For this week’s Friday Fun, we land on a thing that doesn’t swing - Phil Harris’ The Thing!
Here’s Phil’s big 1950 hit on RCA Victor:
This, to me, is exactly how a novelty record should work: a clever song, an engaging singer, and an arrangement that gets in, gets the laugh, and gets out. No wonder it was such a, ummm, monster hit!
There were a few cover versions of “The Thing,” but somehow it just doesn’t sound right unless Phil Harris is the one delivering the punchlines.
But here’s where it gets even more fun: a sly little reference to The Thing pops up in Homer and Jethro’s parody of Hank Williams’ Cold, Cold Heart, recorded as Cold, Cold Heart No. 2 for RCA Victor in 1951.
See if you can catch it:
Pretty clever!
Hank Williams was reportedly a fan of Homer and Jethro and loved hearing what the boys did to his songs. Honestly, who could blame him - they were masters of affectionate mischief!
And it just goes to show - one Thing leads to another…
We pick up the Ray Noble thread for a quick post today. A small, but lovely stitch!
I mentioned yesterday how Ray had a solid reputation as both a composer and a bandleader - and how wonderful Al Bowlly was as his featured vocalist.
All of that is summed up beautifully on two sides of a 12‑inch 78 rpm record recorded for England’s HMV in 1936:
The record was also issued on Victor in the U.S., and it’s a perfect little showcase of Noble’s gifts. Across these two sides you get seven songs - all gems - written or co‑written by Ray, essentially a built‑in résumé for anyone wondering what all the fuss was about.
Today is Jackie Robinson Day for Major League Baseball, marking the anniversary of Jackie's debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
To help mark the occasion, let's spin Count Basie's great cover of Buddy Johnson's Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?, recorded with Taps Miller for RCA Victor in 1949:
That's trumpeter Taps Miller on the vocal. Just pure joy!
For this week’s Word Association Wednesday spin‑off from “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” my wheels were turning around the word thing. I wanted something from roughly the same moment in time, and Ray Noble’s Love Is the Sweetest Thing popped right into my head.
The Sweetness Begins
Ray is in the white suit and Al is the far left.
Ray recorded the song in England in September 1932 for HMV with vocalist Al Bowlly:
That record came out in 1933 and became a big hit on both sides of the pond, cementing Ray’s reputation as a composer and bandleader.
Fun side note: HMV was especially good at pushing Noble’s catalog internationally - released here on Victor - one of those early examples of a label realizing they had a transatlantic star on their hands and packaging him accordingly.
Bowlly Adds the Verse
The wonderful Al Bowlly also recorded his own version without Ray Noble for British Decca:
Nice to hear the verse!
A Cinematic Sprinkle
The song also made its way into the 1932 British film Say It With Music, where bandleader/vocalist Jack Payne performed it — and he recorded it for the Imperial label as well:
Dig that awesome custom record label.
This Side of the Pond
Skinnay Ennis is at the drums.
To close, let’s sneak in an American version. Here’s Hal Kemp’s 1933 Brunswick recording with Skinnay Ennis on the vocal:
I love those Kemp/Ennis sides from the 1930s.
It’s also fun hearing this song bookended by two very different 1930s vocal personalities: Al Bowlly, all velvet warmth and romantic glow, and Skinnay Ennis, the king of the feather‑light, half‑smiling whisper. If Bowlly is a rich dessert, Skinnay is a meringue.
Ninety‑plus years later, you still can’t argue: Love Is the Sweetest Thing.
We follow up on Duke Ellington’s classic It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) with a handful of covers and remakes - and there have been a zillion.
We start right in 1932, hot on the heels of Duke’s original, with three versions from the same year...
🎙️ The Mills Brothers (Brunswick, 1932)
I really dig those early‑’30s Mills Brothers records where they imitate musical instruments and John Jr. handles the bass notes and the guitar. They make the whole thing feel like a pocket orchestra.
🎶 The Boswell Sisters (Brunswick, 1932)
The Boswell Sisters’ records just don’t sound like anything else — they’re their own little universe of harmony, rhythm, and mischief.
With Duke’s original, that makes three Brunswick versions in 1932. Not bad for a tune that had barely cooled on the bandstand!
RWK was on the cover of Time in 1927 at age 19!
🎺 Roger Wolfe Kahn & His Orchestra (Columbia, 1932)
A full‑blown early‑’30s dance‑band treatment with a croony vocal trio - and, if the discographers are right, a young Artie Shaw on clarinet! It’s fascinating to hear the song refracted through that pre‑Swing‑Era lens.
As with many hit songs of the 1930s, after the initial flurry of recordings, the tune went quiet for a while. Labels didn’t really remake older songs yet. But by 1939, a couple of intriguing revivals pop up...
