Things Ain't What They Used to Be
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"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)
- Dave Brubeck– Newport 1958 (1958)
- Duke Ellington and Ray Brown – This One's for Blanton (1972)
- Charles Mingus – Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife (1959)
- Oscar Peterson with Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis – Oscar Peterson Jam/Montreux 77 (1977)
- Gene Harris – Live at Town Hall (1989)
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
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- ↑ a b "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" at jazzstandards.com - retrieved on 27 May 2009
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