Things Ain't What They Used to Be
"Things Ain't What They Used to Be" is a 1942 jazz standard with music by Mercer Ellington and lyrics by Ted Persons.
Background
In 1941 there was a strike against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, of which Duke Ellington was a member. Because of the strike he could not air his songs on the radio. Instead, he used songs written by his son Mercer and pianist Billy Strayhorn.[1] Strayhorn's compositions of this time include "Take the 'A' Train", "Chelsea Bridge" and "Day Dream". Mercer wrote "Things Ain't What They Used to Be", "Blue Serge" and "Moon Mist".[2]
Jazz musician and historian Chris Tyle argues that most likely Mercer Ellington came up with the melody and his father then arranged the song for the band.[2] The song is most often played as an instrumental. Lyrics were written by Ted Persons.[1] Johnny Hodges played it first, in Hollywood on July 3, 1941.
Other versions
- Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra (1942). This version went to number eight on the Harlem Hit Parade chart.[3]
- Duke Ellington – Piano Reflections (1953)[1]
- Duke Ellington and Ray Brown – This One's for Blanton (1972)[1]
- Charles Mingus – Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife (1959)[1]
- Oscar Peterson with Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis – Oscar Peterson Jam/Montreux 77 (1977)[1]
- Gene Harris – Live at Town Hall (1989)[1]
- Dave Grusin - Homage to Duke (1993)
- Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette - Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note (1994)
- Jacky Terrasson - Alive (1998)
Popular Culture
- Duke Ellington played it for the film Cabin in the Sky (1943).[1]
- An instrumental version was frequently played as the closing music for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson by The Tonight Show Band under the direction of Doc Severinsen.[4]
- In the beginning of Soul, Joe Gardner leads his middle school jazz band in a poorly performed rendition of the piece.
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 432–434. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
- ^ a b "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" at jazzstandards.com - retrieved on 27 May 2009
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 47.
- ^ Doc Severinsen - Topic (2014-11-08), Things Ain't What They Used To Be, retrieved 2019-06-03
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