According to Jelly Roll Morton, the tune was composed in 1906 and was the first "
stomp" in the
history of jazz. Morton first recorded the number in 1923 as a piano solo, but did not file a
copyright on the tune until 1924. That year, he recorded a duet version with
Joe "King" Oliver on cornet. Morton said that he had actually written the tune almost 20 years earlier, and that it was named after his friend and fellow pianist Porter King. According to
S. Brun Campbell, Morton was having difficulty finishing the piece and sent it to
Scott Joplin, who was living in
St. Louis, for help. On July 1, 1935,
Benny Goodman and his orchestra recorded
Fletcher Henderson's arrangement of the number, backed with "
Sometimes I'm Happy". It was released July 31 as Victor 25090, and became a sizeable hit and a standard of the
big band era. Goodman's recording featured the well known trumpeter of the day
Bunny Berigan. Fletcher Henderson had recorded his own arrangement several times with his own band during the 1920s and early 1930s.
Harry James recorded a version in 1939 on
Brunswick 8366. Other big bands also recorded the tune, as did more traditional jazz groups. Late 1960s "space-age" bandleader
Pat Williams recorded the song on his 1968 Verve LP
Shades of Today. In 1975,
Gil Evans and his orchestra arranged a new cover in
There Comes a Time album, with
Tony Williams,
David Sanborn and
George Adams among others. The American jazz trio
Air recorded the tune for their 1979 album
Air Lore. ==See also==