Satin Doll

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

Published: 01 Oct 2011 Updated: 11 Feb 2020Visits: 456Code: UL417

Topic: Jazz Instruments: ukulele ANY playalong leadsheet 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.

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.

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Satin Doll - Lead Sheet

Updated: 31 Dec 2016

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Satin Doll - Melody and Chord Ukulele Arrangement

Updated: 31 Dec 2016

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Satin Doll - Premium Play-along Track

Updated: 31 Dec 2016

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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.

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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.

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A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords - Volume I

Updated: 13 Feb 2020

Beyond learning basic Ukulele chords, most players struggle with advanced chords. Commonly called "jazz" chords, these more sophisticated voicings find a wide use in all forms of music. A Guide to Advanced Chords for Ukulele - presents a highly organized and efficient approach to the mysterious subject of advanced chords. Chord dictionaries are not the answer.

AGCUKE1STD

Exploring Jazz Chords on Ukulele

Updated: 20 Apr 2022

Exploring jazz chords using a variety of common chord progressions based on songs from the standard jazz repertoire. Core Chords are the basic set of chords needed to play a wide range of music, in a variety of styles. This set of chords includes basic open position chords, basic movable form chords and the core 4-part "jazz" chords.

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Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard - C Tuning

Updated: 18 Jan 2023

Finally, learn the names of the notes of the fingerboard. Learning the notes of your instrument allows you the flexibility of not having to remember so many shapes. There are simply way too many chords, scale and notes patterns, and shapes to remember. It all comes down the notes.

Related Song Files, Resources and Assets

Related Assets for Satin Doll.

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A to Z Blues Progressions for Ukulele - Example N

Updated: 31 Dec 2016

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