"Ja-Da (Ja Da, Ja Da, Jing, Jing, Jing!)" is a hit song written in

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

by Bob Carleton. The title is sometimes rendered simply as "Jada." Ja-Da has flourished through the decades as a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

. In his definitive ''American Popular Songs'',

Alec Wilder Alexander Lafayette Chew Wilder (February 16, 1907 – December 24, 1980) was an American composer. Biography Wilder was born in Rochester, New York, United States, to a prominent family; the Wilder Building downtown (at the "Four Corners") ...

writes about the song's simplicity:

Selected renditions of Ja-Da

* Player piano roll, Vocalstyle Company, #11302. Vodvil Series, as played by Cliff Hess *

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Original New Orleans Jazz Band The Original New Orleans Jazz Band was one of the first jazz bands to make recordings. Composed of mostly New Orleans musicians, the band was popular in New York City in the late 1910s. The group included some of the first New Orleans style play ...

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Arthur Fields Arthur Fields (August 6, 1884 – March 29, 1953) was an American singer (baritone) and songwriter. Biography He was born Abraham Finkelstein in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but grew up mainly in Utica, New York. He became a professional ...

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

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Tommy Ladnier Thomas James Ladnier (May 28, 1900 – June 4, 1939) was an American jazz trumpeter. Hugues Panassié – an influential French critic, jazz historian, and renowned exponent of Dixieland, New Orleans jazz – rated Ladnier, sometime on or before ...

and Sidney Bechet *

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

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Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as ''On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime B ...

sings it in the musical film '' Rose of Washington Square'' (1939) *

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

— Bunk Johnson and

Don Ewell Donald Tyson Ewell (November 14, 1916 – August 9, 1983) was an American jazz stride pianist. He worked with Sidney Bechet, Kid Ory, George Lewis, George Brunis, Muggsy Spanier, and Bunk Johnson. Biography Born in Baltimore, Maryland, E ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

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Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

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Muggsy Spanier Francis Joseph "Muggsy" Spanier (November 9, 1901 – February 12, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist based in Chicago. He was a member of the Bucktown Five, pioneers of the "Chicago style" that straddled traditional Dixieland jazz and swing ...

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

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Big Chief Jazzband Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show presente ...

(on the 78 rpm record His Master's Voice A.L. 3401) * 1955 — Marian McPartland - '' At the Hickory House'' *

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

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Pee Wee Hunt Walter Gerhardt "Pee Wee" Hunt (May 10, 1907 – June 22, 1979) was an American jazz trombonist, vocalist, and bandleader. Hunt was born in Mount Healthy, Ohio. He developed a musical interest at an early age, as his mother, Sadie, played the ban ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

— Ted Heath Orchestra *

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

—

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

and The Four Seasons *

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, and

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

— Musical entertainers

Sharon, Lois & Bram Sharon, Lois & Bram (also known as Sharon, Bram & Friends, Sharon & Bram or Sharon & Randi) are a Canadian children's music group founded in Toronto, Ontario, 1978. The group's original lineup consisted of Sharon (née Trostin) Hampson, Lo ...

& The Mammoth Band, recorded live and in studio *

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java" and the accompanying album '' Honey in the Horn'' (1963), and for the them ...

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first rec ...

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 ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

Hot Tuna Hot Tuna is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 by former Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen (guitarist/vocals) and Jack Casady (bassist). Although it has always been a fluid aggregation, with musicians coming and going over the ...

as "Keep On Truckin'"First released on '' Burgers''. Title, lyrics and some chord changes in this rendition (and the band name '

') are related to a song first recorded by Blind Boy Fuller, Truckin' My Blues Away, the origin for the phrase "Keep on Truckin'". This recording reappeared on Flight Log, a 1977 compilation by

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

and related bands, this time with the double title "Ja Da (Keep on Truckin')". The song is credited to Carleton or, on recent releases, as "traditional" (for example, on '' Live in Japan''). ; ; *

Johnny and The Hurricanes Johnny and the Hurricanes were an American instrumental rock band from Toledo, Ohio, United States. They specialized in adapting popular traditional melodies into the rock idiom, using organ and saxophone as their featured instruments. Between ...

* Bobby Hackett *

God-des and She God-Des and She are an American hip-hop/pop/soul duo from the Midwest, composed of Alicia Smith (God-des) and Tina Gassen (She). Since they appeared on the Showtime hit series The L Word in 2006, they have sold more than 30,000 albums and toured ...

The Fireballs The Fireballs, sometimes billed as Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, were an American rock and roll group, particularly popular at the end of the 1950s and in the early 1960s. The original line-up consisted of George Tomsco (lead guitar), Chuck ...

, the band were singing that song, in 1966. * Scott Walker chorus sung in song "

Psoriatic Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to complete ...

" from 2006's '' The Drift'' *

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

're-invented it' using the Ja-Da chords for his composition " Doxy" in 1954.

Rendition used in comedy

* In the 1970s, the tune was appropriated by the Canadian comedy duo

Maclean and Maclean MacLean & MacLean were a Canadian musical comedy duo. They performed regularly in Canada between 1972 and 1998 and recorded seven albums. The duo consisted of brothers Gary MacLean (1944–2001) and Blair MacLean (1942–2008). The MacLeans were ...

, who recorded it as their signature piece, with bawdy lyrics added.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ja-Da 1918 songs 1910s jazz standards 1926 songs American songs Sixteen bar sections

Selected renditions of Ja-Da

Rendition used in comedy

See also

Notes