"Tain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)" is a song written by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musicians Melvin "Sy" Oliver and James "Trummy" Young. It was first recorded in 1939 by

Jimmie Lunceford James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Early life Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, ...

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

, and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, 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, phra ...

, and again the same year by

Nat Gonella Nathaniel Charles Gonella (7 March 1908 – 6 August 1998) was an English jazz trumpeter, bandleader, vocalist, and mellophone, mellophonist. He founded the big band The Georgians (Nat Gonella), The Georgians, during the British dance band era ...

and His Georgians. The "

shim sham The Shim Sham Shimmy, Shim Sham or just Sham originally is a particular tap dance routine and is regarded as tap dance's national anthem. For today's swing (dance), swing dancers, it is a line dance. History In the late 1920s, when Leonard Reed ...

" is often danced to the Lunceford recording of this song.

Fun Boy Three with Bananarama version

The jazz tune was transformed into a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

/ new wave song with

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

elements in 1982. With the title slightly altered to ''It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)'' (and shown on the single sleeve as ''It Ain't What You Do....''), it was recorded by

Fun Boy Three Fun Boy Three were an English new wave pop Fun Boy Three Allmusic bio/ref> band, active from 1981 to 1983 and formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left the Specials. They released two albums and had se ...

and

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

, and it was included on the former's self-titled debut album, but it was not available on a Bananarama album until 1988's '' Greatest Hits Collection''. Terry Hall of Fun Boy Three owned a copy of Bananarama's previous single "

Aie a Mwana "Aie a Mwana" is a song originally written by the French-Belgian writing and production team of Daniel Vangarde and Jean Kluger. It was first recorded in 1971 under the title "Aieaoa" on the album ''Le Monde fabuleux des Yamasuki''. In 1975, a v ...

", and, after seeing an article about the trio in '' The Face'', he decided he wanted them to sing background vocals on the song, solely based on the fact that he liked their look. "It Ain't What You Do...." became a big hit in the UK, climbing to number four in the UK Singles Chart, and achieving a Silver certification from the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

. The success of the single also prompted Bananarama to return the favour and have Fun Boy Three sing on their next single, "

Really Saying Something "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin" is a soul song written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Edward Holland, Jr. in 1964. The song is notable in both a 1964 version by American Motown girl group the Velvelette ...

Media appearances

* In 2012, the cover version was used in a commercial for

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

's color printers, which aired in the United States. * Throughout the early-mid 2010s, English DIY retailer B&Q used Fun Boy Three's version of the song. * Fun Boy Three's version of the song was also used in another television advertisement for the

Chrysler PT Cruiser The Chrysler PT Cruiser is a subcompact car that was built by the American company Chrysler from 2001 until 2010. Introduced as a five-door hatchback wagon, a two-door convertible variant was also made from 2005 until 2008. Originally planned ...

in the United Kingdom in the early 2000s. * Is part of the sound track of the film "Lolita" (1998) sung by Ella Fitzgerald. * The Lunceford version of the song appeared in several episodes of '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel''. * In the 2009 film

Youth in Revolt ''Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp'' is a 1993 epistolary novel by C. D. Payne. The story is told in a picaresque fashion and makes heavy use of dark humor and camp. The book contains parts one through three of an eleven-part s ...

this song was used.

Track listings

; 7" single #"It Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)" 2:54 #"The Funrama Theme" 2:56 + ; 12" single #"It Ain't What You Do..." / "Just Do It" (Extended Version) 5:55 ++ #"The Funrama Theme" (Extended Version) 5:55 + + A remix of "The Funrama Theme" with overdubbed brass, titled "Funrama 2", appears on The Fun Boy Three's album ''The Fun Boy Three''. ++ The first 2:52 of the 12" version is the standard album version of the song, which is different from the 7". Some reissues of the album also include the "Just Do It" section as a separate track.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tain't What You Do 1939 songs 1982 singles Bananarama songs Fun Boy Three songs Mildred Bailey songs Songs with music by Trummy Young Music videos directed by Steve Barron Songs with music by Sy Oliver Chrysalis Records singles