"Ain't Nobody's Business" by Earl Johnson & His Dixie Entertainers; Okeh 45092 Issued: March 1927

Old-time song and fiddle tune; Widely known and recorded. 

ARTIST: "Ain't Nobody's Business" by "Earl Johnson & His Dixie Entertainers" Okeh 45092 Issued: March 1927

CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes

DATE: 1927 1882 "Nobody's Business But Our Own" by C. R. Dockstader; 1911 “Nobody's Bizness But Mine” and “'Tain't Nobody's Bizness but my Own” in JOAFL collected by Howard Odum. Earliest recording: Sara Martin December 1, 1922 on OK 8043.

RECORDING INFO T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do/Ain't Nobody's Business: Jazz Me Blues: The Best Of Jimmy Witherspoon Jimmy Witherspoon Fantasy / Prestige; R & R Ruby Braff and Ralph Sutton Chiaroscuro Records / IODA; The Trumpet King Meets Joe Turner Joe Turner Dizzy Gillespie Roy Eldridge Fantasy / Pablo; Candid Dolphy Eric Dolphy Candid Productions / IODA After Dark Hank Crawford Fantasy / Milestone; Black And Blue Various Artists - DRG DRG Records Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz With Guest Jay McShann Jay McShann Concord (The Jazz Alliance) 'Deed I Do Helen Humes Fantasy / Contemporary; Live Asylum Street Spankers Spanks A Lot Fujitsu-Concord 26th Jazz Festival - Various Artists - Concord Jazz Concord Jazz; Ballad Essentials Ernestine Anderson Concord Jazz; Ernestine Anderson - The Concord Jazz Heritage Series Ernestine Anderson Concord Jazz; I Waited For You Mary Stallings Concord Jazz; Medley: Ain't Nobody's Business / Please Send Me Someone to Love, Rockin' LA Jimmy Witherspoon Fantasy; Live In Australia Johnny Copeland Black Top; Roots Of Rockabilly Volume 1 1950 Various Artists Acrobat Music / The Orchard Nobody's Business (in't Nobody's Business But My Own); Mississippi Blues & Gospel 1934 - 1942 Various Artists Document Records / The Orchard; Influence Megan Fanning Collingwood/Vortex / The Orchard (in't Nobody's Business But My Own); Rodeo Boogie Roger Brown The Orchard (Nobody's Business); Crosseyed Cupid Deluxury The Orchard; I Smell Trouble Ike And Tina Turner RKO Records / The Orchard; Another Great Tomato Blues Package Various Artists Tomato Records / The Orchard; Steppin' Out Gospel Hummingbirds Blind Pig Records / IODA; Billie Holiday - Remixed Hits Various Artists Hypnotic Records / The Orchard; Earl Johnson Vol. 1 1927 Earl Johnson Document Records / The Orchard; Deep Song Ranee Lee Justin Time Records (Nobody's Business) Ten Ways From Sunday Ten Ways From Sunday Ten Ways From Sunday / CD Baby; The Dream Team Jimmy McGriff Fantasy / Milestone; Night and Day Billie Holiday Synergy Records / Iris; The Best Of Frank Stokes Frank Stokes Yazoo - Shanachie Records / The Orchard; Georgia White Vol. 3 1937-1939 Georgia White Document Records / The Orchard; The 'Spoon Concerts Jimmy Witherspoon Fantasy; Complete 1950-1952 Decca Recordings Louis Jordan Definitive Records / Disconforme; 24K Pure Gold: Lena Horne, Carmen McRae, Nina Simone, Dinah Washington Various Artists Tomato Records / The Orchard; Ain't Nobody's Business Jazz Lounge Remix Various Artists Cleopatra Records / The Orchard; It's Magic Abbey Lincoln Fantasy / Riverside; Can't Stop Blowin' Snooky Pryor Electro-Fi Records / IODA; Jimmy Witherspoon with the Duke Robillard Band Jimmy Witherspoon Stony Plain Recording Co. / DRA; Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five, 1938-1940, Volume 1 (Disc 5) Louis Jordan JSP Records / The Orchard; New Guitar Summit Geils, Robillard Beaudoin Stony Plain Recording Co. / DRA; You're my thrill Peter Herbert Between The Lines / Finetunes; Bert Williams (1915-1921) Bert Williams Document Records / The Orchard; Goin' To Kansas City Jay McShann Stony Plain Recording Co. / DRA; Nobody's Business Throttle Throttle Tee Pee Records / IODA; Tommie Bradley - James Cole Groups 1928-1932 Tommie Bradley - James Cole Groups Document Records / The Orchard; So Fine Ike And Tina Turner Acrobat Music / The Orchard; Ella Fitzgerald At The