Duke Ellington - I Got it Bad and That Ain't Good

"I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" is a pop and jazz standard with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster published in 1941.

Duke Ellington’s original “I Got It Bad,” featuring Johnny Hodges and Ivie Anderson, is unarguably the definitive version of this beautiful tune. Thelonious Monk’s 1955 rendition (Plays Duke Ellington) is a more recent classic, with Monk showing the tune’s appropriateness as a modern jazz vehicle while paying tribute to Ellington, one of his own musical heroes.

Considered by some as her best performance, “I Got It Bad” was introduced by Ivie Anderson in Jump for Joy. The West Coast musical revue opened on July 10, 1941, at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles and ran for 101 performances. Although the show’s run was short, in October a Duke Ellington recording, also featuring Anderson and with solos by Ellington and Johnny Hodges, became a hit, rising on the pop charts to number thirteen. A month later, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra would also score with their recording which had the further distinction of being Peggy Lee’s first hit vocal. Ironically, Goodman’s trumpeter Cootie Williams played the Ellington song in the Goodman band after leaving Ellington.

John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1906 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932 – 1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair. Hodges was also featured on soprano saxophone, but refused to play soprano after 1946, when he also got the task of playing the lead chair.

Hodges started playing with Lloyd Scott, Sidney Bechet, Lucky Roberts and Chick Webb. When Ellington wanted to expand his band in 1928, Ellington's clarinet player Barney Bigard recommended Hodges, who was featured on both alto and soprano sax. His playing became one of the identifying voices of the Ellington orchestra. Hodges left the Duke to lead his own band (1951 – 1955), but returned to the large ensemble shortly before Ellington's triumphant return to prominence – the orchestra's performance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival.