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.
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. 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.[3]
Other versions
- 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]
Notes
- ^ 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
- ^ Doc Severinsen - Topic (2014-11-08), Things Ain't What They Used To Be, retrieved 2019-06-03
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