| "I Ain't Got Nobody" | |
 Sheet music cover |
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| Music by | Spencer Williams |
|---|---|
| Lyrics by | Roger Graham |
| Published | 1915 |
| Form | Jazz standard |
"I Ain't Got Nobody" was a c.1915 song, written by Spencer Williams.[1] Publisher Roger Graham received co-composer credits. It became a perennial standard, recorded many times over following generations, in styles ranging from pop to jazz to country music.
Composer Charles Warfield claimed to have originally written the song.[2] A copyright entry from April 1914 credits Warfield with the music, David Young with the lyrics, and Marie Lucas with the arrangement. The title of the song is given as "I Ain't Got Nobody and Nobody Cares for Me". Williams's copyright entry from 1916 for the shorter title credits the composition to Williams and Dave Peyton, and the lyrics to publisher Roger Graham.[3]
Many artists had hit records with the song, starting with Marion Harris in 1916. Famous hit versions in the 1920s included those of Bessie Smith, Fats Waller, and Louis Armstrong. In the 1930s it was a hit for Bing Crosby, the Mills Brothers, Cab Calloway, Wingy Manone, and Chick Webb. Other notable recordings of include those of Emmett Miller, Merle Haggard, Bob Wills, Coleman Hawkins, and Rosemary Clooney. Louis Prima incorporated it into a medley with Just a Gigolo. David Lee Roth covered the Sam Butera arrangement in 1985, enjoying a sizeable hit for himself. Butera was not credited for the arrangement and was not paid royalties by Roth[citation needed].
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References to the song
The song was performed by the Mills Brothers in a 1932 Screen Songs cartoon of the same name.
The chorus of the song is quoted in the Roaring Lion's calypso "The Four Mills Brothers." This song in turn was covered by Van Dyke Parks for his Discover America album and performed by Parks with the members of Yellow Magic Orchestra for Haruomi Hosono's birthday tribute concert in 2007.
It was also featured briefly in a Harman and Ising Technicolor cartoon, "Poor Little Me", in 1935.
Notes
- ^ "I Ain't Got Nobody". JazzStandards.com. http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-4/iaintgotnobody.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ "Baby Won't You Please Come Home". JazzStandards.com. http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-2/babywontyoupleasecomehome.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
- ^ Tosches 2003, p. 149
See also
References
- Tosches (2003). Blackface. Au confluent des voix mortes. Editions Allia. ISBN 284485110X.
External links
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