"Weed Smoker's Dream"
Single by Harlem Hamfats
B-side"Little Girl"
Released1936 (1936)
RecordedChicago, October 2, 1936
GenreBlues, jazz
Length3:19
LabelDecca
Songwriter(s)Kansas Joe McCoy, Herb Morand

"Why Don't You Do Right?" (originally recorded as "Weed Smoker's Dream" in 1936) is an American blues and jazz-influenced pop song usually credited to Kansas Joe McCoy.[1] A minor key twelve-bar blues with a few chord substitutions, it is considered a classic "woman's blues" song and has become a standard. Singer Lil Green recorded a popular rendition in 1941, which Peggy Lee recorded the next year — accompanied by Benny Goodman — and made one of her signature songs.

Composition and lyrics

In 1936, the Harlem Hamfats jazz band recorded "The Weed Smoker's Dream". The original Decca Records release listed the songwriters as "McCoy-Moran" (Joe McCoy and Herb Morand were members of the band). McCoy later rewrote the song, refining the composition and lyrics. The new tune, titled "Why Don't You Do Right?", was recorded by Lil Green in 1941,[2] with guitar by William "Big Bill" Broonzy. The recording was an early jazz and blues hit.[3]

The song has its roots in blues music and originally dealt with a marijuana smoker reminiscing about lost financial opportunities. As it was rewritten, it takes on the perspective of the female partner, who chastises her man for his irresponsible ways, complaining that her other lovers provide her with more money:[4] "Why don't you do right, like some other men do? Get out of here and get me some money too."[5]

Peggy Lee recording

"Why Don't You Do Right?"
Black and white still shot showing musicians performing
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra with Peggy Lee, performing "Why Don't You Do Right?" in Stage Door Canteen (1943)
Single by Benny Goodman with Peggy Lee
B-side"Six Flats Unfurnished"
Released1942 (1942)
RecordedNew York, July 27, 1942
GenreJazz
Length3:12
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Kansas Joe McCoy

One of the best-known versions of the song was recorded by Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman on July 27, 1942, in New York. Featured in the 1943 film, Stage Door Canteen, it sold over one million copies and brought her to nationwide attention.[6]

Lee often stated that Green's recording was influential to her music. In a 1971 interview[7] she said, "I had the record, and I used to play it over and over in my dressing room, which was next to Benny Goodman ... Finally ... he said, 'I think you really like that song.' I said, 'Oh, I love it.' He said, 'Would you like to sing it?'" Lee said yes, so Goodman had an arrangement made of it for Lee to sing.[2]

"Why Don't You Do Right?" reached number four on both the Billboard charts and the Harlem Hit Parade charts.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Why Don't You Do Right". ASCAP ACE Repertory. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #9". Digital.library.unt.edu. 1972.
  3. ↑ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 13. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  4. ↑ Friedwald, Will (2007). The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums. New York City: Pantheon Books. p. 252. ISBN 978-0307379078.
  5. ↑ Lil Green (1941). "Why Don't You Do Right?" (Song recording). Camden, New Jersey: Bluebird Records. Event occurs at 0:21, 0:54, 1:26, 2:29 (choruses). B-8714-A.
  6. ↑ Bush, John. "Peggy Lee – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  7. ↑ "John Gilliland Collection, 1955-1991 | Music Library". Findingaids.library.unt.edu. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  8. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 232.
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