In a Mellow Tone explained

"In a Mellow Tone", also known as "In a Mellotone", is a 1939 jazz standard composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Milt Gabler.^[1] The song was based on the 1917 standard "Rose Room" by Art Hickman and Harry Williams,^[2] which Ellington himself had recorded in 1932.^[3] Howard Stern used a recording of this song (from Ellington's Blues in Orbit album) as the opening theme to The Howard Stern Show from 1987 to 1994.

Notable recordings

• Red Norvo (1943)
• Erroll Garner – Contrasts (1954)
• Clark Terry – Duke with a Difference (1957)
• Chico Hamilton with Eric Dolphy – The Original Ellington Suite (1958)
• Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook (1958)
• Ben Webster (with Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge) – Ben Webster and Associates (1959)
• Count Basie – Breakfast Dance and Barbecue (1959)
• Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross – The Hottest New Group in Jazz (1960)
• Billy May – Cha Cha! Billy May (1960)
• Coleman Hawkins with Eddie Lockjaw Davis – Night Hawk (1960)
• Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington – The Great Summit (1961)
• Harry James – 1964 Live! In The Holiday Ballroom Chicago (Jazz Hour Compact Classics JH-1001, 1989)^[4]
• Oscar Peterson – Mellow Mood (1968)
• Paul Gonsalves – Humming Bird (1970)
• Buddy Rich – "Very Alive at Ronnie Scotts" (1971)
• Joe Pass – Portraits of Duke Ellington (1975)
• Sonny Stitt – (1977)
• The Manhattan Transfer – Pastiche (1978)
• Nick Brignola – L.A. Bound (1979)
• Art Pepper and George Cables – Goin’ Home (1982)
• Maynard Ferguson – Live from London (1994)
• Marcus Roberts – Plays Ellington (1995)
• Bob Wilber and Dick Hyman – A Perfect Match (1997)
• Tony Bennett – (1999)
• Clare Teal – Don't Talk (2004)
• Royce Campbell – A Tribute to Charlie Byrd (2004)
• Bill Wurtz – (2011)

Notes

1. Douglas Martin, "Milton Gabler, Storekeeper of the Jazz World, Dies at 90", The New York Times, July 25, 2001.
2. http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-1/inamellotone.htm "In a Mellotone"
3. Book: Gioia, Ted. The Jazz Standards. 2012. 193–4. Oxford University Press. New York. 978-0-19-993739-4.
4. Web site: Harry James And His Orchestra – Live 1964 In Holiday Ballroom Chicago . Discogs . February 4, 2017.