🥁 Lionel Hampton (Victor, 1939)
Hamp was always digging up older tunes for the pickup groups he led on his Victor side-hustle while moonlighting from the Benny Goodman band. He always sounds great - pure energy.
🤠 The Tune Wranglers (Bluebird, 1939)
A Duke Ellington song played by a 1930s cowboy band? You know I'm in! It’s a blast, but vocalist Red Brown sings, “If you haven’t got that swing.” Wouldn’t you expect a cowboy to say ain’t?
Jumping ahead to the 1950s, we get three more gems...
🎤 Al Hibbler (Chess, 1951)
Former Ellington vocalist Al Hibbler sounds terrific here, and that Tricky Sam Nanton‑inspired trombone solo - maybe Matthew Gee- is a knockout!
🎙️ Mel Tormé (Coral, 1954)
This tune sits right in Mel’s wheelhouse. His version also features some Tricky Sam‑style trombone, likely courtesy of big‑band veteran Murray McEachern.
🌙 June Christy (Capitol, 1958)
The Misty Miss Christy included this on her album June’s Got Rhythm, and yes - June’s got rhythm all right!
This is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to versions of It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing), but these are some of my favorites - and they all mean something.
As we step into 1932 with Duke Ellington, we hit another
landmark -It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)!
The wild part? This became the anthem of the Swing Era… before the Swing
Era even existed. Duke was out here naming the decade before anyone else had
even sharpened a pencil!
The Origin Story
The story goes that the famous phrase - came from Bubber Miley - you remember him, the
growl‑trumpet wizard whose sound practically defined early Ellington. Bubber sadly passed away just months after the song was recorded, but his spirit is
baked right into the tune. Even after he left the band, that line stuck around
like a beloved inside joke. Duke and Irving Mills turned it into a song, and
suddenly the band had a slogan that doubled as a life philosophy.
Let’s spin the original Brunswick recording with Ivie Anderson
on the vocal:
This doesn’t sound like anything else from 1932. It feels timeless.
A couple things jump out:
Ivie isn’t just “the singer” - she’s part of the arrangement. Her
voice weaves in and out of the band like another horn.
The
soloists are on fire. Bubber's old cohort “Tricky Sam” Nanton growls his way through the
trombone chorus, and Johnny Hodges takes over with his alto like he’s been waiting all
day for someone to hand him the spotlight!
The song became a signature tune for Duke, and he kept
revisiting it over the decades - reshaping it to fit the moment. Let’s hop
through a few of those versions.
The 1940s: Swagger and Canaries
Jumping ahead to 1943, we get this terrific arrangement
featuring Ray Nance and Taft Jordan sharing the vocal.
Fun detail: tenor man Al Sears gets label billing on the V‑Disc.
He’s great, but honestly everyone’s cooking here - it's an embarrassment of riches!
And to see them in action, here’s a clip from an RKO Jamboree short with basically the same arrangement:
Ray Nance singing and playing violin, Taft Jordan
singing and playing trumpet, Al Sears tearing it up… but the highlight
for me is Tricky Sam’s trombone solo. Watching him work that plunger mute is
pure joy!
Maria, Kay, Joya
Next up, a 1945 version featuring Joya Sherrill with Kay
Davis and Maria Ellington joining in.
Not sure how this was originally released, but this Victor label is
from Sweden.
Funny twist: Al Sears doesn’t get label credit here, but his
solo is actually longer than in the 1943 version.
The trio of canaries sounds fantastic. And no - Maria Ellington was not
related to Duke, but she did become related to another great jazz pianist when she later married Nat King Cole!
And did I mention I have a retro crush on Joya? Because I do!
The 1950s & 60s: The Duke, the Queen and the King
Now we get to Ella! This version comes from the 1958 Ella
Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book, though it was recorded in
1956 with a small group rather than the Ellington orchestra and is not technically an Ellington recording,
We’ve got Barney Kessel on guitar and
Ray Nance swinging the violin, with Ella's personal pianist Paul Smith rather than Duke. We'll say it's Ellington-adjacent!
Ella makes the song seem like it was written for her!
To make up for Duke not being on that track, here’s a
treat: Duke and Ella performing it together on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1965:
How fun is that? Even Ed seemed to be excited!
Next, from 1961 comes an extended instrumental version from the
intriguingly titled Columbia album Piano in the Background:
It’s a fascinating reimagining - looser, roomier, and full
of that early‑’60s Ellington glow.
Ray Nance handles the trumpet solo. Ray could also dance, sing, and play
violin, which is why the band called him Floorshow!
