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.

Sundays with Duke #40: Juan Gets Lost

As we step into 1942 with Duke Ellington, we run straight into another classic — Juan Tizol’s Perdido.

Duke arranged the tune, and the band recorded it for Victor that January with solos by Ben Webster, Ray Nance, and Rex Stewart.

Let’s give it a spin:

That three‑note figure just sings “Perdido!” over and over, and the whole thing moves along with that effortless Ellington glide.

A Hit That Stayed Hit

The tune clicked with the public immediately, and Duke kept it in rotation from then on. Other musicians picked up on it quickly too — there have been zillions of versions. Between Perdido and Caravan, Juan Tizol must have been cashing a lot of royalty checks!

At Capitol with Cat

One of the many Ellington recordings of Perdido is this snappy version for the Capitol Transcription Service from 1946:

Cat Anderson was definitely making his presence known in the trumpet section!

Johnny Gets Lost in Paris

While the Ellington band was touring Europe in 1950, Johnny Hodges and several members recorded a small‑group version in Paris for the Vogue label:

French pianist Raymond Fol sits in for Duke — it must have been a dream come true for him to play with a group of Ellingtonians.

Oscar's Outing

Meanwhile, also in 1950, Duke joined bassist/cellist Oscar Pettiford for this take on the Mercer label:

Bassist Lloyd Trotman and legendary drummer Jo Jones complete the quartet for this showcase for Oscar's cello.

Way Uptown

Duke and the band are back in the studio for Columbia in 1952 for this astounding take from the album Ellington Uptown:

The eight-plus minute arrangement takes advantage of the relatively new LP format from Duke's extended piano solo at the beginning to the have-to-hear-it-to-believe-it "chase" sequnce featuring trumpeters Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Ray Nance and Wille Cook and trombonist Britt Woodman!

Harry and the Nonet Detour

Jumping to 1956, we find Juan Tizol playing with Harry James — he worked with Harry both before and after rejoining Duke in the early ’50s — in a small‑band “nonet” setting for a non‑commercial recording of Perdido:

It’s fun to hear Harry introduce the musicians, and even better to hear Juan take a little solo on his own tune!

Ella Arrives with Lyrics

Like many popular instrumentals, Perdido picked up lyrics along the way, but Duke kept it as an instrumental — except, of course, when Ella Fitzgerald stepped into the studio for Verve with the band in 1957:

Another tour de force for everyone involved.

The Space Age Nonet

Duke returned to the studio in 1958 for Columbia with a nonet (I get to use “nonet” twice!) billed as Duke Ellington’s Spacemen for the album The Cosmic Scene:

A reimagined arrangement for the Space Age.

Duke Not Lost in the Background

Another modern take appears on Duke’s 1960 Columbia album Piano in the Background:

Another great version!

Private Perdido

Duke and the band recorded this next version in 1962, but it was unreleased for decades:

So much wonderful material has been uncovered over the years!

Still Popular

And Duke wasn’t done — he included yet another fresh arrangement on his 1966 RCA Victor album The Popular Duke Ellington:

Dig that bass trombone from Chuck Connors!

Never Lost

My Spanish is pretty good, so I know perdido means “lost,” but luckily for us, Juan’s tune has never been lost!

Sundays with Duke #39: Billy’s Bridge

We stay in 1941 with Duke Ellington for one more session — this one giving us another classic from Billy Strayhorn: Chelsea Bridge.

The First Crossing

Let’s spin the Victor disc recorded in December 1941:

A lovely record, with Ben Webster’s tenor and Juan Tizol’s valve trombone floating through the mist.

In addition to composing and arranging the number, Billy plays piano and directs the band — a clear sign of how much trust Duke already placed in him.

The Lost Bass Line

Interestingly, the band had recorded an earlier version for the Standard Transcription service the previous January, with Duke at the piano:

What really jumps out here are the delightful bass passages from Jimmie Blanton.

It’s not clear why Duke waited almost a year to make a commercial recording — a rejected version was attempted in September — but by the time he did, Blanton had contracted tuberculosis and left the band shortly before the December session. Jimmie passed away the next July at just 23 years old — a heartbreaking loss for the music world.

Billy’s revised arrangement for the Victor recording has him playing piano in place of the bass solos, rather than giving them to new bassist Junior Raglin.

A Tune Ahead of Its Time

Chelsea Bridge was something of a slow burner — not a big splash at first, perhaps because listeners didn’t quite know what to make of its dreamy harmonic world. But it eventually became a standard and has been frequently recorded.

Bothwell's Signature Sound

The earliest cover seems to be alto saxist Johnny Bothwell’s 1945 recording for Signature:

Bothwell played a lovely alto — clearly influenced by Johnny Hodges — and his “Swingtet” for this session includes Harry Carney and Ray Nance!

LP Era Bloom — 1950s

Like so many slow‑burning standards we've visited, Chelsea Bridge blossomed in the LP era. Let's cross the bridge a few times with some highlights...

Big Ben Brings It

Ben Webster revisited it with this string-laden take from his 1954 Norgran album Music with Feeling:

Lots of feeling indeed — Ben’s tenor sound is pure velvet.

