I GOT IT BAD (AND THAT AIN´T GOOD)

Music: Duke Ellington- Lyrics: Paul Francis Webster

Year: 1941

I got it bad and that ain´t good-standards jazz-clasicos del jazz

Origin of the song

Ivie Anderson sang ‘I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)’ in the musical revue Jump for Joy’s premiere on 10 July 1941 in the Mayan Theatre of Los Angeles. The score written by Ellington for Jump for Joy reflected his personal interest in the Civil Rights movement. The show wanted to get rid of the ways black people were represented in the cinema and the theatre in those times. Due to the play’s content, the FBI created a file on it.

Despite the favourable reviews, the show was withdrawn from the hoarding after only a hundred and one performances as the audience did not answer as expected. Its short life was a disappointment for Ellington, who wished the play and its message to go to Broadway.

Little time before the musical’s premiere, on 26 June 1941, Duke Ellington recorded ‘I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)’ with the singer Ivie Anderson. The disc, which included outstanding solos from Johnny Hodges and Ellington himself, was relatively popular in the top charts: it reached the thirteenth position and remained there for three weeks.

Versions in the top charts

PERFORMERS	DATE OF RECORDING	DAY OF ENTRANCE	PERMANENCE WEEKS	HIGH POSITION REACHED
Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra	1941.06.26	1941.10.11	3	13	Ivie Anderson (voc)
Benny Goodman Orchestra	1941.10.02	1941.11.15	1	25	Peggy Lee (voc)

Jazz. Outstanding performances

Instrumental

PERFORMERS	DATE OF RECORDING	MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
Joe Sullivan	1944.11.15	Joe Sullivan (p)
Benny Carter & Oscar Peterson Trio	1952.09.18	Benny Carter (ts), Oscar Peterson (p), Barney Kessel (g), Ray Brown (b), Buddy Rich (d)
Thelonious Monk Trio	1955.07.21	Thelonious Monk (p), Oscar Pettiford (b), Kenny Clarke (d)
Cannonball Adderley Sextet	1958.08.20	Cannonball Adderley (as), Emmett Berry (tp), Bill Evans (p), Barry Galbraith (g), Milt Hinton (b), Jimmy Cobb (d), string section
Benny Goodman Quartet	1963.02.14	Benny Goodman (cl), Lionel Hampton (vib), Teddy Wilson (p), Gene Krupa (d)
Freddie Hubbard	1963.03.08	Freddie Hubbard, Ed Armour, Richard Williams (tp), Curtis Fuller, Melba Liston (tb), Bob Northern, Julius Watkins (tpa), Eric Dolphy (as, fl), Jerome Richardson (bars), Cedar Walton (p), Reggie Workman (b), Philly Joe Jones (d), string section, Wayne Shorter (dir)
McCoy Tyner Trio	1964.12.02	McCoy Tyner (p), Jimmy Garrison (b), Elvin Jones (d)
Duke Ellington	1971.11.07	Ben Webster (ts), Duke Ellington (p), Joe Benjamin (b), Rufus Jones (d)
Clark Terry & Red Mitchell	1986.01.28	Clark Terry (tp, fis), Red Mitchell (b)
André Previn	1989.05.29	André Previn (p), Joe Pass (g), Ray Brown (b)
J.J. Johnson Quartet	1992.12.09	J.J. Johnson (tb), Renée Rosnes (p), Rufus Reid (b), Lewis Nash (d)
Keith Jarrett	1998.??.??	Keith Jarrett (p)

Vocal

PERFORMERS	DATE OF RECORDING	MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
Duke Ellington Famous Orchestra	1941.06.26	Duke Ellington (p, dir), Rex Stewart (cnt), Wallace Jones, Ray Nance (tp), Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton (tb), Juan Tizol (vtb), Barney Bigard (cl), Johnny Hodges (ss, as, cl), Otto Hardwick (as), Ben Webster (ts), Harry Carney (cl, as, bars), Fred Guy (g), Jimmy Blanton (b), Sonny Greer (d), lvie Anderson (voc)
Ella Fitzgerald Famous Orchestra	1941.07.31	Ella Fitzgerald (voc), Taft Jordan, Irving Randolph, Dick Vance (tp), Earl Hardy, Georges Matthews, John McConnell (tb), Pete Clark, Chauncey Haughton (as, cl), Ted McRae (ts, bars), Sam Simmons, Elmer Williams (ts), Tommy Fulford (p), Ulysses Livingston (g), Beverly Peer (b), Jesse Price (d)
Benny Goodman Orchestra	1941.10.02	Benny Goodman (cl, dir), Billy Butterfield, Al Davis, Jimmy Maxwell, Cootie Williams (tp), Cutty Cutshall, Lou McGarity (tb), Skip Martin, Clint Neagley (as), George Berg, Vido Musso (ts), Chuck Gentry (bars), Mel Powell (p), Tommy Morgan (g), Morty Stuhlmaker (b), Sid Catlett (d), Peggy Lee (voc)
Woody Herman Orchestra	1948.12.29	Woody Herman (cl, as, dir), Ernie Royal, Bernie Glow, Stan Fishelson, Red Rodney, Shorty Rogers (tp), Earl Swope, Bill Harris, Ollie Wilson, Bob Swift (tb), Sam Marowitz (as), Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz (ts), Serge Chaloff (bars), Lou Levy (p), Terry Gibbs (vib), Chubby Jackson (b), Don Lamond (d), Mary Ann McCall (voc)
Ella Fitzgerald	1953.11.18	Ella Fitzgerald (voc), Raymond Tunia (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b), J.C. Heard (d)
Mel Tormé	1955.08.28	Mel Tormé (voc), Al Pellegrini Orchestra
Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington Orchestra	1957.06.25	Ella Fitzgerald (voc), Duke Ellington (p, dir), Cat Anderson, Willie Cook, Ray Nance, Clark Terry (tp), Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman (tb), John Sanders (vtb), Johnny Hodges (as), Russell Procope (as, cl), Paul Gonsalves, Frank Foster (ts), Jimmy Hamilton (ts, cl), Harry Carney (cl), Jimmy Woode (b), Sam Woodyard (d)
Etta Jones	1960.09.16	Etta Jones (voc), Lem Winchester (vib), Richard Wyands (p), George Duvivier (b), Roy Haynes (d)
Al Hibbler	1961.05.??	Al Hibbler (voc), Gerald Wilson Orchestra
Helen Merrill	1984.11.03	Helen Merrill (voc), Gordon Beck (p)
Shirley Horn	1987.05.12	Shirley Horn (p, voc), Charles Ables (b), Steve Williamsen (d)
Ann Hampton Callaway	1996.??.??	Ann Hampton Callaway (voc), Cyrus Chestnut (p), Christian McBride (b), Lewis Nash (d)
Carol Sloane	2007.01.23	Carol Sloane (voc), Brad Hatfield (p), Ken Peplowski (cl, ts)

On cinemas

The song 'I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)' is included in the soundtrack of the following movies:

ORIGINAL TITLE	TITLE IN SPAIN	YEAR OF PRODUCTION	PERFORMERS OF THE SONG IN THE FILM
Rough Cut	Golpe audaz	1980
Miami Rhapsody	Miami	1995	Mark Isham
Just Cause	Causa justa	1995
The Big Lebowski	El gran Lebowski	1998	Nina Simone
Eyes Wide Shut	Eyes Wide Shut	1999	Oscar Peterson Trio
The Human Stain	La mancha humana	2003	Oscar Peterson Trio