"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" was composed by Duke Ellington in August 1931, with lyrics credited to Irving Mills. Ellington wrote the tune during intermissions at Chicago's Lincoln Tavern and attributed the title phrase to his former trumpeter Bubber Miley, whose personal credo it reportedly was. The piece was first recorded by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra on February 2, 1932, for Brunswick Records, featuring vocals by Ivie Anderson and solos by trombonist Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton and alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges. The recording charted at number six. Remarkably, the composition anticipated the Swing Era by three years, making it one of the earliest popular songs to explicitly reference swing in its title and lyrics. Jazz historian Gunther Schuller called it "a prophetic piece and a prophetic title." The melody is spare and driving, with rhythmic subtleties in its phrasing that evoke an energetic yet relaxed pulse. Notes played ahead of, on, or behind the beat give performers considerable room for rhythmic expression. The tune became an anthem of the Swing Era and has been covered hundreds of times by artists ranging from the Mills Brothers and the Boswell Sisters to Thelonious Monk and Ella Fitzgerald. Ellington's 1932 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008, cementing the composition's status as one of the most significant jazz standards ever written.
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