"Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" is a song written by

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

and Billy Austin. The song's first recording, by Jordan, was made on October 4, 1943. It was released as the B-side of a single with " G.I. Jive" with the title "Is You Is or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby)". The song reached No. 1 on the US folk/country charts, number two for three weeks on the pop chart, and number three on the

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 ...

. The standard has been recorded by more than 130 different artists over the years.

Musical style

One publication of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

provided this summary of Jordan's music.

One important stylistic prototype in the development of R&B was
jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...
, pioneered by Louis Jordan, with ... His Tympany Five ... three horns and a rhythm section, while stylistically his music melded elements of swing and
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, incorporating the shuffle rhythm, boogie-woogie bass lines, and short horn patterns or riffs. The songs featured the use of African American vernacular language, humor, and vocal call-and-response sections between Jordan and the band. Jordan's music appealed to both African American and white audiences, and he had broad success with hit songs like "Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby" (1944).

Covers

In the 1932 American film ''

Harlem Is Heaven ''Harlem Is Heaven'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code crime drama and musical (film), musical film directed by Irwin Franklyn and featuring a virtually all African-American cast.Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20 ...

, accompanied by jazz pianist Putney Dandridge, sings "Is You Is or Is You Ain't." The song in the film has different lyrics, but, in addition to its title, its melody is at times similar to that later used for "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby.""Harlem is Heaven – Bill Robinson, Eubie Blake, 1932 Film"
posted by Alan Eichler, February 14, 2016

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. Retrieved January 29, 2018. Bill Robinson and Putney Dandridge's performance of "Is You Is or Is You Ain't" begins in the noted copy of ''Harlem Is Heaven'' at the 40:15 mark in the film's presentation.

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 ...

and The Andrews Sisters recorded the song on June 30, 1944 for Decca Records and it too reached the No. 2 spot in the Billboard charts during a 12-week stay. The song was also featured in the ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

'' short " Solid Serenade", in which Tom sings it to his lover. Tom's singing voice is provided by Ira "Buck" Woods. In the 1945 Warner Bros. cartoon " The Unruly Hare",

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

tricks

Elmer Fudd Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes''/''Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. Elmer Fudd's aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antag ...

into kissing him at which point Bugs asks Elmer, "Is you is or is you ain't my baby"? B. B. King and Dr. John covered it on '' Let the Good Times Roll'', King's

tribute album; the song won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby 1943 songs 1944 singles Louis Jordan songs Songs written by Louis Jordan Tom and Jerry Cab Calloway songs