The 25 Best Duke Ellington Songs Every Jazz Listener Should Know

These are 25 of Duke Ellington’s best songs, in chronological order from “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” (1926) to “Lotus Blossom” (1967). The best known are “Mood Indigo,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” “Sophisticated Lady,” “In a Sentimental Mood” and “Satin Doll,” plus the band’s theme, “Take the ‘A’ Train,” which Billy Strayhorn wrote. Each entry gives the composer credit, when the song was first recorded and the versions to hear first.

We picked hits from Ellington’s own records, tunes that became jazz standards, and pieces that showed what his orchestra could do. Ellington (1899-1974) wrote or co-wrote more than 1,000 compositions, and many carry shared credits: trumpeter Bubber Miley on the early “jungle” pieces, publisher Irving Mills on many 1930s lyrics, and Billy Strayhorn from 1939 on.

The Cotton Club Years and the 1930s (1926 to 1938)

From 1927 Ellington’s band played Harlem’s Cotton Club, and a weekly radio broadcast from the club made it known nationally; our guide to jazz in the 1920s covers that scene.

1. “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” (1926)

Credited to Ellington and Miley, “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” was first recorded for Vocalion on November 29, 1926, and became Ellington’s first charting record in 1927. Miley’s growling, plunger-muted trumpet carries the melody, and the piece was the orchestra’s theme until “Take the ‘A’ Train” replaced it. Hear the March 1927 Columbia version, then Steely Dan’s cover on Pretzel Logic (1974).

2. “Black and Tan Fantasy” (1927)

Another Ellington and Miley piece, recorded in 1927 for Brunswick, Victor and Okeh. Miley said a spiritual his mother sang shaped the theme, and the record ends by quoting the funeral march from Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2. Gunther Schuller credited Miley with its most original material. Start with the Victor recording of October 26, 1927.

3. “Creole Love Call” (1927)

Credited to Ellington, Miley and Rudy Jackson, it was recorded in October 1927 with Adelaide Hall singing a wordless counter-melody, which she said came to her while humming along in the wings. Her voice works as one more horn against the muted brass. The record became a hit that pushed both careers forward. Hear the 1927 original.

4. “Mood Indigo” (1930)

Music by Ellington and clarinetist Barney Bigard, lyric credited to Irving Mills (Mitchell Parish later said he wrote it). Ellington wrote it for a radio broadcast in October 1930 as “Dreamy Blues,” using a theme Bigard had learned from his New Orleans teacher Lorenzo Tio. The opening trio reverses the usual front line, with Tricky Sam Nanton’s muted trombone high in its range and Bigard’s clarinet at the bottom of his. The 1931 Brunswick release entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1975, and NPR chose it for its NPR 100 series. Also hear the long 1950 version on Masterpieces by Ellington.

5. “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” (1932)

Ellington wrote the music in August 1931 during intermissions at the Lincoln Tavern in Chicago; Mills is credited with the lyric, and Ellington said the title was Miley’s credo. The Brunswick recording of February 2, 1932, has Ivie Anderson singing and solos by Nanton and Johnny Hodges. It is one of the earliest uses of the word “swing” in popular music and entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. Also hear Thelonious Monk’s version on Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington (Riverside, 1955).

6. “Sophisticated Lady” (1933)

Composed as an instrumental in 1932 and first recorded on February 15, 1933, with solos by Otto Hardwick on alto, Bigard and trombonist Lawrence Brown, it rose to No. 3. Mitchell Parish wrote the lyric, with Mills also credited, and Brown claimed the main phrase of the A section was his. Ellington wrote that George Gershwin wished he had written the bridge. Hear the original and the 1950 concert arrangement on Masterpieces by Ellington.

7. “Solitude” (1934)

Ellington wrote it in about 20 minutes in a studio when the band turned up one piece short, and recorded it on January 10, 1934; a second version from September reached No. 2 in 1935. Eddie DeLange and Mills are credited with the lyric. Billie Holiday recorded it several times, and one of her versions entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2021. To hear Ellington as a jazz pianist, try the trio version on Money Jungle (United Artists, 1963) with Charles Mingus and Max Roach.

8. “In a Sentimental Mood” (1935)

Ellington said he made it up on the spot at a party in Durham, North Carolina, to calm things down after a friend got into trouble with two women. It is credited to Ellington, lyricist Manny Kurtz and Mills. The other essential version is the quartet recording with John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, made on September 26, 1962, for Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (Impulse!, 1963), which pairs Ellington with one of the greatest jazz saxophone players.

