Ain't Misbehavin' (song)

"Ain't Misbehavin'"
Single by Fats Waller
Released	August 2, 1929
Genre	stride, New Orleans Jazz
Length	3:03
Label	Victor
Writer(s)	Fats Waller, Harry Brooks, Andy Razaf

"Ain't Misbehavin'" is a 1929 song written by Fats Waller, Harry Brooks (music) and Andy Razaf (lyrics). Waller recorded the original version that year for Victor Records and also later performed the song in the 1943 film Stormy Weather. In a 1941 interview with Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Fats claimed the song was written while "lodging" in alimony prison, and that is why he was not "misbehaving".

There were six other recordings of the song released in 1929, including versions by Louis Armstrong, Ruth Etting, Gene Austin, and Leo Reisman and His Orchestra. It was also used in the off-Broadway musical Connie's Hot Chocolates.^{[citation needed]}

It has been recorded by many other performers over the years, including Anita O'Day, Billie Holiday, Eartha Kitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Django Reinhardt, Miles Davis, Kay Starr, Frankie Laine, Art Tatum, Sonny Stitt, Sam Cooke, Johnnie Ray, Sidney Bechet, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Elkie Brooks, Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Willie Nelson,Kermit Ruffins, and Bill Haley & His Comets (who recorded a rock and roll version in 1957). Johnnie Ray's version reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1956. In 1960, Tommy Bruce and the Bruisers had a number 3 hit in the UK Singles Chart with their cover version of the song. Leon Redbone performed the song on Saturday Night Live in 1976. It served as the title song of the successful 1978 musical Ain't Misbehavin'.

The original 1929 recording of "Ain't Misbehavin'" by Fats Waller received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1984, and it was one of fifty recordings selected for inclusion in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2004.

In 2001, it was one of 365 Songs of the Century selected by the RIAA.

Hank Williams, Jr. version

"Ain't Misbehavin'"
Single by Hank Williams, Jr.
from the album Five-O
Released	February 10, 1986
Genre	country, stride, New Orleans Jazz
Length	4:35
Label	Warner Bros./Curb
Writer(s)	Fats Waller, Harry Brooks, Andy Razaf
Producer	Jimmy Bowen, Hank Williams, Jr.
Hank Williams, Jr. singles chronology
"This Ain't Dallas" (1985) "Ain't Misbehavin'" (1986) "Country State of Mind" (1986)

Hank Williams Jr. took his version to the top of the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in 1986.

Chart positions

Chart (1986)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

See also

• List of 1920s jazz standards

References

Preceded by "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' Days)" by The Judds	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single May 17, 1986	Succeeded by "Tomb of the Unknown Love" by Kenny Rogers
	RPM Country Tracks number-one single May 31, 1986