"I Ain't Got Nobody" (sometimes referred to as "I'm So Sad and Lonely" or "I Ain't Got Nobody Much") is a popular song and copyrighted in 1915. It was first recorded by
Marion Harris
Marion Harris (born Mary Ellen Harrison; March 25, 1897 – April 23, 1944) was an American popular singer who was most successful in the late 1910s and the 1920s. She was the first widely-known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs.Ward, Elij ...
, and became a perennial
standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object ...
, recorded many times over the following generations, in styles ranging from pop to
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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
to
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
. The 2008 film ''
Be Kind Rewind'' uses the version recorded by
Booker T. & the M.G.'s, although two covers were recorded for the film as well: a piano solo version by
Jean-Michel Bernard, and a
Fats Waller
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...
-esque version by
Mos Def
Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...
.
"I Ain't Got Nobody" is a
ii-V-I composed in
F major
F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...
, that features a chromatic
walkdown to the
ii chord from the
tonic in the A section, and then a typical resolution to the
V (Dominant) chord. The B section is a blues
Attribution
There are competing claims to the copyright, and thus who composed it is not clearly known.
Two copyrights from 1911 are attributed to
Clarence Brandon and Billy Smythe, both
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
musicians. If true, this would be the first version of the words and music to "I Ain't Got Nobody". They claimed they published it that same year.
Chicago and Saint Louis ragtime pianist and blues composer
Charles Warfield (1878–1955) claimed to have originally written the song
and a copyright dated April 1914 attributes Warfield as the composer, David Young as the
lyricist
A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment.
Royalties
A lyricist's income derives ...
, and Marie Lucas as the arranger. This song is titled "I Ain't Got Nobody and Nobody Cares for Me".
A copyright entry from 1916 under a shorter title attributes the composition to
Davy Peyton and
Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", " I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a N ...
, and the lyrics to publisher
Roger Graham.
In 1916,
Frank K. Root & Co., a Chicago publisher, acquired the Craig & Co. copyright, and, later that year, also acquired the Warfield-Young copyright.
"Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" medley
"I Ain't Got Nobody" is best known in a form first recorded by
Louis Prima
Louis Leo Prima (; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he ...
in 1956, where it was paired in a medley with another old standard, "
Just a Gigolo". Prima started pairing the songs in 1945 and the idea was revisited in the popular
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
in a new,
jive-and-jumping style, created by
Sam Butera for Prima's 1950s Las Vegas stage show. The success of that act gained Prima a recording deal with
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
, which aimed to capture on record the atmosphere of his shows. The first album, titled ''
The Wildest!'' and released in November 1956, opened with "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody", which then became Prima's signature number and helped relaunch his career. Butera is noted for his raucous playing style, his
off-color humor
Off-color humor (also known as vulgar humor, crude humor, or shock humor) is humor that deals with topics that may be considered to be in poor taste or vulgar. Many comedic genres (including jokes, prose, poems, black comedy, blue comedy, insul ...
, and the innuendo in his lyrics. The arrangement he made with Prima of "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" has been covered by
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...
and
The Village People.
The
Village People
Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the re ...
recorded a disco version of the "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" medley for their 1978 album ''
Macho Man''. Although the two songs have nothing else in common, the popularity of Prima's combination, further popularized by
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...
on his 1985 EP ''
Crazy From The Heat'', has led to the mistaken perception by some that the songs are two parts of a single original composition.
In 2017, the Spanish band
De Morao Swing Tablao released a version of this song by double pairing it with the popular Spanish song, "María de la O".
See also
*
List of pre-1920 jazz standards
References
External links
*
* - Jazzmania Quintet, with
Georgie Stoll on
Stroh violin
The Stroh violin or Stroviol is a type of String instrument, stringed musical instrument that is mechanically amplified by a metal resonator and horn attached to its body. The name Stroviol refers to a violin, but other instruments have been mo ...
, playing ''I Ain't Got Nobody''
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1915 songs
1910s jazz standards
Bessie Smith songs
Sophie Tucker songs
Songs written by Spencer Williams
Cab Calloway songs
Village People songs