"East St Louis Toodle-Oo" (also "Toodle-O") is a composition written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley and recorded several times by Ellington for various labels from 1926–1930 under various titles.1924–1930 Ellingtonia
Duke Ellington Discography. Retrieved 22 August 2011. This song was the first charting single for Duke Ellington in 1927 and was one of the main examples of his early "jungle music". This composition (which entered the public domain on January 1, 2023) was covered by Steely Dan on their 1974 album ''

Pretzel Logic ''Pretzel Logic'' is the third studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released on February 20, 1974, by ABC Records. It was written by principal band members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and recorded at The Village Recorder in Wes ...

''.

Recording history

Ellington first recorded "Toodle-Oo" in November 1926 for

Vocalion Records Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

, which was released as Vo (1064). He recorded the composition twice more in early 1927 for

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

; the first version was not released at the time, but the second was released as Br (3480). He recorded his hit version in March 1927 for Columbia Records, under the name "the Washingtonians". Along with recording "Toodle-Oo", two other compositions were recorded at the same session, "Hop Head" and "Down in Our Alley Blues", the former of which would be released as the B-side of Columbia 953-D.Dance, Stanley. Liner notes to ''The OKeh Ellington''. Columbia/Legacy Records, 1991. * November 29, 1926 E-4110 Vocalion 1064 * February 3, 1927 E-21636 E-21637 E-21538 Brunswick rejected * March 14, 1927 E-21872 Brunswick 3480, Brunswick 6801, Brunswick 80000, Vocalion 1064 (some later pressings) * March 22, 1927 W 143705-3 Columbia 953-D * December 19, 1927 41245-1 Victor 21703 * December 19, 1927 41245-2 Victor 21703, Bluebird B-6430, Montgomery Ward M-4889 * January 19, 1928 W 400032-A OKeh 8638 (as "Harlem Twist", by Lonnie Johnson's Harlem Footwarmers, which features Johnson on guitar) * March ?, 1928 2944-A and B Cameo 8182, Lincoln 2837, Romeo 612 (as The Washingtonians), and 108079-1 Pathe 36781, Perfect 14962 (as The Whoopee Makers) (identical to one of the takes of 2944) * April 3, 1930 150167-3 Diva 6046-G, Velvet Tone 7072-V (as Mills' Ten Black Berries) * February 9, 1932 71812-2 and 3 Victor L-16007 (33 1/3 10" long playing transcription, first part of a 3-song medley) * March 5, 1937 M-180-1 Master MA-101, Brunswick m7989 (as "The New East St. Louis Toodle-O") * February 7, 1956 Bethlehem Be BCP-60

Music

"East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" features a growling plunger-muted trumpet part played by co-composer Bubber Miley, one of the first jazz trumpeters to utilize the style. This style was carried on by later Ellington trumpeters Cootie Williams (1937 recording), and Ray Nance (1956 recording). For Steely Dan's 1974 cover of the song,

Walter Becker Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen t ...

played the melody through a

talk box A talk box (also spelled talkbox and talk-box) is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the sou ...

to imitate Miley's trumpet style, while Jeff "Skunk" Baxter used a pedal steel guitar for the trombone part.

Other notable recordings

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)

References

{{Authority control Compositions by Duke Ellington Steely Dan songs Jazz compositions in C minor Vocalion Records singles Brunswick Records singles Columbia Records singles Okeh Records singles