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{{short description|1929 song}}
{{short description|1929 song}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox song
{{Infobox song
| name = Ain't Misbehavin{{'-}}
| name = Ain't Misbehavin{{'-}}
Line 7: Line 8:
| A-side = Moanin' Low
| A-side = Moanin' Low
| released = {{Start date|1929}}
| released = {{Start date|1929}}
| recorded = New York City, July 9, 1929<ref>
| recorded = New York City, July 9, 1929{{sfn|Rust|1975|p=1454}}
{{cite book
| last = Rust
| first = Brian
| year = 1975
| title = The American Dance Band Discography 1917–1942: Arthur Lange to Bob Zurke
| location = New Rochelle, New York
| publisher = [[Arlington House Publishers|Arlington House]]
| page = 1454
| isbn = 978-0870002489
}}</ref>
| genre = *[[Stride (music)|Stride jazz]]
| genre = *[[Stride (music)|Stride jazz]]
*[[swing music|early swing]]
*[[swing music|early swing]]
Line 27: Line 18:
| producer =
| producer =
}}
}}
"'''Ain't Misbehavin{{'-}}'''" is a 1929 [[Stride (music)|stride jazz]]/[[swing music|early swing]] song. [[Andy Razaf]] wrote the lyrics to a score by [[Fats Waller|Thomas "Fats" Waller]] and [[Harry Brooks (composer)|Harry Brooks]]<ref name=jazzstandards>{{cite web |author= Wilson, Jeremy |title=Jazz Standards Song and Instrumentals (Ain't Misbehavin') |url=http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-0/aintmisbehavin.htm |publisher=Jazzstandards.com|access-date=June 4, 2009}}</ref> for the Broadway musical comedy play ''[[Connie's Hot Chocolates]]''.
"'''Ain't Misbehavin{{'-}}'''" is a 1929 [[Stride (music)|stride jazz]]/[[swing music|early swing]] song. [[Andy Razaf]] wrote the lyrics to a score by [[Fats Waller|Thomas "Fats" Waller]] and [[Harry Brooks (composer)|Harry Brooks]]<ref name="jazzstandards">{{Cite web |last=Wilson, Jeremy |title=Jazz Standards Song and Instrumentals (Ain't Misbehavin') |url=http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-0/aintmisbehavin.htm |access-date=June 4, 2009 |publisher=Jazzstandards.com}}</ref> for the Broadway musical comedy play ''[[Connie's Hot Chocolates]]''.


As a work from 1929 with its copyright renewed, it will enter the [[Public domain in the United States|American public domain]] on January 1, 2025.{{Efn|1=Under [https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig3105libr/page/128/mode/1up?view=theater&q=chocolates R173947]}}
As a work from 1929 with its copyright renewed, it will enter the [[Public domain in the United States|American public domain]] on January 1, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Jennifer |last2=Boyle |first2=James |author-link2=James Boyle (legal scholar) |date=2024 |title=Public Domain Day 2025 |url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2025/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241216140639/https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2025/ |archive-date=2024-12-16 |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=[[Duke University School of Law|Center for the Study of the Public Domain]] |language=en}}</ref>{{Efn|1=Under [https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig3105libr/page/128/mode/1up?view=theater&q=chocolates R173947]}}

==Composition==
{{needs expansion}}
The original sheet music for "Ain't Misbehavin'" is written in the key of [[E-flat major]].{{sfn|Waller|Brooks|Razaf|1929}}


