Sophisticated Lady written by Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Mitchell Parish

Old description:

There are at least two credits questions about this work.

1. According to Terry Teachout's 2013 biography of Duke Ellington, Duke, Ellington "did not write the song's ... melody. It was a joint creation of Otto Hardwick [saxophonist] and the trombonist Lawrence Brown." (P. 113.) In his notes (p. 411), Teachout reports, "The label of the first instrumental version of "`Sophisticated Lady' (English Columbia CB 591), recorded in February 1933, credits DE ([Ellington], Hardwick, Brown and Mills. The label of the second version (Brunswick 6600), recorded three months later, credits DE alone."

James Lincoln Collier, in his earlier (1987) biography of Ellington, says that Ellington synthesized the Hardwick and Brown features into the completed melody.

Here a label scan of Columbia CB 591, showing the Ellington-Harwick-Brown-Mills credit:

There's another label scan here, but it apparently won't show up when I try to copy it:

http://cdn3.bigcommerce.com/s-0h0rd/products/4299/images/8640/Ellington-591-b__2…

The same release # is shown in the SHS data base with only Ellington credited.

The story (from Brown, reported in Teachout) is that Ellington paid Borwn and Hardwick $15 apiece for all their rights to the song, after which they disappeared from the credits. (The May, 1933 copyright does not include Brown or Hardwick.)

2. All historical sources that I have consulted that address the point report that Mitchell Parish wrote the lyrics "later." I suspect that is accurate, as Ellington was playing the tune instrumentally before anyone was singing it. (Still, the lyrics couldn't have been added much later, since there are 1933 vocal performances that credit Parish and the May, 1933 copyright does, too..)

The first release I've found that includes Mitchell in the credits is a vocal by "Madame Tussaud's Dance Orchestra" (1933), crediting "Mills - Parish - Ellington."

The Boswell Sisters' 1933 vocal release credits Ellington only.

That's How Rhythm Was Born

New description:

There are at least two credits questions about this work.

1. According to Terry Teachout's 2013 biography of Duke Ellington, Duke, Ellington "did not write the song's ... melody. It was a joint creation of Otto Hardwick [saxophonist] and the trombonist Lawrence Brown." (P. 113.) In his notes (p. 411), Teachout reports, "The label of the first instrumental version of "`Sophisticated Lady' (English Columbia CB 591), recorded in February 1933, credits DE ([Ellington], Hardwick, Brown and Mills. The label of the second version (Brunswick 6600), recorded three months later, credits DE alone."

James Lincoln Collier, in his earlier (1987) biography of Ellington, says that Ellington synthesized the Hardwick and Brown features into the completed melody.

Here a label scan of Columbia CB 591, showing the Ellington-Harwick-Brown-Mills credit:

There's another label scan here, but it apparently won't show up when I try to copy it:

http://cdn3.bigcommerce.com/s-0h0rd/products/4299/images/8640/Ellington-591-b__2…

The same release # is shown in the SHS data base with only Ellington credited.

I think Columbia CD 591 is the same performance as Columbia J 1681, which also lists Hardwick and Brown on the label.

http://www.depanorama.net/33.htm

The story (from Brown, reported in Teachout) is that Ellington paid Borwn and Hardwick $15 apiece for all their rights to the song, after which they disappeared from the credits. (The May, 1933 copyright does not include Brown or Hardwick.)

2. All historical sources that I have consulted that address the point report that Mitchell Parish wrote the lyrics "later." I suspect that is accurate, as Ellington was playing the tune instrumentally before anyone was singing it. (Still, the lyrics couldn't have been added much later, since there are 1933 vocal performances that credit Parish and the May, 1933 copyright does, too..)

The first release I've found that includes Mitchell in the credits is a vocal by "Madame Tussaud's Dance Orchestra" (1933), crediting "Mills - Parish - Ellington."

The Boswell Sisters' 1933 vocal release credits Ellington only.

That's How Rhythm Was Born