Now it's 1963 and another titan enters the chat. Louis Armstrong joins Duke on
this version from the Roulette album The Great Reunion:
Satch even sings the rarely‑heard verse!
The small group includes old friend Barney Bigard on clarinet and Jimmie Lunceford alum Trummy Young on trombone. The group may be small in size, but it's huge on talent!
The Final Bow: 1973
To close the loop, we go to Duke’s
final studio sessions, which teamed him with the ever-delightful Teresa Brewer for the Flying Dutchman album It Don’t Mean a
Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing. Teresa is joined
by tap legend Bunny Briggs on the vocal:
It’s a fun, spirited version - and it’s wonderful to hear
Ray Nance still in the band, along with Harry Carney, Duke’s longest‑serving
sideman, still providing that baritone bedrock 40 years later!
And that’s our swing‑through‑the‑decades tour!
From 1932 to 1973, Duke kept this tune alive, reshaping it,
refreshing it, and proving - over and over - that it really does mean a
thing 'cuz he's always got that swing!
You didn’t actually think we were done with Shep Fields, did
you?
For some Friday fun, we’re heading back to 1937 with Shep’s
band in full Rippling Rhythm mode on The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down. This
tune is still instantly recognizable today as the theme for the Looney Tunes
cartoons, but most people don't realize it started life as a genuine pop song! If
you only know this tune from Bugs and Daffy, you’re in for a treat!
The Sweet Rides
Here’s Shep with Bobby Goday on Bluebird:
I think Shep’s Rippling Rhythm band does the best ‘merry‑go‑round’
of them all — that bubbly, circular texture is practically built for this tune!
But in addition to Shep’s, a couple of other sweet bands
jumped on the merry‑go‑round with some popular versions.
The first artist to record the tune was trombonist/composer/arranger Russ Morgan with his orchestra featuring Jimmie Lewis on Brunswick:
Russ was still fiddling with his billing, as it shows Music in the Russ Morgan Manner rather than the later, more familiar Russ Morgan and his Orchestra "Music in the Morgan Manner," which used up a lot of label space!
And the elegant society pianist Eddy Duchin recorded it for Victor with
his longtime vocalist Lew Sherwood:
That one fascinates me — it gets a little rippling‑rhythm‑y
itself! I think I need to listen to more Eddy Duchin records.
I’m pretty sure the first time I heard “The Merry-Go-Round
Broke Down” as an actual song was on an album of radio transcription
discs by Dick Jurgens and his Orchestra. Here’s that version with Eddy
Howard on the vocal:
The skit that bookends the track doesn’t do much for me (although it maybe wouldn't have been included on a commercial record for home use), but
the arrangement underneath is pretty snappy. And Eddy Howard could sing the
phone book and I’d still be happy!
The Swinging Ride
Jimmie and the boys have upgraded their ride!
The tune also made its way to perhaps the swingiest of the
swing bands - Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra. Arranger Sy Oliver could make anything
swing, and here’s proof. Sy also handles the vocal on this Decca side:
Now that’s a merry‑go‑round I’d hop on!
Across the Pond
Some of the British bands got in on the fun too. Here’s Roy
Fox on HMV with Sid Buckman on the vocal:
I know I've said it before, but those 1930s British dance bands had it going on!
Staying in England, we hit perhaps the most surreal version
to make it onto shellac - this British Brunswick release by Billy Costello, the (former) original voice of Popeye from the Fleischer cartoons:
I don’t think that version was released in the U.S. at the
time, apparently because Billy wasn't authorized to used the Popeye name, but whatever the case, we basically have Popeye singing the theme
song of a cartoon series from a rival studio on a British label. Only in the
1930s!
Still in Europe, here’s a fun instrumental version from
France by ex-patriate American trumpeter Bill Coleman with a small group including the
legendary Stéphane Grappelli on violin, on the Swing label:
Pure 1937 joy right there!
The Winning Revival
After the flurry of recordings in 1937, the tune didn’t get
revisited much in the following years - probably because it became the Looney
Tunes theme that same year, first used in the cartoon Rover’s Rival.
So it’s especially intriguing that two decades later, in
1958, a trio billed as The Poll Winners included it on their album The Poll
Winners Ride Again on the Contemporary label. Said poll winners are guitarist Barney
Kessel, drummer Shelley Manne, and bassist Ray Brown! It’s almost unfair to
unleash those West Coast Jazz legends on an old novelty tune, but we’re the beneficiaries.
This is where the merry‑go‑round grows up and gets a driver’s license!
The Daffiest Ride of All
We’ve taken a lot of rides on this merry‑go‑round, but we
still need to check out what is perhaps the definitive version. Here’s Daffy
Duck singing his own take from 1938’s Daffy Duck and Egghead:
