Rate-O-Rama: Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby

Welcome to Rate-O-Rama!

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Rate-O-Rama is a reader participation game.

Every Wednesday evening I will publish a Rate-O-Rama article which will feature three versions of a popular song.

The object is to listen to each of the music videos provided within the post.

After listening to each video you can rate each song in the comments section below.

(You must be a member to comment. If you are not a member you can join Vocal Media for FREE. You don’t ever have to pay for membership unless you choose to upgrade your membership)

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The rating method is easy. Simply give each song a rating of 1 to 100.

(The more you like the song the higher the rating).

If possible, please provide a brief comment to let us now what you think of each song.

After a week (Wednesday evening) I will tally the ratings and in the next Rate-O-Rama post, I will announce the average rating each song received.

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Last week we featured the Rhythm & Blues classic: “I Put a Spell on You" as recorded by Screamin' Jay Hawkins (1956), Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968), and Annie Lennox (2014).

The following are the average ratings for each song as a result of the votes:

🥇 Creedence Clearwater Revival: 84.8

🥈 Screamin' Jay Hawkins: 77.3

🥉 Annie Lennox: 76.9

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The Thirtieth Edition of Rate-O-Rama features three renditions of the Jump Blues / Jazz classic: “Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby."

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Louis Jordan (1944)

R&B/Jazz musician Louis Jordan co-wrote “Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby” with Billy Austin in 1943. Austin was a pianist in Jordan's ensemble. The song was a huge hit for Jordan having made it to #2 for three weeks on the US pop charts.

The song has been recorded by more than 150 artists from various genres and time periods.

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Dinah Washington & The Quincy Jones Orchestra (1957)

Long before he teamed up with 'The King of Pop,’ Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones was producing some of the finest jazz musicians including Betty Carter, Dihann Carroll, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington. At the young age of 23 Q began working with Dinah Washington who was one of the most popular jazz singers of the 1950s. She racked up a stream of steady hits from 1944 to 1964.

Although she did not release “Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby” as a single the track was popular in her repertoire. She rerecorded the song in 1962 for her album Dinah ‘62.

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Joe Jackson (1981)

With his first three albums Joe Jackson made his mark with a post punk new wave sound similar to Elvis Costello. In 1981 Jackson made a complete 380 in musical style and recorded a swing and Jump Blues album which he called Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive. The album is a collection of covers of classic 1940s swing and jump blues songs originally performed by musicians such as Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway.

“Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby” was a highlight from the album and received a fair amount of radio airplay.

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My Thoughts

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Louis Jordan:

Smooth, cool, and mellow. Not once does Mr. Jordan have to push or force his voice. His voice comes out with ease and soul.

This song was well recorded and is an early example of progressive technology in music with The layered vocal effect. The layered vocal effect is seamlessly executed here. The Vocal tracks are perfectly blended to create a singular voice that pops out and with a multi-dimensional sound.

Beyond the superb vocals I love the horns throughout the song, they add a nice jazz sort of flow to the overall sound. Clarence Johnson's rolling piano sets the tempo for the song and Louis Jordan's saxophone is the “bee's knees.” Louis Jordan gets 100 from me.

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Dinah Washington & The Quincy Jones Orchestra:

I want to briefly talk about Quincy Jones. Age 20 he played trumpet for Lionel Hampton, at age 21 he composed the musical arrangements for Ray Anthony's Standards album. By age 23 he was arranging, producing and conducting for thee Dinah Washington. At that young age Q had already accomplished more than most do in their entire life and he was just beginning. He went on to produce all of those 1960s hits for Lesley Gore which are all fun upbeat tunes. We all remember “It's My Party.” In the 1970s he produced a slew of different musicians including several albums for the R&B funk band Brothers Johnson. But his biggest successes were to come in the 1980s when he produced the albums Off the Wall and the mega successful album Thriller for Michael Jackson.

This rendition “Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby” is red hot and Quincy Jones's orchestra and orchestration are flawless. Every instrument is strategically placed to enhance the soul and the rhythm of this jazz classic. But the indisputable star of this song is Dinah Washington. She is a vocal stylist of the highest degree. She sings with style and grace and puts a lot of personality into her performance. I give this rendition a 100.

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Joe Jackson:

After listening to Louis Jordan's and Dinah Washington's smooth and effortless vocal performances Joe Jackson comes off as somewhat rough, not unprofessional and certainly not off key, but rough. Joe Jackson is a seasoned vocalist and he sings well. I like that he puts more of a blues inflection into his performance as opposed to the smooth jazz performances from the former. Joe Jackson's band as always is top-notch and they perform the song to perfection. I give this rendition a 95.

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I will be back next week with the results of this Rate-O-Rama Edition.

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Last Week's Rate-O-Rama:

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With Love, RHC ❤️