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Words: Irving Mills, Music: Duke Ellington
A standard, It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing) gave a name to the Swing Era. Accordingly, Duke Ellington was known as "The King of Swing." The song was sung most famously by Ella Fitzgerald. It Don't Mean a Thing epitomized the freedom embodied in swing and in jazz more generally, as improvisation is a central feature of the song's performance.
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