It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) / Rose Room

by Duke Ellington

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) / Rose Room cover art
  • Type: Single
  • Released: 18 February 1932
  • Label: Brunswick
  • Country: United States
  • Community rating: 4.02/5 from 3 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

By placing the defining musical term directly in its title, this incredibly playful track effectively named an entire era of American popular music. The prominent, brassy syncopation and scat singing captured an infectious new rhythm that forever changed the trajectory of the big band format.

Genres

Descriptors: acoustic, improvisation, rhythmic, about-music

Tracklist

  1. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
  2. Rose Room (In Sunny Roseland) = El Cuarto De Las Rosas

Credits

  • Fred Guy - banjo [uncredited]
  • Harry Carney - clarinet [uncredited], alto saxophone [uncredited], baritone saxophone [uncredited]
  • Johnny Hodges - clarinet [uncredited], soprano saxophone [uncredited], alto saxophone [uncredited]
  • Barney Bigard - clarinet [uncredited], tenor saxophone [uncredited]
  • Wellman Braud - double bass [uncredited]
  • Sonny Greer - drums [uncredited]
  • Joe Nanton - trombone [uncredited]
  • Arthur Whetsel - trumpet [uncredited]

More from Duke Ellington: full discography