"Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)" is a 1941 popular song composed by
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
, with lyrics by
Lee Gaines. The song has been recorded numerous times by a number of artists in the years since, having become a
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 List ...
. Hit recordings have been by
Paul Weston & His Orchestra (vocal by
Matt Dennis
Matthew Loveland Dennis (February 11, 1914 – June 21, 2002) was an American singer, pianist, band leader, arranger, and writer of music for popular songs.
Biography
Dennis was born in Seattle, Washington, United States. His mother was a viol ...
) (reached No. 21 in 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 ...
'' charts in 1947) and by
The Four Aces (No. 20 in 1952).
Other notable recordings
*
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
– originally recorded with Duke Ellington in 1961 for an album called ''The Great Reunion'' and later included in the compilation CD ''
The Great Summit'' (2001)
*
Dave Brubeck
David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...
*
Chris Connor
Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009), was an American jazz singer.
Biography
Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Sh ...
– ''A Jazz Date With Chris Connor'' (1958)
*
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
– ''
Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet'' (1955)
*
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 ...
– ''
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook'' (1957)
*
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
and
Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s.
Along with the Supremes, the Miracles, the Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and the F ...
– ''
Together
''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi ...
'' (1964)
*
Dave Grusin
Robert David 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 work, incl ...
– ''
Homage to Duke'' (1993)
*
Joni James – ''The Mood Is Romance'' (1961).
*
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, ''Billboard (magazi ...
– for her album ''
Only Trust Your Heart
''Only Trust Your Heart'' is the second studio album by Canadian singer and pianist Diana Krall, released on February 14, 1995, by GRP Records.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Only Trust Your Heart''.
Musici ...
'' (1995)
*
Peggy Lee
Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...
– included on her album ''
Olé ala Lee'' (1961)
*
Mulgrew Miller,
Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen – ''
The Duets'' (1999)
*
Jane Monheit - ''Live At The Rainbow Room'' (2003)
References
External links
"Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)" at JazzStandards
1941 songs
Songs with music by Duke Ellington
Songs with lyrics by Lee Gaines
1940s jazz standards
Ella Fitzgerald songs
{{Pop-standard-stub