"Now You Has Jazz" is a song written by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

for the 1956 film ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

'' in which it was introduced by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

. The song describes what instruments are needed to create

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

Background

Sol C. Siegel, the producer of ''High Society'', paid Cole Porter $250,000 for his first film score in eight years. When Porter learned that Louis Armstrong was going to appear in the film, he decided he had to write a jazz song. To help with his research, he called

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

and suggested they attend a

Jazz at the Philharmonic Jazz at the Philharmonic, or JATP (1944–1983), was the title of a series of jazz concerts, tours and recordings produced by Norman Granz. Over the years, "Jazz at the Philharmonic" featured many of the era's preeminent musicians, including Lou ...

concert. Later, he spoke to jazz impresario

Norman Granz Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo. Granz was acknowledged as "the most successful impres ...

on the telephone, and Granz gave him a short introductory course in jazz terms. The result was "Now You Has Jazz."

Notable recordings

and

and the All Stars recorded the song on January 18, 1956 for the film soundtrack. This version was issued on the ''

'' album. An edited version was issued as a single and appeared briefly in the No. 88 spot in ''Billboard'' magazine. The band's personnel included Louis Armstrong, Trummy Young,

Edmond Hall Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Over his career, Hall worked extensively with many leading performers as both a sideman and bandleader and is possibly best known for the 1941 ch ...

, Billy Kyle, Arvell Shaw, and Barrett Deems. Four of these musicians were incorrectly identified in that scene, with Young introduced as Hall, Hall as Young, Kyle as Shaw, and Shaw as Kyle. At one point earlier in the movie, Crosby even greets Hall by saying "Hello Trummy." In a television special later that year with Crosby and the band, the error was corrected and the musicians accurately identified. In a live performance by the All Stars in which Young replaced Crosby, Armstrong laughingly introduced Young as "Bing Crosby in technicolor".

References

Songs written by Cole Porter Bing Crosby songs Louis Armstrong songs 1956 songs Songs about jazz {{Pop-standard-stub