9. “Caravan” (1936)

Puerto Rican trombonist Juan Tizol wrote the melody; “Caravan” is credited to Tizol and Ellington, with a rarely sung Mills lyric. It was first recorded in Hollywood in 1936 by Barney Bigard and His Jazzopators, a small group from the orchestra, and issued in 1937. More than 350 versions have followed. Hear the Bigard original, the trio take on Money Jungle, and the big-band chart in the film Whiplash (2014).

10. “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue” (1937)

Ellington recorded the two blues on opposite sides of a 78 on May 15, 1937. At the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1956 he joined them with a tenor saxophone interlude, and Paul Gonsalves played 27 choruses while the crowd danced and stood on their chairs. The performance revived Ellington’s career and put him on the cover of Time. It is the centerpiece of Ellington at Newport (Columbia, 1956), one of the best jazz albums of all time; the 1999 complete edition has the solo in clear sound.

11. “I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart” (1938)

Written for the Cotton Club Parade of 1938, with a lyric credited to Mills, Henry Nemo and John Redmond, it was a No. 1 hit for Ellington that year, and Benny Goodman and Mildred Bailey also had hit versions. Hear Ellington’s 1938 record and Ella Fitzgerald’s on Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (Verve, 1957).

12. “Prelude to a Kiss” (1938)

Ellington recorded it as an instrumental in August 1938 and weeks later with a lyric by Irving Gordon and Mills, sung by Mary McHugh; Johnny Hodges also had a popular record of it. The melody moves by half steps over chromatic harmony, and Gunther Schuller called it “one of Ellington’s finest ballads” but too sophisticated to win a wide audience. Hear Billie Holiday on Velvet Mood (1956) and Sarah Vaughan on Swingin’ Easy (1957).

The Blanton-Webster Band and the War Years (1940 to 1943)

From 1940 Ellington recorded for Victor with bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. The band’s 1940-1942 recordings joined the National Recording Registry in 2002.

13. “Cotton Tail” (1940)

Ellington wrote a new riff melody over the chords of Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm,” the progression known as rhythm changes, and recorded it in May 1940. Ben Webster’s driving tenor solo made the record famous, and Jon Hendricks later wrote lyrics based on it for Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Hear the original, then Ella Fitzgerald on the Song Book.

14. “Concerto for Cootie” / “Do Nothing till You Hear from Me” (1940)

Ellington wrote “Concerto for Cootie” in 1940 as a showcase for Cootie Williams, the trumpeter who had replaced Miley. With a lyric by Bob Russell it became “Do Nothing till You Hear from Me,” and Ellington’s 1944 recording topped Billboard’s Harlem Hit Parade for eight weeks and reached No. 6 on the pop chart. Hear the 1940 instrumental, then the 1944 vocal record.

15. “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” (1940)

It began as the instrumental “Never No Lament,” recorded on May 4, 1940. Bob Russell added the lyric in 1942, and in 1943 both the Ink Spots’ vocal record and Ellington’s instrumental reached No. 1 on the Harlem Hit Parade; Ellington’s also reached No. 8 on the pop chart. Hear the original, then Ella Fitzgerald on the Song Book.

16. “In a Mellow Tone” (1940)

Originally “In a Mellotone,” it puts a simple riff over the chord changes of the older standard “Rose Room”. Ellington recorded it on September 5, 1940, with solos by Blanton, Cootie Williams and Johnny Hodges, who plays in double time. Milt Gabler later wrote the lyric. Hear the original and Ellington’s remake on Blues in Orbit (Columbia, 1960).

17. “Take the ‘A’ Train” (1941)

Billy Strayhorn wrote it in 1939, starting from the subway directions Ellington gave him to his house. It became the band’s theme after ASCAP raised its radio fees in 1940 and Ellington’s ASCAP-registered music was kept off the air; he turned to Strayhorn and his son Mercer, who were with the rival BMI. The Victor recording of February 15, 1941, entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1976. Also hear the eight-minute version with Betty Roché singing on Ellington Uptown (Columbia, 1953).

18. “I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good)” (1941)

Paul Francis Webster wrote the lyric for Jump for Joy, Ellington’s revue on African American identity, which opened in Los Angeles on July 10, 1941. Ivie Anderson introduced the song there and sang it on the band’s Victor single, which reached No. 13. Hear the Anderson original, then Ella Fitzgerald on the Song Book.

