THREE LITTLE WORDS
Music: Harry Ruby- Lyrics: Bert Kalmar
Year: 1930
Origin of the song
Duke Ellington's orchestra, with the voices of The Rhythm Boys (Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker), recorded 'Three Little Words' on 26 August 1930, at Hollywood's RCA-Victor Studios. The song was included in the movie Check and Double Check, which premiered a month and a half later in New York.
In an interview published in 1962, Ellington explained that Kalmar and Ruby had written 'Three Little Words' for Sonny Greer, his orchestra's drummer, to sing in the film. But Greer got very nervous and Ellington asked Bing Crosby to replace him. After a test recording, director Melville W. Brown preferred to record the soundtrack with The Rhythm Boys in the vocal part. On a general level of the orchestra, the film shows trumpeters Freddy Jenkins, Cootie Williams and Arthur Whetsol pretending to sing: the Hollywood film industry, at that time, could not show a white group singing with a black orchestra.
In 1950, Fred Astaire, like Bert Kalmar, and Red Skelton, like Harry Ruby, performed the film Three Little Words, a biography of the two, in whose soundtrack Astaire and then Skelton first sang ‘Three Little Words’. In Spain, the film did not premiere in commercial cinemas, but it was released on DVD.
Other popular compositions by Harry Ruby are 'Who's Sorry Now?' (1923), 'Thinking of You' (1927), 'I Wanna Be Loved by You' (1928), 'Nevertheless' (1931) and 'A Kiss to Build a Dream On' (1935).
Versions in the top charts
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
DAY OF
ENTRANCE |
PERMANENCE WEEKS |
HIGH POSITION REACHED |
|
|
Duke Ellington Orchestra |
1930.08.26 |
1930.10.18 |
13 |
1 (three weeks) |
The Rhythm Boys: Bing Crosby, Al Rinker, Harry Barris (voc) |
|
1930.10.01 |
1930.11.08 |
6 |
3 |
Unidentified (voc) |
|
|
1930.10.10 |
1930.11.29 |
3 |
10 |
Paul Small (voc), Sam Lanin (dir) |
|
|
Ethel Waters |
1930.11.28 |
1930.01.10 |
4 |
8 |
Ethel Waters (voc), Ben Selvin Orchestra |
|
Claude Hopkins Orchestra |
1934.04.06 |
1934.05.19 |
2 |
15 |
Instrumental |
Jazz. Outstanding performances
Instrumental
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
1944.03.28 |
Lester Young (ts), Bill Coleman (tp), Dicky Wells (tb), Joe Bushkin (p), John Simmons (b), Jo Jones (d) |
|
|
1957.10.10 |
Stan Getz (ts), Oscar Peterson (p), Ray Brown (b), Herb Ellis (g) |
|
|
1959.01.15 |
Milt Jackson (vib), John Coltrane (ts), Hank Jones (p), Paul Chambers (b), Connie Kay (d) |
|
|
1959.03.04 |
Lester Young (ts), René Urtreger (p), Jimmy Gourley (g), Jamil Nasser (b), Kenny Clarke (d) |
|
|
Willis Jackson- Jack McDuff Quintet |
1959.05.25 |
Willis Jackson (ts), Jack McDuff (org), Bill Jennings (g), Tommy Potter (b), Alvin Johnson (d) |
|
1964.06.24 |
Sonny Rollins (ts), Bob Cranshaw (b), Mickey Roker (d) |
|
|
Ron Carter Quartet |
1977.03.?? |
Ron Carter (pic), Kenny Barron (p), Buster Williams (b), Ben Riley (d) |
|
Art Farmer Quartet |
1982.09.?? |
Art Farmer (fis), Fred Hersch (p), Ray Drummond (b), Akira Tana (d) |
|
Bucky & John Pizzarelli |
1987.01.10 |
Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli (g) |
|
1988.01.?? |
Branford Marsalis (ss, ts), Milt Hintonx (b), Jeff 'Tain' Watts (d) |
Vocal
|
PERFORMERS |
DATE OF RECORDING |
MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING
|
|
1930.08.26 |
Duke Ellington (p, dir), Freddy Jenkins, Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams (tp), Joe Nanton (tb), Juan Tizol (vtb), Barney Bigard (cl, ts), Johnny Hodges (cl, ss, as), Harry Carney (cl, as, bars), Fred Guy (bjo), Wellman Braud (b), Sonny Greer (d), Bing Crosby, Harry Barris, Al Rinker (voc) |
|
|
1930.11.28 |
Ethel Waters (voc), Manny Klein (tp), Ben Selvin Orchestra |
|
|
1941.01.08 |
Ella Fitzgerald (voc), Taft Jordan, Irving Randolph, Dick Vance (tp), Earl Hardy, Georges Matthews, John McConnell (tb), Pete Clark (as, cl), George Dorsey (as), Ted McRae (ts, bars), Sam Simmons (ts), Chauncey Haughton (cl), Tommy Fulford (p), Ulysses Livingston (g), Beverly Peer (b), Bill Beason (d) |
|
|
Carmen McRae |
1959.11.10 |
Carmen McRae (voc), Art Farmer, Lennie Johnson, Jimmy Maxwell, Al Stewart, Richard Williams (tp), Billy Byers, Jimmy Cleveland, Paul Faulise (tb), Vinnie Dean, Phil Woods (as), Budd Johnson, Zoot Sims (ts), Sol Schlinger (bars), Dick Katz (p), Tommy Williams (b), Floyd Williams (d), Ernie Wilkins (dir) |
|
Mel Tormé |
1996.07.23 |
Mel Tormé (voc), Mike Renzi (p), John Leitham (b), Donny Osborne (d) |
|
2005.??.?? |
Kevin Mahogany (voc), Frank Mantooth Jazz Orchestra |
On cinemas
The song 'Three Little Words' is included in the soundtrack of the following movies:
|
ORIGINAL TITLE |
TITLE IN SPAIN |
YEAR OF PRODUCTION |
PERFORMERS OF THE SONG IN THE FILM |
|
Check and Double Check |
No se
estrenó en España |
1930 |
Duke Ellington Orchestra, The Rhythm Boys (voc) |
|
Smart Woman |
Astucia de mujer |
1931 |
Mary Astor (hummed) |
|
Kept Husbands |
El obrero y la millonaria |
1931 |
Joel McCrea (wistled) |
|
Carnival Boat |
Titanes del bosque |
1932 |
Background
music |
|
What Price Hollywood? |
Hollywood al desnudo |
1932 |
Credits
background music |
|
Kitty Foyle |
Espejismo de amor |
1940 |
Ginger Rogers (a capella) |
|
Unexpected Uncle |
Tío improvisado |
1941 |
Background
music |
|
A Girl, A Guy, And A Gob |
Gente alegre |
1941 |
|
|
The Sky’s The Limit |
El límite es el cielo |
1943 |
|
|
Behind The Rising Sun |
Tras el sol naciente |
1943 |
|
|
Flight for Freedom |
Un encuentro en el Pacífico |
1943 |
|
|
Journey Into Fear |
Estambul |
1943 |
|
|
Three Little Words |
Tres
palabritas |
1950 |
Fred Astaire; Red Skelton |
|
This Earth Is Mine |
Esta tierra es mía |
1959 |
Background
music |
|
That's Entertainment, Part II |
Hollywood, Hollywood |
1976 |
Secuence of 'Three Little Words' |
|
Stardust Memories |
Recuerdos |
1980 |
Judith Roberts with Jazz Heaven Orchestra |
|
The Green Mile |
La milla verde |
1999 |
Duke Ellington Orchestra |