Tuesday Tidbit: The Singers Join the Caravan

Yesterday we roamed through a whole caravan of instrumental versions of the Juan Tizol/Duke Ellington classic Caravan. There are so many instrumental takes that you can almost forget the tune even has lyrics. So today, we let the singers climb aboard.

Mills Magic in the Mirage

We’ll warm up with a “vocal” version that doesn’t actually feature the lyrics at all — the fabulous Mills Brothers and their patented instrument imitations on this 1938 Decca recording:

They often imitated instruments on their 1930s records, but this is the only one I know where they skip sung lyrics entirely. Pretty cool!

Also cool: this 1942 Soundie of the Mills performing Caravan:

I’m not sure why they’re dressed like that, but they sound terrific — and the dancing is snazzy.

Valaida's Vocal Venture

The first version to actually feature the lyrics came from Valaida, the singer/trumpeter, on this Swedish recording from 1939:

I’m not sure whether it was released in the U.S. at the time. Valaida Snow was American, but like several other Black artists of the era, she found greater popularity in Europe.

Mr. B Meets the Mirage

We have to jump all the way to 1949 for the first version with lyrics on a major American label. That honor goes to Billy Eckstine on MGM:

Billy’s voice fits the mysterious mood of the song beautifully, and Hugo Winterhalter’s accompaniment wraps around him like desert night air.

Nat Navigates the Night Sky

Next stop: 1957, for something of an “authorized” version from Nat King Cole. I say that because Juan Tizol himself brings his valve trombone to the session for Nat’s Capitol album After Midnight:

It sounds wonderful — Nat’s trio is joined by Jack Costanza on bongos to deepen the atmosphere. An awesome album, by the way!

Even better, Nat performed the tune on his TV show with Juan right there beside him:

So cool to see them in action!

Bobby Brings the Breeze

We skip ahead to 1960 for one more vocal Caravan, this time from Bobby Darin on his Atco album This Is Darin:

You just can’t beat Bobby singing a standard. That's an awesome album as well!

And here’s Bobby again, performing the same arrangement on TV in 1973:

He looks and sounds so good that it’s hard to believe he’d be gone within a year.

So, the vocal caravan may not be as long as the instrumental one, but there are some real gems in these dunes!

Warehouse Whispers

One last wandering thought as our caravan heads home: I’ve always been curious about Irving Mills’ credits on these songs. Did he actually ever make any contributions? He’s listed as the sole lyricist for Caravan, but did he actually write them? Did he hire a ghostwriter? Did a passing sandstorm blow the paperwork into his lap? And while Duke shares composer credit with Juan Tizol, most folks agree Juan brought in that hypnotic melody, with Duke adding his usual Ellington sparkle. The publishing world back then was its own little oasis of mysteries!

Drop a comment with your thoughts.