As a pianist, he had a distinctive and influential style (the song title "Splanky" is an onomatopoetic reference to the sound of his playing), equally at home in the barrelhouse and the concert hall. Willie "The Lion" Smith, James P. Johnson, and Fats Waller were among his influences.
As a bandleader, he created an organization (built upon the remains of Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra) that was a favorite both of dancers and of vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and, of course, Billie Holiday. Equally important, it kept many musicians employed through lean years. Many jazz musicians of note built their chops and earned their bread and butter in Basie's organization.
In addition to Basie, the swinging "All American Rhythm Section" of his orchestra included greats such as Walter Page (bass), Jo Jones (drums), and Freddie Green (guitar). It was the greatest, most swinging rhythm sections in the history of jazz. Chief among its vocalists were, first, Jimmy Rushing and, later, Joe Williams. Over the years it boasted sidemen and soloists like Herschel Evans (tenor sax), Lester Young (tenor sax), Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (tenor sax), Buddy Tate (tenor sax), Illinois Jacquet (tenor sax), Earle Warren (alto sax), Jack Washington (alto & baritone sax), Harry "Sweets" Edison (trumpet), Buck Clayton (trumpet), Thad Jones (trumpet), Snooky Young (trumpet), Benny Morton (trombone), Benny Powell (trombone), and Dicky Wells (trombone).
Basie also collaborated with artists such as Zoot Sims and Oscar Peterson, and recorded with ensembles large and small, including the Count Basie Trio, the Count Basie Sextet, and the Kansas City Seven. Notable arrangers included Eddie Durham (who helped shape the Basie Orchestra's sound) and Neal Hefti.
Sent For You Yesterday
Count Basie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shining through the tree?
Don't the moon look lonesome
Shining through the tree?
Don't your arms look lonesome
When your baby's packed to leave?
Sent for you yesterday
Sent for you yesterday
Here you come today
If you can't do better
Might as well just stay away
In Count Basie's song Sent For You Yesterday, the opening lines “Don't the moon look lonesome, shining through the tree? Don't your arms look lonesome when your baby's packed to leave?” create a melancholic and desolate atmosphere as it symbolizes a lover leaving, making the lover feel lonely and abandoned. The personification of the moon looking "lonesome" suggests that the moon knows what he's going through as it, like the lover, is alone as well. The use of repetition also reinforces the sadness and emptiness brought about by the absence of a loved one. The lyrics then shift to “Sent for you yesterday, here you come today” which suggests that the loved one may have left but then came back, giving a glimmer of hope. However, the song ends off with “If you can't do better, might as well just stay away” indicating the singer's dissatisfaction with their relationship and a warning to their lover that they will not tolerate being mistreated.
One interesting fact about "Sent For You Yesterday" is that it was written and produced by Buck Clayton, a famous jazz trumpeter who worked with Count Basie's Orchestra. Clayton was also a friend of writer Langston Hughes, who is featured on the song "The Blues I'm Playing" from Hughes' play 'Mulatto'. Another interesting fact is that the song's title was inspired by a telegram that Basie once sent to a friend. The telegram read “Sent you yesterday today, picked up your follies on the way,” which was a clever way of saying that he had arrived in town yesterday and had picked up some new songs to play. The song became an instant hit and was featured in the 1941 film 'New York Town' starring Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra.
Other interesting facts about the song include that it was recorded for the first time in 1937 and was sung by Jimmy Rushing. It is one of Basie's most popular songs and became a signature tune of his band. It has been covered by various artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Joe Williams. The song has also been used in several movies including 'Kansas City' (1996), 'The Cotton Club' (1984), and 'Round Midnight' (1987). In 1983, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Chords (Key of F):
Verse:
Fmaj7 / / / Gm7 / / / Fmaj7 / / / Gm7 / / /
Fmaj7 / / / Gm7 / / / Am7 / / / Bbm7 / / /
Chorus:
Fmaj7 / / / Gm7 / / / Fmaj7 / / / Gm7 / / /
Fmaj7 / / / Gm7 / / / Am7 / / / Bbm7 / / /
Fmaj7 / / / Gm7 / / / Fmaj7 / / / Gm7 / / /
Fmaj7 / / / Gm7 / / / C7 / Bbm7 / Fmaj7 / / /
Line by Line Meaning
Don't the moon look lonesome
Isn't the moon giving off a lonely vibe?
Shining through the tree?
While shining through the branches of the tree?
Don't your arms look lonesome
Aren't your arms giving off a lonely vibe?
When your baby's packed to leave?
When your loved one is leaving you?
Sent for you yesterday
I summoned you yesterday
Here you come today, today
And you're just arriving today
If you can't do better
If you can't perform better
Might as well just stay away
You might as well not even show up
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COUNT BASIE, EDDIE DURHAM, JAMES RUSHING, JAMES ANDREW RUSHING, WILLIAM COUNT BASIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Satchidananda
1:47 oh man i just finished transcribing this trumpet break on the piano after like an hour, thinking it was gonna be easy, boy, it's full of cromatic and approach notes, good stuff
Rubén Rodríguez
La música que escuchaba de joven Malcolm X en Boston, según cuenta en su autobiografía.
Kenneth Graves
Oh heyll yeah!