"Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" (also written as "Do Nothin' Til You Hear from Me") is a song with music by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

and lyrics by Bob Russell. It originated as a 1940

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

("Concerto for Cootie") that was designed to highlight the playing of Ellington's lead

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

er, Cootie Williams. Russell's words were added later. In 1944, Ellington's own recording of the song was a number one hit

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

for eight non-consecutive weeks and number six on the pop chart. Other recordings to reach the ''Billboard'' charts in 1944 were by Woody Herman and by

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

(vocal: Red Dorris).

Other versions

"Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" has since been performed by many other famous musical artists, including: *

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

, 1944, with The King Cole Trio *

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

, 1944 – Live, 1955, Studio, '' Stay With Me'' *

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...

, 1944, appears on her 2002 compilation album ''The Young Star'' *

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

, 1949, released in 1986 on ''The Uncollected Patti Page (1949): Patti Page with Lou Stein's Music'' * Hampton Hawes, 1956 – '' All Night Session! Vol. 3'' *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

recorded the song in 1957 for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the album ''Shall We Dance?'' (2012). * Ella Fitzgerald, 1957, '' Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book'' * Abbey Lincoln, 1957, '' Abbey Lincoln's Affair: A Story of a Girl in Love'' * Mose Allison, 1959 – '' Autumn Song'' *

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

and

, 1961, '' The Great Summit'' * Don Lamond & His Orchestra, 1962, ''Off Beat Percussion'' * Anita O'Day, 1962, '' All the Sad Young Men'' * Nina Simone, 1962, '' Nina Simone Sings Ellington'' *

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a ...

, 1962, ''In Love'' * Sammy Davis Jr. (with Sam Butera & the Witnesses, 1965, '' When the Feeling Hits You!'' *

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also be ...

, 1987, ''Solo Tribute'' * Harry Connick Jr., 1988, '' 20'' * Robert Palmer, 1992, '' Ridin' High'' *

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, ''Billboard (magazi ...

, 1993, '' Stepping Out'' *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, 1999, '' Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool'' * Dr. John, 1999, '' Duke Elegant'' – * Silje Nergaard, 2000, ''Port of Call'' *

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, 2000, Released on his 2001 live album ''Andy Williams Live''Williams, Andy.
Andy Williams Live: Treasures from His Personal Collection
'. Neon Records, 10 July 2001. * Mary J. Blige, 2001, '' Red Hot + Indigo''

References

Songs with music by Duke Ellington Songs with lyrics by Bob Russell (songwriter) Nina Simone songs Al Hirt songs Instrumentals 1940 songs 1944 singles {{1940s-jazz-composition-stub