East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
"East St Louis Toodle-Oo" (also "Toodle-O" and "Todolo") is a composition written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley and recorded several times by Ellington for various labels from 1926–1930 under various titles. This song was the first charting single for Duke Ellington in 1927 and was one of the main examples of his early "jungle music". This composition (which entered the public domain on January 1, 2023) was covered by Steely Dan on their 1974 album Pretzel Logic. Recording history Ellington first recorded "Toodle-Oo" in November 1926 for Vocalion Records, which was released as Vo (1064). He recorded the composition twice more in early 1927 for Brunswick Records; the first version was not released at the time, but the second was released as Br (3480). He recorded his hit version in March 1927 for Columbia Records, under the name "the Washingtonians". Along with recording "Toodle-Oo", two other compositions were recorded at the same session, "Hop Head" and "Down in Our Alley Blues", the former of which would be released as the B-side of Columbia 953-D. November 29, 1926 E-4110 Vocalion 1064 February 3, 1927 E-21636 E-21637 E-21538 Brunswick rejected March 14, 1927 E-21872 Brunswick 3480, Brunswick 6801, Brunswick 80000, Vocalion