19. “Perdido” (1941)

Juan Tizol wrote it and named it after Perdido Street in New Orleans. Ellington first recorded it for a radio transcription on December 3, 1941, and for Victor on January 21, 1942. Ervin Drake and Hans Lengsfelder added a lyric in 1944, but the band seldom sang it. Hear the Victor record and the extended version on Ellington Uptown.

20. “C Jam Blues” (1942)

A 12-bar blues in C whose melody uses only two notes, G and C. Bigard probably came up with the riff; Ellington arranged it and holds the credit. The band introduced it in the Soundie film Jam Session, now in the National Film Registry, with improvised solos by Ray Nance on violin, Ben Webster, Rex Stewart and Nanton, and recorded it for Victor in January 1942. Hear the original and the Dave Brubeck Quartet on Newport 1958.

21. “Come Sunday” (1943)

The spiritual-based theme of Black, Brown and Beige, the suite on African American history that Ellington premiered at Carnegie Hall on January 23, 1943, with Johnny Hodges playing the melody. In 1958 Ellington recorded a shortened version of the suite for Columbia with Mahalia Jackson singing his new lyric, and he used the song in his first Sacred Concert at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, in September 1965. Start with the 1958 album.

Later Ellington (1953 to 1967)

22. “Satin Doll” (1953)

Credited to Ellington and Strayhorn; according to Strayhorn’s biographer David Hajdu, Ellington wrote the main themes and Strayhorn harmonized and orchestrated them. The band recorded it as an instrumental for Capitol in 1953, and it charted that year; Johnny Mercer’s lyric came around 1959. It opens on a ii-V-I turnaround, the progression explained in our guide to jazz piano chords. Hear the 1953 record, then Ella Fitzgerald scatting it on the Song Book.

23. “The Star-Crossed Lovers” (1957)

The Romeo and Juliet movement of Such Sweet Thunder (Columbia, 1957), the twelve-part Shakespeare suite Ellington and Strayhorn wrote after the band played Stratford, Ontario, during its Shakespeare festival in 1956. It is a Strayhorn ballad for Johnny Hodges, first recorded as “Pretty Girl.” NPR included the album in its Basic Jazz Record Library. Hear the whole suite in order.

24. “Isfahan” (1966)

Strayhorn wrote it as “Elf” before the orchestra’s 1963 tour, which took in Iran; it was renamed for the Iranian city on Far East Suite (RCA), recorded in December 1966 and released in 1967, credited to Strayhorn and Ellington. It is a feature for Hodges’s alto. In The Penguin Guide to Jazz, Richard Cook and Brian Morton called it “arguably the most beautiful item in Ellington’s and Strayhorn’s entire output.” The album won a Grammy.

25. “Lotus Blossom” (1967)

A Strayhorn tune, credited to him alone. After Strayhorn died on May 31, 1967, Ellington recorded an album of his compositions, …And His Mother Called Him Bill (RCA, released 1968), which won a Grammy. It ends with Ellington playing “Lotus Blossom” alone at the piano while band members talk and pack up in the background.

Who Wrote What: Ellington, Strayhorn and the Band

Strayhorn met Ellington in Pittsburgh in December 1938 and worked with him until Strayhorn’s death in 1967. Some of his songs carry his name alone, such as “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Chelsea Bridge” and “Lotus Blossom”; others, such as “Day Dream,” were listed as collaborations. His arrangements for Masterpieces by Ellington (1950) went uncredited. He left in 1953 over royalties and credits and returned by the end of 1955 with an agreement that their joint work would carry both names. The earlier credits are shared too: Bigard supplied the theme of “Mood Indigo,” Tizol wrote “Caravan” and “Perdido,” and Mitchell Parish wrote the words of “Sophisticated Lady,” which also credits Mills.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Duke Ellington’s most famous song?

“Take the ‘A’ Train” is the song most tied to his name, because it was the orchestra’s theme from 1941, but Billy Strayhorn wrote it. Of Ellington’s own songs, “Mood Indigo,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and “In a Sentimental Mood” are the best known, along with “Satin Doll,” written with Strayhorn.

How many songs did Duke Ellington write?

More than 1,000 compositions, alone or with collaborators, from the 1920s until his death in 1974, ranging from three-minute dance records to long suites and sacred concerts.

Which Duke Ellington album should I start with?

For the songs, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (Verve, 1957), recorded partly with Ellington’s orchestra, includes 16 of the 25 songs on this list. For Ellington’s own band, start with Ellington at Newport (Columbia, 1956), then the quartet album Duke Ellington and John Coltrane (Impulse!, 1963).