It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

E124100

jazz standard song

"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a landmark 1931 jazz standard by Duke Ellington that helped define the swing era and popularize the concept of swing in jazz music.

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All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) canonical	3
"It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing"	1
It Don't Mean a Thing	1
It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing!)	1
It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)	1
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1070223 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Context triple: [Duke Ellington, notableWork, It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)]

A. I Got Rhythm
"I Got Rhythm" is a popular jazz standard composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, renowned for its catchy melody and influential chord progression widely used in jazz improvisation.
B. I Get a Kick Out of You
"I Get a Kick Out of You" is a classic popular song from the 1934 Broadway musical *Anything Goes*, renowned for its witty lyrics and enduring status as a jazz and pop standard.
C. Hey Joe
"Hey Joe" is a rock standard most famously recorded by Jimi Hendrix, known for its haunting narrative about a man on the run and its iconic guitar work.
D. Jazz Goes to Town
Jazz Goes to Town is an annual jazz music festival held in Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic, featuring a wide range of local and international jazz performers.
E. Slave to the Rhythm
"Slave to the Rhythm" is a 1985 art-pop concept album and hit title track by Grace Jones, noted for its innovative production, rhythmic experimentation, and fusion of pop, funk, and avant-garde styles.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
Target entity description: "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a landmark 1931 jazz standard by Duke Ellington that helped define the swing era and popularize the concept of swing in jazz music.

A. I Got Rhythm
"I Got Rhythm" is a popular jazz standard composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, renowned for its catchy melody and influential chord progression widely used in jazz improvisation.
B. I Get a Kick Out of You
"I Get a Kick Out of You" is a classic popular song from the 1934 Broadway musical *Anything Goes*, renowned for its witty lyrics and enduring status as a jazz and pop standard.
C. Hey Joe
"Hey Joe" is a rock standard most famously recorded by Jimi Hendrix, known for its haunting narrative about a man on the run and its iconic guitar work.
D. Jazz Goes to Town
Jazz Goes to Town is an annual jazz music festival held in Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic, featuring a wide range of local and international jazz performers.
E. Slave to the Rhythm
"Slave to the Rhythm" is a 1985 art-pop concept album and hit title track by Grace Jones, noted for its innovative production, rhythmic experimentation, and fusion of pop, funk, and avant-garde styles.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	jazz standard ⓘ song ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) ⓘ surface form: It Don't Mean a Thing It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) ⓘ surface form: It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing!)
associatedWith	Duke Ellington Orchestra ⓘ
composer	Duke Ellington ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
culturalStatus	jazz classic ⓘ landmark swing composition ⓘ
famousLine	It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing
firstRecordingYear	1932 ⓘ
genre	jazz ⓘ swing ⓘ
hasBeenRecordedBy	Duke Ellington ⓘ Ella Fitzgerald ⓘ Duke Ellington ⓘ surface form: Lady Ella and Duke Ellington Lady Gaga ⓘ Louis Armstrong ⓘ Nina Simone ⓘ Sarah Vaughan ⓘ Thelonious Monk ⓘ Tony Bennett ⓘ
hasSubject	swing rhythm in jazz ⓘ
helpedDefine	swing era ⓘ
helpedPopularizeConcept	swing in jazz ⓘ
includedIn	Great American Songbook ⓘ surface form: The Great American Songbook
influenced	development of swing music ⓘ
isStandardIn	big band repertoire ⓘ jazz repertoire ⓘ
keyInManyPerformances	G minor ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
lyricist	Irving Mills ⓘ
musicalForm	32-bar song form ⓘ
notableFeature	call-and-response between vocals and band ⓘ emphasis on rhythmic swing feel ⓘ use of scat singing in many versions ⓘ
originalArtist	Duke Ellington Orchestra ⓘ surface form: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra
performanceContext	big band concerts ⓘ jazz club performances ⓘ vocal jazz recitals ⓘ
period	early swing era ⓘ
recordLabel	Brunswick Records ⓘ
section	chorus ⓘ verse ⓘ
theme	importance of swing feel over other musical elements ⓘ
typicalTempo	medium-fast ⓘ
vocalistOnEarlyRecording	Ivie Anderson ⓘ
yearComposed	1931 ⓘ
yearPublished	1931 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Duke Ellington → notableWork → It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) ⓘ

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) → alsoKnownAs → It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) ⓘ

this entity surface form: It Don't Mean a Thing

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) → alsoKnownAs → It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) ⓘ

this entity surface form: It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing!)

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) → famousLine → It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing

Duke → notableWork → It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) ⓘ

subject surface form: Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington Orchestra → notableWork → It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) ⓘ

Sophisticated Ladies → includesSong → It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) ⓘ

this entity surface form: It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

Teresa Brewer → notableAlbum → It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) ⓘ

this entity surface form: "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing"

All labels observed (6)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (49)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (8)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited