"Ain't Nobody's Business" (originally "Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do") is a 1920s

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

song that became one of the first blues standards. It was published in 1922 by Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins. The song features a lyrical theme of

freedom of choice Freedom of choice describes an individual's opportunity and autonomy to perform an action selected from at least two available options, unconstrained by external parties. In politics In the abortion debate, for example, the term "freedom of c ...

and a vaudeville jazz–style musical arrangement. It was first recorded, as "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do", in 1922 by Anna Meyers, backed by the Original Memphis Five. Recordings by other classic female blues singers, including Sara Martin,

Alberta Hunter Alberta Hunter (April 1, 1895 – October 17, 1984) was an American jazz and blues singer and songwriter from the early 1920s to the late 1950s. After twenty years of working as a nurse, Hunter resumed her singing career in 1977. Early life Hu ...

, and

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1892 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was t ...

soon followed. In 1947, the song was revived by the

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

singer

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues and jazz singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, an ...

as "Ain't Nobody's Business". It was the best-selling

race record Race records is a term for 78-rpm phonograph records marketed to African Americans between the 1920s and 1940s.Oliver, Paul. "Race record". Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 13 Feb. 2015. They primarily contained race music, comprising v ...

of 1949 and inspired numerous adaptations of the song. In 2011, Witherspoon's rendition was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame as a "Classic of Blues Recording".

Composition and lyrics

The early versions of "Ain't Nobody's Business" feature vocals with piano and sometimes horn accompaniment. They are performed as moderate-tempo blues and have an extended sixteen-bar introduction: The remaining verses are eight bars in length, with the first four describing a situation, such as "If I go to church on Sunday, then cabaret on Monday", and the last four concluding with the refrain "Tain't nobody's biz-ness if I do". The song's eight-bar chord scheme was a model for subsequent "bluesy" Tin Pan Alley songs and R&B ballads in an AABA form. The music and lyrics are usually credited to two pianists – Porter Grainger, who had been

's accompanist from 1924 to 1928, and Everett Robbins, who had his own bands and worked briefly with

Mamie Smith Mamie Smith ( Robinson; May 26, 1891 – August or September 16, 1946) was an American singer. As a vaudeville singer, she performed in multiple styles, including jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues history as the first African-American a ...

. Clarence Williams, who played the piano on Bessie Smith's recording, is sometimes listed as a co-author of the song. BMI, the performing rights organization, lists Grainger, Williams, Witherspoon, and Graham Prince. The original lyrics were copyrighted in 1922 and are now in the public domain.

Recordings and releases

Anna Meyers recorded "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do" on October 19, 1922, in New York City, backed by the Original Memphis Five. The song was released as a ten-inch 78 rpm single on Pathé Actuelle for the US market by the French-based

Pathé Records Pathé Records was an international record company and label and producer of phonographs, based in France, and active from the 1890s through the 1930s. Early years The Pathé record business was founded by brothers Charles and Émile Pathé, ...

. Other early recordings include those by Billie Holiday, Sara Martin (with

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

on piano),

, and

. The lyrics mention an abusive partner: In 1928, a country blues rendition was recorded by Memphis, Tennessee, singer-guitarist Frank Stokes. His finger-style acoustic guitar version uses a simple I-IV-V chord progression and different lyrics, including the refrain "It ain't nobody's business but mine". In the post–World War II blues era, the jump blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon revived the song as "Ain't Nobody's Business". He performed it in the West Coast blues style with understated backing by piano, guitar, bass, drums, and a three-piece horn section. The song was recorded in Los Angeles on November 15, 1947, and released by Supreme Records in September 1948. It entered the record chart on March 5, 1949, and reached number one. Witherspoon's song was the best-selling R&B record of 1949.

Recognition and influence

In 2011, Witherspoon's "Ain't Nobody's Business" was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. According to the Foundation, "its message continued to resonate, as borne out by the remarkable success of Witherspoon's two-part rendition, which remained on the Billboard 'race records' charts for 34 weeks. It was rated No. 3 in all-time chart longevity in

Joel Whitburn Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings. Early life Joel Carver Whitburn was born in W ...

's ''Top R&B Singles 1942–1988''." Witherspoon's rendition also inspired numerous artists to record adaptations of the song. Hank Williams Jr. recorded a version for his ''Lone Wolf'' album. Released as a single in 1990, it peaked at number 15 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. In 1996, a version by H₂O featuring Billie reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart.

References

External links

*Song lyrics at Wikisource:Ain't Nobody's Business {{authority control 1922 songs 1949 singles 1990 singles Billie Holiday songs Dinah Washington songs Freddie King songs Bessie Smith songs Hank Williams Jr. songs Blues songs Warner Records singles Curb Records singles Okeh Records singles