"Drop Me Off in Harlem" is a 1933
song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
composed during the
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
composed by
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
, with lyrics written by
Nick Kenny.
A.H. Lawrence writes that the song originated from an off the cuff remark from Ellington. Nick Kenny had hailed a
taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
, and offered to share it with Ellington. Kenny asked "Where to, Duke?", and Ellington replied "Drop me off at Harlem". Kenny then fashioned lyrics from Ellington's remark and presented him with them a few days later at the
Cotton Club
The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...
.
[Lawrence, A.H. ''Duke Ellington and His World'' (New York: Routledge, 2003), 189.]
Notable recordings
*
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
and his Orchestra, February 17, 1933
*
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
- ''
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook
Ella may refer to:
* Ella (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname
Places United States
* Ella, Kentucky, an unincorporated community
* Ella, Oregon, an unincorporated community
* Ella, Pennsylvania, an unincorporate ...
'' (1958)
*
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
and
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 ...
on ''
The Great Summit
''The Great Summit: The Master Takes'' is a 2001 Blue Note album by Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
It is a reissue of the two Roulette albums ''Together For The First Time'' (track 1–10) and ''The Great Reunion'' (track 11–17) from 1961. ...
'' (1961, re released 2001) This recording appeared in the 1989 film ''
Harlem Nights
''Harlem Nights'' is a 1989 American crime comedy-drama film starring and directed by Eddie Murphy, who also wrote. The film co-stars Richard Pryor, Michael Lerner, Danny Aiello, Redd Foxx (in his last film appearance before his death in 1 ...
''.
*
Richie Kamuca
Richie Kamuca (July 23, 1930 – July 22, 1977) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Musical career
Kamuca was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and, like many players associated with West Coast jazz, grew up in the East befo ...
- ''Drop Me Off at Harlem'' (1975)
*
Ran Blake
Ran Blake (born April 20, 1935) is an American pianist, composer, and educator. He is known for his unique style that combines blues, gospel, classical, and film noir influences into an innovative and dark jazz sound. His career spans over 40 rec ...
- ''
Duke Dreams
''Duke Dreams'' (subtitled ''The Legacy of Strayhorn-Ellington'') is an album of solo piano performances of material written by or associated with Duke Ellington by the American jazz pianist Ran Blake recorded in 1981 and released on the Italian B ...
'' (1981)
*
Sun Ra
Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...
- ''Nuclear War'' (1982)
*
George Shearing Quintet - "Back To Birdland" (Telarc 2001)
Lyrics
(ORIGINAL VERSION)
Drop me off in Harlem
Any place in Harlem
There's someone waiting there
Who makes it seem like Heaven up in Harlem
I don't want your Dixie
You can keep your Dixie
There's no one down in Dixie
Who can take me 'way from my hot Harlem
Harlem has those southern skies,
They're in my baby's smile,
I idolize my baby's eyes
And classy up-town style
If Harlem moved to China,
I know of nothing finer,
Than to stow away on a 'plane some day
And have them drop me off in Harlem
Harlem has those southern skies,
They're in my baby's smile
I idolize my baby's eyes
And classy up-town style
If Harlem moved to China,
I know of nothing finer,
Than to stow away on a 'plane some day
And have them drop me off in Harlem
If Harlem moved to China
I know nothing finer than to be in Harlem
(ARMSTRONG VERSION)
Drop me off in Harlem
Yea, good ol' Harlem
You have your fun under the Harlem sun
So drop me off in Harlem
There's Duke Ellington up in Harlem
He writes all his tunes in Harlem
And old Satchmo's still swingin'
Way up in Harlem
All the cats are still up there
They're beatin' out those riffs
And
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
of
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
Will give you a great big lisp
Yes, drop me off in Harlem
Yea ma, beautiful Harlem
You get
red beans
Red bean is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
* Adzuki bean (''Vigna angularis''), commonly used in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine, particularly as red bean paste
* Kidney bean, red variety of '' Phaseolus vulgaris'', c ...
and
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
It's very nice
Way up there in Harlem
Notes
See also
*
List of 1930s jazz standards
Jazz standards are musical compositions that are widely known, performed and recorded by jazz artists as part of the genre's musical repertoire. This list includes compositions written in the 1930s that are considered standards by at least one ...
Songs with music by Duke Ellington
Songs about New York City
1930s jazz standards
1933 songs
Songs with lyrics by Nick Kenny (poet)
Jazz songs
{{pop-standard-stub