==First performances==
==First performances==
The song was first performed at the premiere of ''Connie's Hot Chocolates'' in [[Harlem]] at [[Connie's Inn]] as an opening song by Paul Bass and Margaret Simms, and repeated later in the musical by Russell Wooding's ''Hallelujah Singers''. ''Connie's Hot Chocolates'' was transferred to the [[Hudson Theatre]] on Broadway during June 1929, where it was renamed to ''Hot Chocolates'' and where [[Louis Armstrong]] became the orchestra director. The script also required Armstrong to play "Ain't Misbehavin{{'}}" in a trumpet solo, and although this was initially slated only to be a reprise of the opening song, Armstrong's performance was so well received that the trumpeter was asked to climb out of the orchestra pit and play the piece on stage. As noted by Thomas Brothers in his book ''Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism'', Armstrong was first taught "Ain't Misbehavin{{'"}} by Waller himself, "woodshedding" it until he could "play all around it"; he cherished it "because it was 'one of those songs you could cut loose and swing with.{{'"}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brothers|first=Thomas|title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0-393-06582-4|location=New York, NY|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDavAgAAQBAJ|pages=346–47|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
The song was first performed at the premiere of ''Connie's Hot Chocolates'' in [[Harlem]] at [[Connie's Inn]] as an opening song by Paul Bass and Margaret Simms, and repeated later in the musical by [[Russell Wooding|Russell Wooding's]] ''Hallelujah Singers''. ''Connie's Hot Chocolates'' was transferred to the [[Hudson Theatre]] on Broadway during June 1929, where it was renamed to ''Hot Chocolates'' and where [[Louis Armstrong]] became the orchestra director. The script also required Armstrong to play "Ain't Misbehavin{{'}}" in a [[trumpet]] solo, and although this was initially slated only to be a reprise of the opening song, Armstrong's performance was so well received that the trumpeter was asked to climb out of the orchestra pit and play the piece on stage. As noted by Thomas Brothers in his book ''Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism'', Armstrong was first taught "Ain't Misbehavin{{'"}} by Waller himself, "[[woodshedding]]" it until he could "play all around it"; he cherished it "because it was 'one of those songs you could cut loose and swing with.{{'"}}{{sfn|Brothers|2014|pp=346-347}}


==Recordings==
==Recordings==
During the first half of the 20th century, when a tune was successful in terms of sheet music sold, it was typically recorded by several different artists. All six "Ain't Misbehavin{{'}}" recordings of 1929 were successes in the [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers]] (ASCAP) rankings for that year:
During the first half of the 20th century, when a tune was successful in terms of sheet music sold, it was typically recorded by several different artists. All six "Ain't Misbehavin{{'}}" recordings of 1929 were successes in the [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers]] (ASCAP) rankings for that year:{{cn|date=December 2024}}
* [[Leo Reisman]] and his orchestra (with vocals by Lew Conrad, No. 2).
* [[Leo Reisman]] and his orchestra (with vocals by Lew Conrad, No. 2).
* [[Louis Armstrong]] (No. 7).
* [[Louis Armstrong]] (No. 7).
Line 42: Line 37:
* [[Ruth Etting]] (No. 16).
* [[Ruth Etting]] (No. 16).
* Fats Waller (instrumental version, No. 17).
* Fats Waller (instrumental version, No. 17).
Waller re-recorded the song with vocals for the 1943 movie ''[[Stormy Weather (1943 film)|Stormy Weather]]''. Waller's recording received the [[List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients A-D|Grammy Hall of Fame Award]] during 1984, during 2001, it was one of 365 [[Songs of the Century]] selected by the [[RIAA]],
and it was one of fifty recordings selected for inclusion in the [[List of recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry|National Recording Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] during 2004.


