s mostly instrumental. But Bennett’s opening is so perfect, it’s enough. And the rest is a joy.

It Don"t Mean A Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing)

Listen to It Don"t Mean A Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1999.


“It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, is available from iTunes.

This song is real favorite of mine. So much so, that I have a couple of other recordings that you might enjoy.

First is Duke Ellington’s vocalist, Ivie Anderson, who joined Ellington’s band as their first regular singer in 1931. She recorded today’s song with Ellington in 1932. It’s a joyous recording!

It Don"t Mean a Thing (If You Ain"t Got That Swing)

Listen to It Don"t Mean a Thing (If You Ain"t Got That Swing) on Spotify. Duke Ellington · Song · 1984.

In 1961, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington recorded together for the first, and last, time. There were two albums from these sessions released on the Roulette label. In 2001, Blue Note repackaged those albums as The Great Summit. In addition to being a really good recording, with Armstrong both singing and playing trumpet, it includes the verse of the song, which I had never heard until I bought that album.

It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) - 1990 Remaster

Listen to It Don"t Mean a Thing (If It Ain"t Got That Swing) - 1990 Remaster on Spotify. Louis Armstrong · Song · 2000.

About Today

Today, The Year of Tony Bennett is celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Ralph Burns, who was born on June 29, 1922. Ralph Burns wore many hats: composer, jazz pianist, arranger, and conductor. Over his career, he earned numerous awards for his work as a Broadway orchestrater and also as a composer.

Ralph Burns was the arranger for one of my favorite albums by Tony Bennett, Hometown, My Town. He next worked with Bennett in 1963 for This Is All I Ask. Burns was superb big band arranger. He did the big band arrangements for Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool in 1999, which was his last project with Bennett. Ralph Burns died in 2001 at the age 79.

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