Satin Doll

A 1953 song by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

Published: 01 Oct 2011 Updated: 11 Feb 2020Visits: 1Code: UL417

Category: JazzInstrument: Any Subjects: Jazz • Reference • Standard

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Satin Doll

Satin Doll - is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Written in 1953, the song has been recorded countless times, by such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, 101 Strings, and Nancy Wilson. Its chord progression is well known for its unusual use of chords and opening with a ii-V-I turnaround.

Satin Doll Lesson Video

Johnny Mercer was often asked to write lyrics to already popular songs. The lyrics to Satin Doll were written after the song was already a hit in its instrumental version. Ellington used Satin Doll as the closing number at most of his concerts.

Satin Doll is in the The Daily Ukulele — Leap Year Edition 366 Songs for Better Living book.

Satin Doll is in the Real Book - Volume 1 Sixth Edition book.

It is possible that the music was not co-composed by Ellington but solely by pianist-arranger Billy Strayhorn, who worked closely with Ellington.

The popular 1950s group, The Gaylords had a minor hit with their recording of Satin Doll in 1958.

( From www.jazzstandards.com ) - As a jazz standard, Early in 1953, Duke Ellington left Columbia Records to sign with Capitol Records, a company he felt would more effectively promote his music. On April 6, the band had their first Capitol recording session, producing Satin Doll, Without a Song, and Cocktails for Two. Satin Doll, with its Ellington piano solo, was a modest hit, entering the pop charts in June and rising to number twenty-seven.

Satin Doll is on my, 2015 How About More Uke?, The Curt Sheller Jazz Trio CD.

“Curt, your CD was fantastic. You are amongst the ukulele masters of our day.” — John K.

Satin Doll — Premium Play-along Track

Inspired by Kenny Burrell's recording.

Premium Play-along Tracks are only available to Premium members and Active/Private Students.

Here is a Demo of Desafinado to get an idea of the quality of these custom play-along tracks.

Play-along Demo: Desafinado

DesafinadoPremium Play-along Track with Guitar Melody Played


I, (Curt) originally created these tracks to perform over for gigs and this was a demo for booking gigs.

These Premium Play-along Tracks are available to LearningUkulele.com Site Members and are my personal one-of-kind tracks I (Curt) and Chuck Anderson recorded and arranged.

Main Song Download(s)

The main downloads for this Song.

UL417-LS-PLAY

Satin Doll - Premium Play-Along Lead Sheet

Updated: 01 Sep 2023

Lead sheet to the Premium Play-Along Track.

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Satin Doll - Melody and Chord Ukulele Arrangement

Updated: 01 Sep 2023

Ukulele melody and chord arrangement in standard music notation and Ukulele TAB.

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Satin Doll - Premium Play-along Track

Updated: 01 Sep 2023

Premium play-along track for the standard, Satin Doll by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

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Satin Doll - How About More Uke? CD - Curt Sheller Trio

Updated: 31 Dec 2016

From How About More Uke? CD - Curt Sheller Trio

Videos

Related Videos for Satin Doll.

Satin Doll

Updated: 01 Jan 2003

A Curt Sheller Trio performance for the Berks Jazz Fest. Satin Doll - is a jazz standard written in 1953 by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

Related Lessons

Related Lessons for Satin Doll.

UL42-7

Core Chords - The Big Six - Building a Solid Chord Foundation

Updated: 07 Sep 2021

The Big Six Core Chords is a series of lessons for building your core, essential 4-part chords. These chords commonly called jazz chords, are really just 4-part chords used in a wide range of musical styles. These chords include: Seventh , Major Seventh, Minor Seventh, Half Diminished Seventh or Minor Seven Flat Five, Diminished Seventh, and Augmented Seventh. These six chords form a core set of chords.

Related Books & Charts

Related Books for Satin Doll.

HL00240221

The Real Book – Volume I – Sixth Edition

Updated: 05 May 2022

The Real Books are the best-selling jazz books of all time. Since the 1970s, musicians have trusted these volumes to get them through every gig, night after night. The problem is that the books were illegally produced and distributed, without any regard to copyright law, or royalties paid to the composers who created these musical masterpieces.

A Selection of Books & Reference Charts that are recommended for creating a solid foundation with your chosen instrument and music in general.

Books

Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard – C Tuning

Finally, learn the names of the notes of the fingerboard.

Six Secrets of Ukulele Fingering

Learn the six fingering principles to navigating the ukulele fingerboard. Fingering is one of the most universal topics.

Harmonic Analysis for Scale Selection and Chord Substitution

Harmonic Analysis is the understanding of the functional sequence of chords. It is the process used to analyze the harmonic structure of a progression, song or composition.

Ukulele – Reading Music Series – Primer

Learn to read single note melodies in the first/open position is a lot easier than you might think.

Daily Practice Material for the Contemporary Ukulele

An organized collection of daily practice and reference material for the contemporary ukulele player for developing the vocabulary and knowledge necessary for single note playing.

Checkout the Books for ALL available books.

Reference Charts

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for C Tuning, Low or High G - G C E A

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for C Tuning, Low or High G – G C E A

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for G Tuning, Low or High A – D G B E

Ukulele Fingerboard Chart for G Tuning, Low or High A – D G B E

Key Signatures — Circle of Fourths and Fifths – ANSI A & A4 sizes

A handy reference chart of all 15 major and relative minor key signatures. US Letter 8.5 x 11 sized (ANSI-A) , A4

Checkout the Books for additional Handy, Dandy Reference Charts.

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Just browsing over both books, they look fantastic! I'm a guitarist and uke player for over 25 years and was thinking about writing a ukulele book but you've already written what I think are the best, most comprehensive and thorough books I've ever seen for the instrument. I just might end up buying every book you've written and I'll be giving my highest recommendation for your books to my friends and students. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such great books!Peter Rhee

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