Why Don’t You Do Right? (and Other Silly Questions)
From ‘Why Don’t You Do Right’ to ‘Why Must Your Love Well Be So Dry’ , we have mixed 18 ‘Jazz‘ tunes around the theme of ‘Questions We Ask‘. It has Ethel Merman, Marion Ryan, Alton Ellis, Nina Simone and many more.
Wikipedia: Why don’t you do it right has its roots in blues music and deals with themes that were common following the Great Depression and prohibition: the narrator is suggesting that the man is destitute because he has been used by other women, then demands money from him for her benefit. It is also ironic that the narrator suggests that the subject is made a fool of by women. The seductive nature of the lyrics has made this song a fine choice for many female jazz vocalists.
Wikipedia : (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right is about an illicit love affair, from the point of view either of the mistress or the cheating husband, depending on the performance. Both parties involved express their desire to maintain the affair, though both agree that it is morally wrong.
Peggy Lee : Much of her present success Miss Lee credits to her apprenticeship with the big bands. “I learned more about music from the men I worked with in bands than I’ve learned anywhere else,” she has said. In July, 1942, Peggy Lee recorded her first smash hit, “Why Don’t You Do Right?” It sold over 1,000,000 copies and made her famous.
The Stax Site : Luther Ingram’s finest moment came when his 1972 recording of the classic Homer Banks, Raymond Jackson and Carl Hampton song, (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right. It went on to sell over a million copies and reached number 3 in the US pop charts.
Amazon : When Love Goes Wrong (Nothing Goes Right) features Marilyn doing another duet with Jane Russell. “When Love Goes Wrong (Nothing Goes Right)” explores the doldrums women feel when their love affair goes sour. Excellent number!
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