Ain't She Sweet

This article is about the song. For the compilation album by Tony Sheridan & the Beatles, see Ain't She Sweet (album).

"Ain't She Sweet?"
Song
Written	1927

Lillian Roth (1933)

"Ain't She Sweet" is a song composed by Milton Ager (music) and Jack Yellen (lyrics) and published in 1927 by Edwin H. Morris & Co., Inc./Warner Bros., Inc. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century, one of the hit songs that typified the Roaring Twenties. Like "Happy Days Are Here Again" (1929), it became a Tin Pan Alley standard. Both Ager and Yellen were elected to membership in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Milton Ager wrote "Ain't She Sweet" for his daughter Shana Ager, who in her adult life was known as the political commentator Shana Alexander.

Recorded versions

• Lou Gold and The Melody Man – 17 January 1927 (for Gennett)
• Ben Bernie and his Orchestra – 1927
• Gene Austin – 1927
• Johnny Marvin – 1927
• Annette Hanshaw – 1927
• Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys – recorded June 20, 1927.
• Lillian Roth – 1933
• Mr. Goon-Bones & Mr. Ford – 1949
• Paul Ash and his Orchestra
• Winifred Atwell – Decca Records
• Frank Banta
• Pearl Bailey – 1949 Harmony Records
• Bunny Berigan & His Orchestra – 1940
• Sally Blair – EMI Records Group, N.A.
• Eddie Cantor
• Judy Carmichael – 1985
• Benny Carter – Contemporary Records
• Bill Coleman, Stephane Grappelli – Classic Jazz Records
• Jackie Davis – Capitol Records
• Eric Delaney and his Band – EMI Records Group, N.A.
• Tommy Dorsey – Decca Records
• The Dukes of Dixieland – Audio Fidelity Records
• Erroll Garner
• Ken Griffin – Columbia Records
• Annette Hanshaw – 1927 – PATHÉ Actuelle
• Fletcher Henderson – Disques Swing Records
• Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson – Pye UK Records
• The Milt Herth Trio – Coral Records
• Michael Holliday – included in his album Mike (1962).
• Ferlin Husky – 1959
• Jack Hylton and his Orchestra – EMI Records Group, N.A.
• Harry James & His Orchestra – 1945
• Sammy Kaye – 1960
• Enoch Light and his Orchestra
• Meade “Lux” Lewis
• Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians – 1966
• Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra – 1939 – Columbia Records
• Johnny Maddox – Dot Records
• The Johnny Mann Singers – Liberty Records
• Billy May – Capitol Records T578 – 1955
• The Modernaires – Coral Records
• The Moms and Dads – Crescendo Records
• Joyce Moody and Earl Wentz – Sixpence, Inc.
• Russ Morgan and his Orchestra – Capitol Records
• Eddie Peabody
• Mel Powell Trio
• Duffy Power
• Frank Sinatra – recorded April 10, 1962, for Reprise Records.
• Jimmy Smith
• Big Joe Turner – Classic Jazz Records
• Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps – 1956 Capitol Records
• Ben Webster, Frank Rosolino – Contemporary Records
• Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra – Ranwood Records Inc.
• Coco Briaval – Sunset France / Harmonia Mundi
• Lena Zavaroni – Hold Tight, It's Lena BBC Records (UK, 1982)
• Raul Seixas and his Band – 1992 – Raul Vivo

"Ain't She Sweet" was also recorded by Fabian Forte; Hoosier Hot Shots; Ray Anthony; Nat King Cole; Tiny Hill & the Hilltoppers; the Playboys; the Viscounts; Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers; and many others. The song was also covered in 1990 on the album Funk of Ages, by Bernie Worrell and several former members of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Versions by the Beatles

According to eminent author Mark Lewisohn in The Complete Beatles Chronicles (p. 361, 365) The Beatles performed it live from 1957 till 1962, in Lewisohn's words "the version most likely to have prompted the Beatles performance of this song would be Gene Vincent's ... 1956 recording". However, on pg. 365 of that book Lewisohn added "but since John Lennon's vocal rendition was different from Vincent's, it would seem that he arranged his own unique version", he concluded by saying "He may have also been influenced by Duffy Power's 1959 version" (also pg. 365). The Beatles rock and roll arrangement of "Ain't She Sweet" was recorded by the group with John Lennon on lead vocals, while recording as Tony Sheridan's backup band on June 22, 1961, at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg, Germany with Pete Best on drums, produced by Bert Kaempfert. The recording was released as a single on May 29, 1964, on Polydor NH 52-317 (UK), and was included on the Anthology 1 album in 1995. A different rendition, recorded during a jam session in 1969 with Ringo Starr on drums, was released on the Beatles' Anthology 3 – it is the only song which appears on two of the Anthology records. A solo version of the song was also included in the John Lennon Anthology box set. Additionally, in 1995, the three remaining Beatles (McCartney, Harrison and Starr) performed a brief ukulele jam of the song outside during a chat for the Anthology documentary.

Personnel

Hamburg version (1961)

• John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
• George Harrison – lead guitar
• Paul McCartney – bass
• Pete Best – drums

1969 version

• John Lennon – lead vocals, guitars
• Paul McCartney – bass
• George Harrison – guitars
• Ringo Starr – drums

Selected appearances in film/TV shows

Films

• Hazel Green & Company, a Warner Bros./Vitaphone musical short (1927)
• In January 1928, a short film of Ain't She Sweet sung by Chili Bouchier was filmed in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process
• Duck Soup (Paramount Pictures, 1933)
• Margie (Twentieth Century Fox, 1946) school dance scene
• You Were Meant for Me (Twentieth Century Fox, 1948)
• You're My Everything (Twentieth Century Fox, 1949)
• Force of Arms (Warner Brothers, 1951) Italian cafe scene on piano
• Strangers on a Train (Warner Brothers, 1951) instrumental in background of carnival scenes
• Feed the Kitty (1952) Merrie Melodies cartoon
• East of Eden (Warner Brothers, 1955) instrumental in background of carnival scene, film set 10 years before song composed
• The Eddy Duchin Story (Columbia Pictures, 1955)
• Picnic (MGM, 1955) Sung by the townspeople of Salina, Kansas, when Kim Novak's character is floating down the river in a swan-shaped boat after she was elected Queen of Neewollah.
• Midnight in Paris (Sony Pictures Classics, 2011)

TV

• Coronation Street Sung by Sylvia Goodwin and others.
• House M.D. Season 2, Episode 9: "Deception"
• You Rang, M'Lord? Season 2, Episode 5: "The Wounds of War"
• Heartbeat (UK TV series) Series 16, Episode 12: "Vendetta" (2007)
• Midnight in Paris (Sony Pictures Classics, 2011)
• Bunheads Season 1, Episode 1: "Pilot" (2012)
• Being Human Season 4, Episode 5:The Honeymooners