Ain't Nobody's Business

"'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do"
Single by Anna Meyers with the Original Memphis Five
B-side"That Da Da Strain"
Released1922 (1922)
RecordedNew York City, October 19, 1922
GenreBlues
Length3:08
LabelPathé Actuelle
Songwriter(s)Porter Grainger, Everett Robbins

"Ain't Nobody's Business" (originally "Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do") is a 1920s blues song that became one of the first blues standards.[1] It was published in 1922 by Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins.[1] The song features a lyrical theme of freedom of choice and a vaudeville jazz–style musical arrangement.[2] It was first recorded, as "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do", in 1922 by Anna Meyers, backed by the Original Memphis Five.[3]

Recordings by other classic female blues singers, including Sara Martin, Alberta Hunter, and Bessie Smith soon followed.[1][3] In 1947, the song was revived by the jump blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon as "Ain't Nobody's Business".[4] It was the best-selling race record of 1949[5] and inspired numerous adaptations of the song.[1] In 2011, Witherspoon's rendition was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame as a "Classic of Blues Recording".[4]

  1. ^ a b c d Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Ain't Nobody's Business". Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. p. 436. ISBN 1-55728-252-8.
  2. ^ "Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do". The Blues. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard. 1995. pp. 210–212. ISBN 0-79355-259-1.
  3. ^ a b Kostelanetz, Richard (2005). The B.B. King Reader: Six Decades of Commentary. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-634-09927-4.
  4. ^ a b Blues Foundation (November 10, 2016). "2011 Hall of Fame Inductees: Ain't Nobody's Business – Jimmy Witherspoon (Supreme, 1947)". The Blues Foundation. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  5. ^ Vera, Billy (1992). Blues Masters – Volume 1: Urban Blues (CD compilation notes). Various Artists. Santa Monica, California: Rhino Records. p. 3. R2 71121.