Marian's Magical Mood

Then in 1956, pianist Marian McPartland included it on her Capitol album After Dark:

Betty Glamann’s harp gives this one a celestial shimmer.

Pre-Peanuts Piano

Also from 1956 is this track from pianist Vince Guaraldi’s debut Fantasy album:

Vince is best remembered for his brilliant scores for the Peanuts TV specials, so it’s fun catching him with his trio a decade earlier.

Ella Strolls Across with Ben

Things always get intriguing when Ella Fitzgerald visits the Ellington songbook. She offers some lovely vocalese on this 1957 cut from her Verve sessions, with Billy sitting in on piano and Duke’s band behind her:

Nice to have Ben Webster back in the house for this one!

The Freshmen Go Latin

The vocal angle gets even more interesting in 1958, when The Four Freshmen recorded Chelsea Bridge with lyrics for their Capitol album Voices in Latin:

Apparently the lyrics were written by future Freshman Bill Comstock, who was a friend of current Freshman Ken Albers, specifically for this album. But since the lyrics weren't authorized by Billy Strayhorn or his publisher, only Billy got songwriter credit on the label.

I’m not sure why they went through all that trouble to include the non-Latin Chelsea Bridge on this album alongside Latin standards like Brazil and Frenesi, but, hey, it works!

Cat's Crossing

Back to instrumentals, Cat Anderson cut this very intriguing version for his 1959 album Ellingtonia on the Wynne label:

Ray Nance's violin lines adds a nice texture to the arrangement and Cat shows he didn't have to hit those stratospheric trumpet notes all the time!

A Peaceful Return

Billy brings the song back to its roots on his 1963 United Artists album The Peaceful Side:

I think I say this every time we visit that album, but it really is peaceful!

Duke's Island Crossing

We close in 1965 with Duke returning to the tune for his Reprise album Concert in the Virgin Islands:

Lovely as ever with Paul Gonsalves' gorgeous tenor sax!

That’s about 25 years of crossing Billy’s bridge — and it never gets old. Thanks for walking along with me!

Warehouse Whispers

There are a couple of different stories about where Billy Strayhorn found the title Chelsea Bridge. It seems certain that he was inspired by James McNeill Whistler’s painting Nocturne: Blue and Gold – Old Battersea Bridge.

One story says he mistakenly thought it depicted Chelsea Bridge.

Another says he knew it was Battersea Bridge but felt Chelsea Bridge simply sounded better for a song.

Billy was pretty smart — I vote for story number two.

Whistler's mother was unavailable for comment!

Monday Side‑Session: We Got It Good

For today’s side‑session, we follow up on Duke Ellington’s “I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)” with ten contemporary covers from the 1941–42 period — a little cross‑section of how the tune moved through popular music right when it was new.

So, let's start spinning...

We start with Dinah Shore on Bluebird:

The tune fits early‑Dinah perfectly — that clean, youthful phrasing she had in the early ’40s.

Next up is Ella Fitzgerald for Decca:

Quite lovely. This comes from the period when Ella was still fronting the Chick Webb band after Chick’s passing, and you can hear that blend of band-singer polish and her emerging solo personality.

Then we have The Charioteers on Okeh:

A warm group sound with Billy Williams leading the way.

A number of bands also picked up the tune, usually with a canary handling the vocal. Here’s Benny Goodman with Peggy Lee on Columbia:

Typically solid work from Benny and Peggy — clean, poised, and right in their wheelhouse.

Jimmy Dorsey recorded his version for Decca with his star vocalist Helen O’Connell:

I think this type of song fits Helen better than the novelties she sometimes performed. JD’s alto is solid as usual.

Les Brown and Betty Bonney cut the song for Okeh:

Betty tends to be overshadowed by Doris Day in the Les Brown story, but she was excellent too — and this track shows it.

Bunny Berigan recorded his version with Lynne Richards for the small Elite label:

These relatively late records by Bunny are always intriguing — you can hear both the brilliance and the strain of those final years.

Next up is Vaughn Monroe, who had Marilyn Duke sing the vocal for Bluebird:

This is from the period when Vaughn was more of a bandleader who sang, rather than a singer who led a band, as I like to say, as he didn't sing on every record and also recorded instrumentals.

We get a rare male vocalist as Eddy Howard takes the vocal himself on his Columbia side:

Eddy, like Vaughn, had his greatest success post-WWII, as they were able to directly compete with the singers in a way most bandleaders could not.

The most intriguing contemporary cover to me is this version by Earl Hines on Bluebird:

What I find fascinating is the vocal arrangement: Madeleine Greene and the Three Varieties sing in the third person, while Billy Eckstine sings about himself having it bad. And that is good!

There have been countless remakes of “I Got It Bad” in the decades since, but these contemporary covers give us a snapshot of how the tune lived in its own moment — across labels, across styles, across the early‑’40s pop landscape.

We got it good!

Sundays with Duke #37 – Ivie’s Got It Bad

We remain in 1941 with Duke Ellington, settling in with another true Ellington classic: I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good).

🤸🏾Jump‑for‑Joy Genesis

Composed by Duke with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster, the song was introduced by the incomparable Ivie Anderson in the Ellington musical revue Jump for Joy. 

Naturally, the band hit the studio for Victor with Ivie to capture the magic:

She is in peak form here, wrapped in one of Johnny Hodges’ signature velvet-alto arrangements. 

The record became an instant hit, even finding its way into a Soundie:

It's always a treat to see the band in motion, and especially wonderful to see Ivie!

Duke kept I Got It Bad in the band's repertoire for years even after Ivie departed the band in 1942 due to health challenges. 

🎙️Black‑and‑White Brilliance

In 1946, as a solo artist, Ivie recorded this version for the Black & White label:

It’s a gift to have another reading of this tune from Ivie — a perfect showcase for her warmth and phrasing.

🎤 Aladdin After‑Hours

Al Hibbler brought a different texture to the piece during his time with Duke, and he leaned into that sound for his own 1946 session for the Aladdin label:

Anchored by Harry Carney's baritone sax, this date features a stellar lineup. Al, Harry, trumpeter Shorty Baker, and altoist Russell Procope were all moonlighting from the Ellington orchestra.

🎷 Newport Nightfall

Fast-forward to 1956. We return to the Newport Jazz Festival for a purely instrumental take released on Columbia, putting Johnny Hodges right back where he belongs: in the spotlight:

The crowd knows exactly what they are hearing, and they dig it!

🎼 Songbook Splendor

No retrospective on this tune would be complete without Ella Fitzgerald. Her 1957 Songbook sessions for Verve with Duke’s band are legendary, and this track is no exception:

Ella graces us with the rarely heard verse, and the extended arrangement gives Johnny’s alto yet another moment to glow.

📀 Popular Perfection

We keep the spotlight on Johnny in 1960 for this exquisite track from RCA Victor's The Popular Duke Ellington:

It’s a masterclass in economy and feeling.

🎺Satchmo's Spotlight

Then in 1961, Louis Armstrong sang and played this version with Duke as part of their Roulette sessions:

Trummy Young and Barney Bigard sat out this tune, so it's just Louis with Duke backed by Mort Herbert on bass and Danny Barcelona on bass. That's pure Satch!

🎵 Verve Velvet

Because there is truly no such thing as "too much" Johnny Hodges, we close our set with his 1962 Verve recording backed by Billy Strayhorn and the orchestra:

It's a sophisticated, wonderful farewell.

One thing's for sure: Ivie and Johnny may have "had it bad," but for us, that’s very good!

Sundays with Duke #36: Settin’ and Sittin’

As we stay parked in 1941 with Duke Ellington, we hit upon another classic Ellington–Strayhorn collaboration: Just a‑Settin’ and a‑Rockin’.

📀 Swingin’ into Summer ’41

The band recorded it for Victor in June, with Ben Webster featured on tenor sax:

That just moves along at such a relaxed, swinging pace, as if the band really is just a-settin' and a rockin'!

The other soloists are Ray Nance on trumpet, Barney Bigard on clarinet, and the unmistakable Tricky Sam Nanton on trombone.

📝 Lyric Lift & Title Twist

The tune was reasonably popular and stayed in the band’s book — but with a twist. Lee Gaines of The Delta Rhythm Boys added lyrics, the title shifted to Just a‑Sittin’ and a‑Rockin’, and unlike most of Duke’s retro‑fitted vocal numbers, he actually usually performed this one with the lyrics.

📻 Nance Nudges It Along

Although the band didn’t cut a vocal studio version at the time, it turned up frequently on radio broadcasts with Ray Nance handling the vocal. This 1946 aircheck with an extended arrangement is a great example:

It fits Ray beautifully, which likely explains why Duke kept it in rotation.

🎙 Capitol Curiosities

Studio recordings after that were sporadic. Duke and Ray revisited the tune for Capitol in December 1953 in a quartet setting:

An interesting take — unissued at the time.

Later that same month, the full band recorded another version, again with Ray on vocal, also left unreleased:

Hard to say why those two takes stayed in the vault, but they’re both worth hearing. Ray clearly loves singing it!

🌹 Rosie’s Rendition

Another shelved item: this 1956 track with Rosemary Clooney overdubbing her vocal:

It comes from the sessions for the Columbia album Blue Rose, though it didn’t make the original release. That's Buck Clayton with the snazzy trumpet work.

🎤 Ella’s Echo

For a version that did come out contemporaneously, we jump to Ella Fitzgerald’s 1957 Ellington‑adjacent take for Verve:

This comes from Ella’s Duke Ellington Songbook sessions — a small‑group setting rather than Duke’s orchestra — but we do get a welcome cameo from Ben Webster!

🎹 Billy Brings It Back

For the final word on the tune, we once again turn to Billy Strayhorn’s 1963 Reprise album The Peaceful Side for this lovely rendition:

I’ll say it again — very peaceful.

So the recording history of this tune ends up being a little sideways: a hit in 1941, a lyric added later, and a surprising number of versions that spent years just sittin’ in the vault before they finally got to rockin’.