As a vocalist, Maxine Sullivan was active for half a century, from the mid-1930s to just before her death in 1987. She is best known for her 1937 recording of a swing version of the Scottish folk song "Loch Lomond". Throughout her career, Sullivan also appeared as a performer on film as well as on stage. A precursor to better-known later vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan, Maxine Sullivan is considered one of the best jazz vocalists of the 1930s.
Maxine Sullivan was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania in 1911. Sullivan began her music career singing in her uncle's band, The Red Hot Peppers, in her native Pennsylvania, in which she occasionally played the flugelhorn and the valve trombone, in addition to singing. In the mid-1930s she was discovered by Gladys Mosier (then working in Ina Rae Hutton's big band). Mosier introduced her to Claude Thornhill, which led to her first recordings made in June of 1937. Shorty thereafter, Sullivan became a featured vocalist at the Onyx Club in New York. During this period, she began forming a professional and close personal relationship with bassist John Kirby, to whom she was married from 1938 to 1941.
Early sessions with Kirby in 1937 yielded a hit recording of a swing version of the Scottish folk song "Loch Lomond" featuring Sullivan on vocals. This early success "branded" Sullivan's style, leading her to sing similar swing arrangements of traditional folk tunes mostly arranged by pianist Claude Thornhill, such as "Darling Nellie Gray", "I Dream of Jeanie", "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes", and "If I Had a Ribbon Bow". Her early popularity also led to a brief appearance in the movie Going Places opposite Louis Armstrong. In 1940, Sullivan and Kirby were featured on the radio program Flow Gently Sweet Rhythm, making them the first black jazz stars to have their own weekly radio series. From 1940-1942, Sullivan often performed with her husband Kirby's sextet. During the 1940s Sullivan then performed with a wide range of bands, including those of Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter, and Jimmie Lunceford. Sullivan also performed at many of New York's hottest jazz spots such as the Ruban Bleu, the Village Vanguard, the Blue Angel, and the Penthouse.
In 1956, Sullivan shifted away from her earlier style and recorded the album A Tribute to Andy Razaf. Originally on the Period record label, A Tribute to Andy Razaf featured Sullivan's interpretations of a dozen tunes featuring the lyrics of the poet and lyricist Andy Razaf. The album also highlighted the music of Fats Waller, including versions of "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now", "How Can you Face Me?", "My Fate is in Your Hands", "Honeysuckle Rose", "Ain't Misbehavin'", and "Blue Turning Grey Over You". Sullivan was joined by a sextet that was reminiscent of John Kirby's group of 15 years prior, including trumpeter Charlie Shavers and clarinetist Buster Bailey. In 1953 Sullivan starred in the play, Take a Giant Step.
From 1958 to 1966, Sullivan began working as a nurse and raising her children, which largely consumed most of her time. Her music career did not reassert itself until 1966, when she began performing in jazz festivals alongside her new husband, Cliff Jackson, who can be heard on the 1966 live recording of Sullivan's performance at the Manassas Jazz Festival.
Sullivan continued to perform throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and produced an output of recordings during the 1980s despite being over 70 years old. She was nominated for the 1979 Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in My Old Friends. She participated in a documentary film portrait, Maxine Sullivan: Love to Be in Love, shortly before her death.
Maxine Sullivan died in 1987 in New York. She was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1998.
It Ain't Necessarily So
Maxine Sullivan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It ain't necessarily so
The t'ings dat yo' li'ble
To read in de Bible,
It ain't necessarily so.
Li'l David was small, but oh my!
Li'l David was small, but oh my!
He fought Big Goliath
Li'l David was small, but oh my!
Wadoo, zim bam boddle-oo,
Hoodle ah da wa da,
Scatty wah!
Oh yeah!...
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale,
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale,
Fo' he made his home in
Dat fish's abdomen.
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale.
Li'l Moses was found in a stream.
Li'l Moses was found in a stream.
He floated on water
Till Ol' Pharaoh's daughter,
She fished him, she said, from dat stream.
Wadoo
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Dey tells all you chillun
De debble's a villun,
But it ain't necessarily so !
To get into Hebben
Don' snap for a sebben !
Live clean ! Don' have no fault !
Oh, I takes dat gospel
Whenever it's pos'ble,
But wid a grain of salt.
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years,
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years,
But who calls dat livin'
When no gal will give in
To no man what's nine hundred years ?
I'm preachin' dis sermon to show,
It ain't nece-ain't nece
Ain't nece-ain't nece
Ain't necessarily, so !
Maxine Sullivan’s song “It Ain’t Necessarily So” is a satirical take on the Bible’s stories, sharing the belief that not all things mentioned in the holy book could be accurate. The lyrics question the tales that we read in the Bible and urge people to live life with skepticism and a grain of salt. The refrain, “It ain’t necessarily so,” is repeated to punctuate the anti-establishment message. The lyrics mention popular Bible stories like David and Goliath, Jonah and the whale, and Moses being found in the stream, and reiterates that these stories may not necessarily be true.
However, Sullivan's song implies that it's important to question everything and not accept everything as true, including religion and its teachings. The preacher is telling his congregation that to enter heaven, all they need is to live clean and have no faults, and not "snap for a sebben". Methuselah’s age is highlighted as an example of how unnatural and unbelievable things can be mentioned in the Bible. Overall, the song encourages people to live life with a critical mind and question everything for themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
It ain't necessarily so
Just because something is written in the Bible, it doesn't necessarily mean it's true.
Li'l David was small, but oh my!
David was small in size, but he was still able to defeat Goliath.
Wadoo, zim bam boddle-oo, Hoodle ah da wa da, Scatty wah! Oh yeah!...
This is a nonsensical refrain that doesn't necessarily have any meaning.
Oh Jonah, he lived in de whale
According to the Bible, Jonah spent time living inside of a whale.
Li'l Moses was found in a stream.
Moses was found floating in a stream as a baby, and he was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter.
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Just because people say the devil is evil, it doesn't necessarily mean it's true.
To get into Hebben Don' snap for a sebben ! Live clean ! Don' have no fault !
In order to get into heaven, you need to live a clean life and avoid sinning.
Methus'lah lived nine hundred years,
According to the Bible, Methuselah lived to be 900 years old.
I'm preachin' dis sermon to show, It ain't nece-ain't nece Ain't nece-ain't nece Ain't necessarily, so !
The singer is using this song to show that not everything written in the Bible should be taken literally or as absolute truth.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dorothy Heyward, Du Bose Heyward, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sophie Stevenson
Maxine Sullivan has the most exquisite voice. This is the first time I've heard her (surprisingly). Must've been amazing to see her sing live way back! She sounds and looks gorgeous. x
Kirk Barkley
Love her voice as well: sooo soothing to the soul
MrDEMcT
I'd never heard of her until I heard her today on KCEA via iTunes. I came here and was blown away. Her voice is as good as Ella's, and her vocal style is as sweet/sad as Billie's. I can't believe she's not better known. Thank you, @bumblebee1914.
ri0tgrrl71
Agree 100%
Patrick Jones
i could listen to her sing all day. and though i'm a christian, i completely agree that not everything in the bible is the word of god.
TUFF GONG GB
Editorz
Kirk Barkley
YES
David Walsh
What an amazing singer she has a great gift with that melodic and classy voice. Maxine Sullivan has such talent.
Kirk Barkley
Ah, La Sullivan!: her voice is so pure and soothing to the soul = no matter which song she chose to sing
barney23
I'd agree with her wikipedia page that states, "A precursor to better known later vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan, Maxine Sullivan is considered one of the best jazz vocalists of the 1930s". A beautiful voice. x