Staying in 1940 with Duke Ellington, we flip over last week’s Victor disc of Never No Lament (Don’t Get Around Much Anymore) and land on another stone‑cold classic — Cotton Tail.
Ben Barges In
This side was essentially Ben Webster’s coming‑out party with the Ellington orchestra. Duke had never truly featured a tenor sax soloist before Ben arrived, and Cotton Tail became the perfect vehicle for his huge, urgent, modern sound.
Let’s spin it:
Forward‑thinking for 1940, influential for generations, and still fresh 86 years later.
Ben in Motion: The “Hot Chocolate” Soundie
Here’s the fun Soundie Hot Chocolate, showing Ben and the band tearing it up on camera:
Some fancy jitterbugging going on, too!
You may also notice that the title card shows the name of the song as "Cottontail," following the Stardust/Moonglow route!
Before Ben: No Tenor Stars
As I mentioned, it's fascinating that before Webster joined, Duke’s band had no featured tenor sax soloist. Barney Bigard played tenor in the section but took his solos on clarinet. Once Ben arrived, Duke always kept a tenor star on the roster — and each got their crack at Cotton Tail.
As an example, here’s Al Sears giving it his own spin on a 1945 aircheck:
That's an interesting bit from the announcer about the tunes title — I wonder if it's true!
A Tenor‑less Twist: Billy Strayhorn Trio (1951)
One of the most unusual versions is this 1951 Mercer label recording by the Billy Strayhorn Trio — no tenor sax at all:
Just Duke and Billy sharing piano duties, with Wendell Marshall on bass. A completely different texture.
Ben After Duke: King of the Tenors
Of course, Ben kept “Cotton Tail” in his book long after leaving Ellington. Here’s a great 1954 take from his Norgran LP The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster (reissued as King of the Tenors on Verve in 1957):
He really was King of the Tenors!
Ella’s Scat‑Driven Spin
The tune doesn’t naturally lend itself to lyrics, but that didn’t stop Ella Fitzgerald from recording a mostly‑scat version for her 1957 Duke Ellington Songbook album on Verve:
That’s Ben on tenor, name‑checked by Ella, with Stuff Smith on violin and Barney Kessel on guitar adding tasty solos.
Ella at Duke’s Place
Ella returned to the tune in 1966 for this great take with Duke and the band from the Verve album Ella at Duke’s Place:
Totally different vibe — Ella becomes a featured “instrument,” with the band swirling around her. Paul Gonsalves gets a brief tenor moment, and Cat Anderson fires off those trademark high‑note blasts from the trumpet section.
Here's a great video of Ella with Duke and the band also from 1966:
Paul Gonsalves gets a nice "duet" with Ella and everyone seems to be having a blast — I think Johnny Hodges even cracked a smile!
Louis Armstrong & Duke
Let’s sneak back to 1961 for a similar vocal approach by Louis Armstrong with his All Stars and Duke, from their Roulette album Recording Together for the First Time:
Satch and Duke are in fine form, and Trummy Young on trombone and Barney Bigard on clarinet are awesome!
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
We close with a full vocal version — Lambert, Hendricks & Ross from their 1960 Columbia album Sing Ellington:
This track is notable as I think it's the only version of the song with full lyrics. It’s clever and interesting, though maybe a little too cutesy for my taste. As always, your mileage may vary.
Stamped, carted and shelved — and as Ella says, "That’s Cot-ton Tail!"
