Dinah
This was one of the first tunes that I learned to play, and it’s much used in jam sessions. When the musicians who played folk music had a session, got a bit drunk, and became fed up with their music, they always made an attempt at playing some jazz with this tune. One of the first versions I heard was the one with Muggsy Spanier where he plays the verse sweet and the chorus up-tempo with a vocal by George Brunis.
The tune is from Akst-Lewis-Young and was published in 1925. Ethel Waters sang it, and Jean Goldkette’s Orchestra made an instrumental record. Another memorable version is the one of Bing Crosby with the Mills Brothers, and then of course Louis Armstrong comes to mind, who recorded it in 1930, and there is also a magic film appearance with him from a couple of years later. And then Louis Prima and Django, and so on—in short, a very useful tune that sounds good in Ab.