Waller re-recorded the song with vocals for the 1943 movie ''[[Stormy Weather (1943 film)|Stormy Weather]]''. Waller's recording{{which|date=December 2024|reason=''Is this referring to the instrumental or the ''Stormy Weather''?}} received the [[List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients A-D|Grammy Hall of Fame Award]] during 1984. In 2001, it was one of 365 [[Songs of the Century]] selected by the [[RIAA]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 7, 2001 |title=Songs of the Century |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/list.top.365.songs/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213002944/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/list.top.365.songs/ |archive-date=2010-12-13 |access-date=2024-12-16 |work=[[CNN]] |department=Showbiz}}</ref> and it was one of fifty recordings selected for inclusion in the [[List of recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry|National Recording Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-04-05 |title=2004 |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/registry-by-induction-years/2004/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214072627/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/registry-by-induction-years/2004/ |archive-date=2024-12-14 |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref>
''Ain't Misbehavin{{'}}'' has been recorded by many other performers over the years, including [[Seger Ellis]], [[Anita O'Day]], [[Sarah Vaughan]] (for "[[Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi]]"; 1950), [[Bing Crosby]] (for "''[[Songs I Wish I Had Sung the First Time Around]]''"), [[Billie Holiday]], [[Eartha Kitt]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]], [[Jo Stafford]], [[Carol Channing]], [[Django Reinhardt]], [[Harry James]], [[Benny Goodman]], [[Miles Davis]], [[Kay Starr]], [[Frankie Laine]], [[Art Tatum]], [[Floyd Pepper]], [[Sonny Stitt]], [[Sam Cooke]], [[Johnnie Ray]], [[Sidney Bechet]], [[Ray Charles]], [[Nat King Cole]], [[Elkie Brooks]], [[Eyran Katsenelenbogen]], [[Willie Nelson]], [[Kermit Ruffins]], [[Leon Redbone]], [[Freddie White]], [[Dave Brubeck]], [[Johnny Hartman]], [[Hank Williams Jr.]], [[Robson Green]] and [[Jerome Flynn]] (Mini TV series UK, 1997), and [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] (who recorded a [[rock and roll]] version during 1957). Johnnie Ray's version scored No. 17 in the [[UK Singles Chart]] during May 1956.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= [[British Hit Singles & Albums]]
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5}}</ref>{{rp|p=451}}


''Ain't Misbehavin{{'}}'' has been recorded by many other performers over the years, including [[Seger Ellis]], [[Anita O'Day]], [[Sarah Vaughan]] (for "[[Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi]]"; 1950), [[Bing Crosby]] (for "''[[Songs I Wish I Had Sung the First Time Around]]''"), [[Billie Holiday]], [[Eartha Kitt]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]], [[Jo Stafford]], [[Carol Channing]], [[Django Reinhardt]], [[Harry James]], [[Benny Goodman]], [[Miles Davis]], [[Kay Starr]], [[Frankie Laine]], [[Art Tatum]], [[Floyd Pepper]], [[Sonny Stitt]], [[Sam Cooke]], [[Johnnie Ray]], [[Sidney Bechet]], [[Ray Charles]], [[Nat King Cole]], [[Elkie Brooks]], [[Eyran Katsenelenbogen]], [[Willie Nelson]], [[Kermit Ruffins]], [[Leon Redbone]], [[Freddie White]], [[Dave Brubeck]], [[Johnny Hartman]], [[Hank Williams Jr.]], [[Robson Green]] and [[Jerome Flynn]] (Mini TV series UK, 1997), and [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] (who recorded a [[rock and roll]] version during 1957). Johnnie Ray's version scored No. 17 in the [[UK Singles Chart]] during May 1956.{{sfn|Roberts|2006|p=451}}
In 1960, [[Tommy Bruce]] and the Bruisers had a number 3 hit in the UK Singles Chart with their [[cover version]] of the song.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> {{rp|p=83}}

