Why Don't You Do Right?

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"Why Don't You Do Right?" is an American blues standard and jazz standard written in 1936. It is a twelve-bar blues written in a minor key and is considered a classic "woman's blues". Lil Green had a jazz and rhythm and blues hit with guitar played by Big Bill Broonzy. This version was later covered by Peggy Lee with great success.

"Why Don't You Do Right" first appeared in 1936 as "The Weed Smoker's Dream", composed by Joe McCoy and recorded by the Harlem Hamfats. The song was subtitled "Why Don't You Do Now" on the original release, and was later refined by composer Joe McCoy and retitled "Why Don't You Do Right?". The new version was recorded by Lil Green in 1941.

In this final version, the song tells the narrative of a woman whose partner was financially well off in 1922, but now has nothing. She claims it is because he wasted it on other women, and that these lovers will no longer show any interest in him now that he's poor. She claims that he tricked her into a relationship where all he has to offer her is 'a drink of gin'. She ends each verse asking why the man doesn't 'do right' by her, and then immediately throws him out, insisting that he go earn a living in order to support her.

The song has its roots in blues music and deals with themes that were common following the Great Depression and prohibition. There is an irony to the song, in that the narrator is suggesting that the man is destitute because he has been used by women, but then demands money of him for her benefit. One would surmise that the singer's sultry and not-subtle demand for financial support are at the root of the couple's financial woes, and if any woman is making a fool of the poor guy in the song, it's her. She claims he swindled her into the relationship, but one would infer that in fact she is the one doing the swindling. The seductive nature of the lyrics has made this song a fine choice for many female jazz vocalists.

You had plenty money, 1922

You let other women make a fool of you

Why don't you do right? like some other men do

Get out of here and bring me some money too.

One of the best known versions of the song is Peggy Lee's, which was recorded July 27, 1942 in New York with Benny Goodman. It sold over 1 million copies and brought her to nationwide attention.

Peggy Lee often stated that Green's recording was extremely influential to her music. In a 1984 interview she said "I was and am a fan of Lil Green, a great old blues singer, and Lil recorded it. I used to play that record over and over in my dressing room, which was next door to Benny's (Goodman). Finally he said, 'You obviously like that song.' I said 'Oh, I love it.' He said 'Would you like me to have an arrangement made of it?' I said, 'I'd love that,' and he did."

Although "Why Don't You Do Right" was not the biggest hit Goodman and Lee put out (it only reached #4 on the Billboards), it is certainly the best remembered, and defined Lee's sultry and rich vocal style early on in her career. Lee left Goodman in 1943, having married guitarist Dave Barbour. Her intention was to retire from the music industry and focus on homemaking, but she continued receiving offers to return to the music world, largely in part to the success of "Why Don't You Do Right". She collaborated off and on with Goodman upon her return to singing, and recorded an alternate version of "Why Don't You Do Right" in 1947.

The song is performed by cartoon character Jessica Rabbit in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. That version was sung by actress Amy Irving.

Other versions were recorded over the years by Julie London, Rasputina (from their 1996 debut album Thanks for the Ether), Kiri Te Kanawa, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Horn, Johnny Otis, and Sinéad O'Connor.