Harry Akst, music · Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young, lyrics · Introduced by Ethel Waters at the Plantation Club, Broadway
Dinah
Dinah is a 1925 song by Harry Akst, with words by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. Ethel Waters introduced it at the Plantation Club on Broadway, and it later gave Dinah Shore her stage name. Jazz players have taken it from Louis Armstrong's band to Django Reinhardt's quintet and Thelonious Monk alone at the piano.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Ethel Waters, who introduced the song in 1925, then moves through Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby with the Mills Brothers, Django Reinhardt's string quintet, Fats Waller at the piano and Benny Goodman's quartet. It ends with a Chet Baker band in 1956 and Thelonious Monk alone at the piano in 1964.
Louis Armstrong recorded Dinah for Okeh in New York on May 4, 1930. It became a frequent number in his live shows and radio broadcasts after this record.
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Listen for
Armstrong plays trumpet and sings, with a ten-piece band behind him that includes a tuba and a guitar.
Try it on your instrument
Play 5 to 8 of the A part: for a bar, for a bar, then and in bar 7 and Am7 and D7 in bar 8, which leads back to the start. Smaller version: play Am7, D7, G6, D7, one per bar.
Bing Crosby recorded Dinah with the Mills Brothers and a studio orchestra in New York on December 16, 1931. Brunswick issued it on a 78.
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Listen for
Crosby's voice and the Mills Brothers' voices share the song, with a ten-piece studio orchestra behind them.
Try it on your instrument
Sing along with the record in whatever suits your voice. Then hum it while you play the of 1 to 4: , , Gmaj7 , G/B Em7. Smaller version: hum along and play only Gmaj7 and D7.
Django Reinhardt and the Quintette du Hot Club de France · 1934
Ultraphone 78 rpm single
The Quintette du Hot Club de France recorded Dinah in Paris in December 1934 during its first commercial session, for Ultraphone. The line-up was one violin, three guitars and a double bass.
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Listen for
Violin and guitar take the lead in turn, and the other guitars and the bass keep the beat going underneath.
Try it on your instrument
Strum 1 to 4 of the A part with four steady down strokes per bar: , , Gmaj7 , G/B Em7. Smaller version: strum only and D7, two bars each.
Fats Waller and His Rhythm recorded Dinah for Victor in Camden, New Jersey, on June 24, 1935. Victor issued it as number 25471.
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Listen for
Waller plays piano and sings, with a trumpet and the rest of his small band answering him.
Try it on your instrument
Try a stride left hand on the A part: a low note in the left hand on beats 1 and 3 and a on beats 2 and 4, using , , and . Smaller version: play only the low notes on beats 1 and 3.
The Benny Goodman Quartet recorded Dinah for Victor in Hollywood on August 26, 1936. Goodman's trio with Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa became a quartet with the addition of Lionel Hampton on vibraphone.
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Listen for
Clarinet, vibraphone, piano and drums each stand out on their own, with no other instruments to blur them.
Try it on your instrument
Play the B part: , , and in 1 to 4, where the lowest note steps down one note per bar. Then play , , and in bars 5 to 8. Smaller version: play only the lowest notes E, D♯, D, C♯.
Harry Akst, Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young write the song in 1925, and Ethel Waters introduces it at the Plantation Club on Broadway. She records it for Columbia with her Plantation Orchestra that October.
1930s
Louis Armstrong records it for Okeh in 1930 and Bing Crosby cuts it with the Mills Brothers in 1931. Django Reinhardt's quintet in Paris, Fats Waller's band and Benny Goodman's quartet all follow.
1950s
Chet Baker records it twice: with a small group in Paris in October 1955 and with a larger band in Los Angeles in October 1956. Pacific Jazz issues the second on Chet Baker Big Band in 1957.
1960s
Thelonious Monk plays it alone at the piano in Los Angeles in November 1964. Columbia issues the second take on Solo Monk in 1965.
1970s
Ruby Braff and Ralph Sutton record it with bass and drums in New York in October 1979. The album first comes out on the small Chaz label.
2010s
The Hot Sardines include it on their 2011 album Shanghai'd.
More great versions
6 more, from 1932 to 2011. Tap a cover to play it here.
1930sCab Calloway1932
The Boswell Sisters1934
Lionel Hampton1939
1940s
1950sChet Baker1955 · Bebop
1960s
1970sRuby Braff and Ralph Sutton1979 · Swing
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010sThe Hot Sardines2011 · Swing
Cab Calloway and His Orchestra
1932
78 rpm single
Cab Calloway and his orchestra recorded Dinah in New York on June 7, 1932.
A Victor session on December 21, 1939 put Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter and Edmond Hall in Lionel Hampton's band. Dinah was one of the tunes cut that day.
Cornetist Ruby Braff and pianist Ralph Sutton recorded Dinah in New York in October 1979 with bassist Jack Lesberg and drummer Gus Johnson. The album first came out on the small Chaz label.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
G majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
G → E m → D → Gkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
G
E m
D
G
G
The chart in iReal Pro has four parts of 8 in , played A, A, B, A. In A, bar 1 gives and two beats each, bar 2 gives and , bar 3 gives Gmaj7 and , and bar 4 gives G/B and Em7. Bar 5 is Am7, bar 6 is D7, bar 7 is and and bar 8 is Am7 and D7. The second time, bar 7 is G6 and bar 8 is and , which leads into B. B opens on for four bars while the lowest note steps down: Em, , , then . Bars 5 to 8 run Em7, , Am7, D7 and return to the last A.