During 1976, [[Leon Redbone]] performed the song on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. It served as the title song of the successful 1978 musical ''[[Ain't Misbehavin' (musical)|Ain't Misbehavin']]''. Country music artist [[Hank Williams Jr.]] recorded a version for his 1985 studio album [[Five-O (album)|''Five-O'']]. Released as a single, the song peaked at No. 1 on [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard's]] [[Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles]] chart and earned Williams a [[Grammy Award]] nomination for [[Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance|Best Country Vocal Performance, Male]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=29th Annual GRAMMY Awards |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/29th-annual-grammy-awards |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=[[Grammy.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Hank Williams Jr. {{!}} Biography, Career, Albums, & Facts |encyclopedia=[[Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hank-Williams-Jr |date=2024-10-23 |language=en}}</ref>
In 1960, [[Tommy Bruce]] and the Bruisers had a number 3 hit in the UK Singles Chart with their [[cover version]] of the song. {{sfn|Roberts|2006|p=83}}
During 1976, [[Leon Redbone]] performed the song on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. It served as the title song of the successful 1978 musical ''[[Ain't Misbehavin' (musical)|Ain't Misbehavin']]''. Country music artist [[Hank Williams Jr.]] recorded a version for his 1985 studio album [[Five-O (album)|''Five-O'']]. Released as a single, the song peaked at No. 1 on [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard's]] [[Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles]] chart and earned Williams a [[Grammy Award]] nomination for [[Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance|Best Country Vocal Performance, Male]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=29th Annual GRAMMY Awards |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/29th-annual-grammy-awards |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=[[Grammy.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Hank Williams Jr. |encyclopedia=[[Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hank-Williams-Jr |date=2024-10-23 |language=en}}</ref>


==Use in film==
==Use in film==
*1943: ''[[Stormy Weather (1943 film)|Stormy Weather]]'', performed by Fats Waller.<ref>{{cite web|title=Internet Movie Database|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036391/|website=[[IMDB]]|date=17 November 1943|access-date=June 14, 2017}}</ref>
*1943: ''[[Stormy Weather (1943 film)|Stormy Weather]]'', performed by Fats Waller.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1943-11-17 |title=Stormy Weather |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036391/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130185240/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036391/ |archive-date=2024-11-30 |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref>
*1944: ''[[Atlantic City (1944 film)|Atlantic City]]'', sung by Louis Armstrong.<ref>{{cite web|title=Internet Movie Database|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036619/|website=[[IMDB]]|date=15 September 1944|access-date=June 14, 2017}}</ref>
*1944: ''[[Atlantic City (1944 film)|Atlantic City]]'', sung by Louis Armstrong.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 September 1944 |title=Atlantic City |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036619/ |access-date=June 14, 2017 |website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref>
*1948: ''[[You Were Meant for Me (film)|You Were Meant for Me]]''
*1948: ''[[You Were Meant for Me (film)|You Were Meant for Me]]''
*1955: ''[[Gentlemen Marry Brunettes]]'', performed by [[Alan Young]], [[Jane Russell]], [[Jeanne Crain]] (dubbed by [[Anita Kert Ellis|Anita Ellis]]) and [[Ensemble (musical theatre)|Chorus]], with choreography.
*1955: ''[[Gentlemen Marry Brunettes]]'', performed by [[Alan Young]], [[Jane Russell]], [[Jeanne Crain]] (dubbed by [[Anita Kert Ellis|Anita Ellis]]) and [[Ensemble (musical theatre)|Chorus]], with choreography.
*1975: ''[[Lucky Lady]]'', performed by [[Burt Reynolds]].<ref name="PaymerPost1999">{{cite book|last1=Paymer|first1=Marvin E.|last2=Post|first2=Don E.|title=Sentimental Journey: Intimate Portraits of America's Great Popular Songs, 1920-1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_MNtkSqYzpoC&pg=PA146|year=1999|publisher=Noble House Publishers|isbn=978-1-881907-09-1|page=146|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
*1975: ''[[Lucky Lady]]'', performed by [[Burt Reynolds]].{{sfn|Paymer|Post|1999|p=[https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sentimental_Journey/_MNtkSqYzpoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA146&printsec=frontcover 146]}}
*1979: ''[[Just You and Me, Kid]]''
*1979: ''[[Just You and Me, Kid]]''{{cn|date=December 2024}}
*2008: ''[[Be Kind Rewind]]'' features a version performed by [[Mos Def]], although Fats Waller's rendition is also heard
*2008: ''[[Be Kind Rewind]]'' features a version performed by [[Mos Def]], although Fats Waller's rendition is also heard{{cn|date=December 2024}}
*2013: An instrumental version is heard in [[Baz Luhrmann|Baz Luhrmann's]] ''[[The Great Gatsby (2013 film)|The Great Gatsby]]''. This makes its appearance [[anachronism|anachronistic]]—the film takes place in 1922, predating the song by several years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Holmes |first=Linda |date=May 10, 2013 |title=Loving 'Gatsby' Too Much And Not Enough |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/05/10/182840954/loving-gatsby-too-much-and-not-enough |work=[[NPR]] |type=Opinion}}</ref>
*2013: An instrumental version is heard in [[Baz Luhrmann|Baz Luhrmann's]] ''[[The Great Gatsby (2013 film)|The Great Gatsby]]''. This makes its appearance [[anachronism|anachronistic]]—the film takes place in 1922, predating the song by several years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Holmes |first=Linda |author-link=Linda Holmes (writer)|date=May 10, 2013 |title=Loving 'Gatsby' Too Much And Not Enough |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/05/10/182840954/loving-gatsby-too-much-and-not-enough |work=[[NPR]] |department=Opinion |language=en-US}}</ref>
*2015: The song can be heard in ''[[The Intern (2015 film)|The Intern]]'' while Ben and Davis Are talking in Ben's house.
*2015: The song can be heard in ''[[The Intern (2015 film)|The Intern]]'' while Ben and Davis Are talking in Ben's house.{{cn|date=December 2024}}


