Monday Side‑Session: Doin’ Somethin’

Yesterday I mentioned that Duke Ellington’s great 1940 showcase for Cootie Williams, Concerto for Cootie, took on a second life a couple of years later when Bob Russell added lyrics and turned it into the pop song Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me.

So today, we’ll take a little tour through some notable versions of that tune.

🎙️ Ban‑Era Birth of a Ballad

The American Federation of Musicians recording ban was still in effect when the song appeared, so Duke couldn’t record it right away. But the band began performing it in 1943, as we hear on this aircheck featuring vocalist Al Hibbler:

The melody is the same, of course, but the new arrangement — with Lawrence Brown’s trombone and Al’s vocal — makes it feel like a different song entirely from Concerto for Cootie, if you follow me.

📻 Reissues, Renamings & Rising Fame

Duke must have liked the lyrics, because the band kept the song in rotation on broadcasts and personal appearances, even though Victor was late settling with the musicians’ union and couldn’t record it. Meanwhile, as the song gained popularity, Victor reissued the original 1940 Concerto for Cootie under the new Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me title — and it became a big hit.

Meanwhile, Decca and Capitol both settled with the AFM in the fall of 1943, and each label jumped on the song and released popular versions.

💿 Decca Dives In

Decca handed the tune to Woody Herman, who delivered it with his own vocal:

The song really suits Woody — relaxed, confident, and right in his wheelhouse.

📀 Capitol Comes Calling

Capitol gave the song to Stan Kenton, featuring Red Dorris on the vocal:

This was from Stan’s very first Capitol session, but the band already had its own unmistakable sound.

Red also played tenor sax, so he fits that classic side character mold of the sax player with a fun nickname who steps up for the occasional vocal.

🎼 Columbia Comes Through at Last

By the time Victor finally settled with the federation in late 1944, the song wasn’t quite as fresh, so Duke didn’t record it for the label. Fortunately for us, he did cut a studio version with Al Hibbler for Columbia in 1947:

You can hear that Al is leaning a bit more into his idiosyncrasies than he did in 1943, though not as much as he would during his later solo career. He was a unique vocalist, to be sure!

🌟 Ella Elevates, Webster Warms

Let’s jump ahead to 1957 for Ella Fitzgerald’s epic seven‑and‑a‑half‑minute version from her Verve album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook, Volume One:

Ella sings it as though it were written just for her, and Ben Webster’s tenor is as magnificent as ever.

As a bonus, here's Ella performing the song with Duke on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1965:

So wonderful to see!

🎺 Satchmo Stamps His Signature

Louis Armstrong joins Duke for this track from their 1961 Roulette album Recording Together for the First Time:

It’s great to hear Satch put his own stamp on the song.

🎚️ Brown’s Bold, Brassy Back‑to‑Backs

For an Ellington‑adjacent version, Lawrence Brown returns to the tune for an instrumental take on his 1965 Impulse! album Inspired Abandon:

Sounds great — warm, confident, and unmistakably Lawrence.

And he’s back with Duke again for this instrumental version from the 1966 RCA Victor album The Popular Duke Ellington:

A totally different vibe, but both cuts show just how masterful Lawrence Brown was on the trombone.

🎺 Cootie Comes Back

We sneak back to 1960 to (sort of) come full circle as Cootie Williams returns with this cut from his awesomely title Warwick album Do Nothing Till You Hear from Cootie:

I included this one today and not yesterday, as it plays more as Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me rather than as Concerto for Cootie, if that makes any sense!

🎵 A Melody’s Many Lives

A great ride through both versions of Duke’s melody — the instrumental original and the lyrical reinvention that took on a life of its own.