"Things Ain't What They Used to Be" is a 1942

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 ...

with music by

Mercer Ellington Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death. Biography Early life and education Ellin ...

and lyrics by Ted Persons.

Background

In 1941 there was a strike against the

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

, of which

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 ...

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 William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger, who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take ...

. Strayhorn's compositions of this time include "

Take the 'A' Train A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

", "

Chelsea Bridge Chelsea Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames in west London, connecting Chelsea on the north bank to Battersea on the south bank, and split between the City of Westminster, the London Borough of Wandsworth and the Royal Borough of Kens ...

" and "

Day Dream "Day Dream" is a jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by John Latouche and written in 1939. It was first recorded by saxophonist Johnny Hodges and his ensemble on November 2, 1940. Duke Ellington was credited as co-composer on ...

". Mercer wrote "Things Ain't What They Used to Be", "Blue Serge" and "Moon Mist"."Things Ain't What They Used to Be"
at ''jazzstandards.com'' - retrieved on 27 May 2009 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. The song is most often played as an instrumental. Lyrics were written by Ted Persons.

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

played it first, in Hollywood on July 3, 1941.

Other versions

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

and His Orchestra (1942). This version went to number eight on the

Harlem Hit Parade 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 ...

chart. * Duke Ellington – '' Piano Reflections'' (1953) * Dave Brubeck– ''

Newport 1958 ''Newport 1958'' is a 1958 album by Duke Ellington, recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival of that year and later in the Columbia recording studio. It was released two years after ''Ellington at Newport'', the 1956 album that led to Ellington's ca ...

'' (1958) * Duke Ellington and Ray Brown – ''This One's for Blanton'' (1972) *

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

– ''Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife'' (1959) *

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, ...

with Dizzy Gillespie,

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

, and

Eddie Lockjaw Davis Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology * Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

– ''Oscar Peterson Jam/Montreux 77'' (1977) *

Gene Harris Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds tri ...

– ''Live at Town Hall'' (1989) *

Dave Grusin Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record w ...

- ''

Homage to Duke ''Homage to Duke'' is an album by American pianist Dave Grusin released in 1993, recorded for GRP Records, and is Grusin's interpretation of Duke Ellington's music. The album was well received. In addition to Mood Indigo winning the 1994 Gramm ...

'' (1993) * Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette - ''

Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note ''Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note'' ''The complete recordings'' is a 6-CD box set live album by Keith Jarrett's Standards Trio recorded at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City in 1994 and released by ECM Records in October 1995. Totaling mor ...

'' (1994) *

Jacky Terrasson Jacky Terrasson (born November 27, 1965) is a French jazz pianist and composer. Background Terrasson's mother is African-American from Georgia, and his father is French. From his parents he heard classical music as a child. He began piano lesson ...

- ''

Alive Alive may refer to: *Life Books, comics and periodicals * ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler * '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka * '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', ...

'' (1998)

Popular Culture

*Duke Ellington played it for the film ''Cabin in the Sky'' (1943). *An instrumental version was frequently played as the closing music for ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'' by The Tonight Show Band under the direction of

Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) a ...

. * In the beginning of ''

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

'', Joe Gardner leads his middle school jazz band in a poorly performed rendition of the piece.

Notes and references

1942 songs 1940s jazz standards {{1940s-jazz-composition-stub