==See also==
==See also==
*[[List of 1920s jazz standards]]
*[[List of 1920s jazz standards]]

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=Brothers |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDavAgAAQBAJ |title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism |publisher=[[W.W. Norton & Company]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-393-06582-4 |location=New York, NY |via=[[Google Books]]}}
* {{cite book |last1=Paymer|first1=Marvin E.|last2=Post|first2=Don E.|title=Sentimental Journey: Intimate Portraits of America's Great Popular Songs, 1920-1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_MNtkSqYzpoC&pg=PA146|year=1999|publisher=Noble House Publishers|isbn=978-1-881907-09-1 |via=[[Google Books]]}}


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{notelist}}

==Works cited==
* {{Cite book |last=Brothers |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDavAgAAQBAJ |title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism |publisher=[[W.W. Norton & Company]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-393-06582-4 |location=New York, NY |via=[[Google Books]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Paymer |first=Marvin E. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/_MNtkSqYzpoC?hl=en&gbpv=0 |title=Sentimental Journey: Intimate Portraits of America's Great Popular Songs, 1920-1945 |last2=Post |first2=Don E. |publisher=Noble House Publishers |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-881907-09-1 |via=[[Google Books]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |title-link=British Hit Singles & Albums |publisher=[[Guinness World Records Limited]] |year=2006 |isbn=1-904994-10-5 |edition=19th |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rust |first=Brian |title=The American Dance Band Discography 1917–1942: Arthur Lange to Bob Zurke |publisher=[[Arlington House Publishers|Arlington House]] |year=1975 |isbn=978-0870002489 |location=New Rochelle, New York}}
*{{Cite book |last=Waller |first=Fats |url=https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p15037coll1/id/5939 |title=Ain't misbehavin' |last2=Brooks |first2=Harry |last3=Razaf |first3=Andy |date=1929 |publisher=Mills Music |location=New York |type=[[Sheet music]] |via=[[Temple University|Temple University Libraries]]}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|refs=
}}


{{Dinah Washington}}
{{Dinah Washington}}

Revision as of 19:28, 16 December 2024

"Ain't Misbehavin'"
Single by Leo Reisman and His Orchestra with Lew Conrad
A-side"Moanin' Low"
Released1929 (1929)
RecordedNew York City, July 9, 1929[1]
Genre
LabelVictor
Songwriter(s)

"Ain't Misbehavin'" is a 1929 stride jazz/early swing song. Andy Razaf wrote the lyrics to a score by Thomas "Fats" Waller and Harry Brooks[2] for the Broadway musical comedy play Connie's Hot Chocolates.

