Monday Side‑Session: Lost Lyrics

For today’s side‑session, let’s take a little journey in search of the lyrics to Juan Tizol’s classic composition Perdido.

Setting Out

I’d always assumed the first vocal version was this great take by the divine Sarah Vaughan on Columbia in 1950:

That’s just a wonderful record, helping cement Sarah’s rep as a talent to be reckoned with.

JD's Label Clue

But I started wondering whether the lyrics had been added before 1950. A clue turns up on Jimmy Dorsey’s 1946 Decca recording — even though it’s an instrumental:

Let’s not sleep on the snazzy guitar solo by Herb Ellis, giving the song a modern‑for‑1946 sound!

The real breadcrumb is on the label: Juan Tizol, Harry Lenk, and Ervin Drake listed as songwriters, with Lenk and Drake being the lyricists. So it would seem Perdido had lyrics as early as 1946.

But were there any vocal recordings?

Across the Atlantic

The short answer is yes — but they weren’t American...

Two 1945 European records appear to be the earliest vocal versions, and they may not have had U.S. distribution at all.

First up: British singer Dorothy Carless, backed by Belgian trumpeter/bandleader Gus Deloof, on this Belgian side:

Very nice!

Next is another Belgian release, this one from violinist/bandleader Fud Candrix with vocalist Tohama:

Utterly charming!

But What About an American Vocal Version?

Singers Dave Lambert and Buddy Stewart recorded Perdido for the Keynote label in 1947. Do they sing the lyrics?

Let’s spin it and find out:

Nope — extremely cool, but it’s a scat vocal. No actual lyrics to be heard.

Not a studio recording, but Ella Fitzgerald performed the song at the Jazz at the Philharmonic Carnegie Hall concert in 1949. Does she sing the lyrics?

No — she sings sort‑of lyrics that make it sound like there weren’t established lyrics yet, before scatting away!

Conclusion

So, it seems the first recording of Perdido to get wide release in the U.S. was indeed Sarah Vaughan’s 1950 version, but...

Will We Ever Know?

As with so many Ellington‑adjacent mysteries, the real story may be scattered across old publisher files, lost ledgers, and forgotten contracts. But the chase — as always — is half the fun.