I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So Song by Duke Ellington
"I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So " is a 1945 song composed by Duke Ellington , with lyrics written by Mack David .[ 1] The song has become a jazz standard .[ 2]
Notable recordings
Al Hibbler & Duke Ellington – recorded for RCA Victor (catalog No. 20-1799) on November 26, 1945[ 3] ( Johnny Hodges , Lawrence Brown , soloists).
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis & Shirley Scott – The Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Cookbook Volume 3 (Prestige , 1958).
Billy Eckstine & Quincy Jones on the album At Basin Street East (EmArcy , 1961) as part of a Duke Ellington medley.
Annie Ross – included in her album A Gasser! (World Pacific , 1960).[ 4]
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington – Together for the First Time (Roulette Records , 1961).
Wes Montgomery on SO Much Guitar! (1961).
Ella Fitzgerald – she first recorded it for Decca Records (catalog No. 18814) in New York on Feb 21, 1946.[ 5] She sang it at Carnegie Hall in 1949 and it was included in Jazz at the Philharmonic, The Ella Fitzgerald Set (Verve/Polygram)" (1949).[ 6] A later recording was included in Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook (1958).
Kenny Burrell – Soul Call (1964).
Sarah Vaughan – The Duke Ellington Songbook, Vol. 1 (1979).
Mose Allison – Middle Class White Boy (1982).[ 7]
Tony Bennett – recorded the song on three occasions, first in 1957 for his album Tony . He included it in his Carnegie Hall concert in 1962 and finally in the album A Tribute to Duke (1977).
Harry "Sweets" Edison & Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis – Jazz at the Philharmonic (1983).[ 8]
Diana Krall – for her album Stepping Out (1993).
Stacey Kent – included in the album Only Trust Your Heart (2000).[ 9]
Melody Diachun – in her album Lullaby of the Leaves (2002).[ 10]
Terra Hazelton – in her Anybody's Baby (2004).[ 11]
Legacy
Just a Lucky So and So: The Story of Louis Armstrong , a 2016 picture book biography of Louis Armstrong, was titled after the song. The book was written by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated by her husband, James Ransome .[ 12]
Notes
^ "Mack David" . AllMusic . Retrieved 2025-03-26 .
^ "I'm Just a Lucky So and So" . JazzStandards.com. Retrieved February 20, 2009 .
^ "RCA Victor 20-prefix series" . 78discography.com . Retrieved December 24, 2018 .
^ "A Gasser!" . AllMusic . Retrieved December 24, 2018 .
^ "Decca 18500 - 19000 Numerical Listing" . 78discography.com . Retrieved December 24, 2018 .
^ "Jazz at the Philharmonic: The Ella Fitzgerald Set" . AllMusic . Retrieved December 24, 2018 .
^ "Middle Class White Boy" . AllMusic . Retrieved December 24, 2018 .
^ "Jazz at the Philharmonic" . AllMusic . Retrieved December 24, 2018 .
^ "Only Trust Your Heart" . AllMusic . Retrieved December 24, 2018 .
^ "Lullaby of the Leaves" . AllMusic . Retrieved April 30, 2025 .
^ "Terra Hazelton – Anybody's Baby" . Discogs . Retrieved April 30, 2025 .
^ Diaz, Shelley. "Just a Lucky So and So: The Story of Louis Armstrong" . School Library Journal . Retrieved 2025-04-30 .
Studio albums
Harlem Jazz, 1930
Ellingtonia, Vol. One
Ellingtonia, Vol. Two
Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year
The Blanton–Webster Band
Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band
Smoke Rings
Liberian Suite
Great Times!
Masterpieces by Ellington
Ellington Uptown
The Duke Plays Ellington
Ellington '55
Dance to the Duke!
Ellington Showcase
Historically Speaking
Duke Ellington Presents...
The Complete Porgy and Bess
A Drum Is a Woman
Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956
Such Sweet Thunder
Studio Sessions 1957 & 1962
Ellington Indigos
Black, Brown and Beige
Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque
The Cosmic Scene
Happy Reunion
Jazz Party
Anatomy of a Murder
Festival Session
Blues in Orbit
The Nutcracker Suite
Piano in the Background
Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G.
Unknown Session
Piano in the Foreground
Paris Blues
Featuring Paul Gonsalves
Midnight in Paris
Studio Sessions, New York 1962
Afro-Bossa
The Symphonic Ellington
Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session
Studio Sessions New York 1963
My People
Ellington '65
Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins
Ellington '66
Concert in the Virgin Islands
The Popular Duke Ellington
Far East Suite
The Jaywalker
Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York
...And His Mother Called Him Bill
Second Sacred Concert
Studio Sessions New York, 1968
Latin American Suite
The Pianist
New Orleans Suite
Orchestral Works
The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970
The Intimacy of the Blues
The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
Studio Sessions New York & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971
The Intimate Ellington
The Ellington Suites
This One's for Blanton!
Up in Duke's Workshop
Duke's Big 4
Mood Ellington
Live albums Collaborations Compositions by Billy Strayhorn by Juan Tizol
Orchestra members Related