As a work from 1929 with its copyright renewed, it will enter the American public domain on January 1, 2025.[3][a]

Composition

The original sheet music for "Ain't Misbehavin'" is written in the key of E-flat major.[4]

First performances

The song was first performed at the premiere of Connie's Hot Chocolates in Harlem at Connie's Inn as an opening song by Paul Bass and Margaret Simms, and repeated later in the musical by Russell Wooding's Hallelujah Singers. Connie's Hot Chocolates was transferred to the Hudson Theatre on Broadway during June 1929, where it was renamed to Hot Chocolates and where Louis Armstrong became the orchestra director. The script also required Armstrong to play "Ain't Misbehavin'" in a trumpet solo, and although this was initially slated only to be a reprise of the opening song, Armstrong's performance was so well received that the trumpeter was asked to climb out of the orchestra pit and play the piece on stage. As noted by Thomas Brothers in his book Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism, Armstrong was first taught "Ain't Misbehavin'" by Waller himself, "woodshedding" it until he could "play all around it"; he cherished it "because it was 'one of those songs you could cut loose and swing with.'"[5]

Recordings

During the first half of the 20th century, when a tune was successful in terms of sheet music sold, it was typically recorded by several different artists. All six "Ain't Misbehavin'" recordings of 1929 were successes in the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) rankings for that year:[citation needed]

Waller re-recorded the song with vocals for the 1943 movie Stormy Weather. Waller's recording[which?] received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award during 1984. In 2001, it was one of 365 Songs of the Century selected by the RIAA,[6] and it was one of fifty recordings selected for inclusion in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2004.[7]

Ain't Misbehavin' has been recorded by many other performers over the years, including Seger Ellis, Anita O'Day, Sarah Vaughan (for "Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi"; 1950), Bing Crosby (for "Songs I Wish I Had Sung the First Time Around"), Billie Holiday, Eartha Kitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Stafford, Carol Channing, Django Reinhardt, Harry James, Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, Kay Starr, Frankie Laine, Art Tatum, Floyd Pepper, Sonny Stitt, Sam Cooke, Johnnie Ray, Sidney Bechet, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Elkie Brooks, Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Willie Nelson, Kermit Ruffins, Leon Redbone, Freddie White, Dave Brubeck, Johnny Hartman, Hank Williams Jr., Robson Green and Jerome Flynn (Mini TV series UK, 1997), and Bill Haley & His Comets (who recorded a rock and roll version during 1957). Johnnie Ray's version scored No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart during May 1956.[8]

In 1960, Tommy Bruce and the Bruisers had a number 3 hit in the UK Singles Chart with their cover version of the song. [9] During 1976, Leon Redbone performed the song on Saturday Night Live. It served as the title song of the successful 1978 musical Ain't Misbehavin'. Country music artist Hank Williams Jr. recorded a version for his 1985 studio album Five-O. Released as a single, the song peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart and earned Williams a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.[10][11]

Use in film

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Under R173947

Works cited

  • Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4 – via Google Books.
  • Paymer, Marvin E.; Post, Don E. (1999). Sentimental Journey: Intimate Portraits of America's Great Popular Songs, 1920-1945. Noble House Publishers. ISBN 978-1-881907-09-1 – via Google Books.
  • Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  • Rust, Brian (1975). The American Dance Band Discography 1917–1942: Arthur Lange to Bob Zurke. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House. ISBN 978-0870002489.
  • Waller, Fats; Brooks, Harry; Razaf, Andy (1929). Ain't misbehavin' (Sheet music). New York: Mills Music – via Temple University Libraries.

References

  1. ^ Rust 1975, p. 1454.
  2. ^ Wilson, Jeremy. "Jazz Standards Song and Instrumentals (Ain't Misbehavin')". Jazzstandards.com. Retrieved June 4, 2009.
  3. ^ Jenkins, Jennifer; Boyle, James (2024). "Public Domain Day 2025". Center for the Study of the Public Domain. Archived from the original on December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  4. ^ Waller, Brooks & Razaf 1929.
  5. ^ Brothers 2014, pp. 346–347.
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