"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 repetiti ...

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 bas ...

, 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 choic ...

, 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

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'' (1958) *

and

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

on '' The Great Summit'' (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 1991) ...

''. * Richie Kamuca - ''Drop Me Off at Harlem'' (1975) * Ran Blake - '' Duke Dreams'' (1981) * Sun Ra - ''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= ...

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 '' ...

and

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

It's very nice Way up there in Harlem

Notable recordings

Lyrics

Notes

See also