Montreux Jazz Festival 1975 Ella Fitzgerald Fantasy / Pablo; Still Jumpin' The Blues Jay McShann Stony Plain Recording Co. / DRA; Classic Cuts 1946-1953 Lowell Fulson JSP Records / The Orchard; 'Taint Nobody's Business (rare Ralph Sutton vocal feature) Ralph Sutton & Kenny Davern Ralph Sutton & Kenny Davern Chiaroscuro Records / IODA; T'aint Nobody's Business - Hammie Nixon, Van Zula Hunt And The Beale Street Jug Band; It Came From Memphis: Volume 2 Various Artists - Birdman Birdman; Karaoke Blues Vol. 3 Sound Choice Karaoke Various Artists Sound Choice / Ingrooves; 90% Blues 10% Funky 101% Pure Morblus - Live Recording MORBLUS - Funky Blues Band Azzurra Music / The Orchard; You Should've Treated Me Right Ike And Tina Turner Synergy Records / Iris; Live At The Electric Ballroom, 1974 Freddie King Black Top; 1928 Sessions Mississippi John Hurt Yazoo - Shanachie Records / The Orchard (Nobody's Dirty Business) Billie Holiday: Anthology Deluxe Edition Billie Holiday Stardust Records / The Orchard; Black Melodies On A Clear Afternoon Stefan Grossman Shanachie Entertainment Corp. / The Orchard; Live At The House Of Blues Solomon Burke Black Top; My Rough And Rowdy Ways - Vol. 2 Various Artists Shanachie / The Orchard; Bunny Berigan: The Key Sessions 1936 (Disc D) Bunny Berigan JSP Records / The Orchard The Best Of The Blues Jubilees Various Artists - GNP Crescendo GNP Crescendo; Ain't Nobody's Business But My Own (With Louis Jordan) Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald JSP Records / The Orchard; Remington Steel Bryan Jacobs The Orchard; Super Blues Session B.B. King RReMark / Subharmonic; Badaboom Gramophone No. 4 Various Artists - Ba Da Bing! Ba Da Bing Records / Revolver; Trouble In Mind King Curtis Fantasy / Tru-Sound; The Puritan Sessions Kenny Baker & Josh Graves Rebel Records (Nobody's Business); A Ton of Red Lightnin Les Wilson & The Mighty Houserockers Red Lightnin' Ltd / The Orchard; Hook Bops Michael the "Hook" Deutsch Hook Productions / CD Baby; Legends of Jazz Vol. One Various Artists Synergy Records / Iris; Now! Tina Turner RReMark / Subharmonic; Better Days Susan Tedeschi OarFin Records; Ain't Nobody's Business - Earl Johnson & His Dixie Entertainers; My Rough & Rowdy Ways Vol. 2: Early American Rural Music Badman Ballads And Hellraising Songs Various Artists - Shanachie Records Yazoo Yazoo - Shanachie Records / The Orchard; Northern Skies, Southern Blues Stefan Grossman Shanachie Entertainment Corp. / The Orchard; Field Recordings Vol. 5: Louisiana, Texas, Bahamas (1933-1940) Various Artists - Document Records Document Records / The Orchard; Lord Composer With The Calypso Champions Lord Composer digitalpressure; Jimmy Witherspoon with the Junior Mance Trio Jimmy Witherspoon Stony Plain Recording Co. / DRA; Don't Let Your Deal Go Down John Jackson Arhoolie Records; Creator Of The Memphis Blues Frank Stokes Yazoo - Shanachie Records / The Orchard ('Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do Part.2); Pastime Roger Hurricane Wilson Blue Storm Records / IODA; Anthology 1944-1959 Billie Holiday Stardust Records / The Orchard; Blues In The Year One-D-One Big Time Sarah And The BTS Express Delmark / IODA; Breaking The Rules Kris Wiley JSP Records / The Orchard; Akstens, Tom. Original and Traditional Music, Takoma C 1053, LP (1976), trk# B.05 (It Ain't Nobody's Business); Baker, Kenny; and Josh Graves. Bucktime!, Puritan 5005, LP (1974), trk# 9; Camp Creek Boys. Original Camp Creek Boys Through the Years, Mountain 312, LP (197?), trk# 3; Caplinger's Cumberland Mountain Entertainers. Home in West Virginia: West Virginia Project, Vol. 2, Old Homestead OHCS 177, LP (1987), trk# 5 [1928?]; Corn Dodgers. Nobody's Business If I Do, Rooster 106, LP (1980), trk# A.01; Daniels, Charlotte; and Pat Webb. Charlotte Daniels and Pat Webb, Prestige International INT 13037, LP (196?), trk# A.01 Flippen, Benton. Old Times, New Times, Rounder 0326, Cas (198?), trk# 20; Hoosier Hot Shots. Are You Ready, Hezzie?, Sunbeam MFC-10, LP (1975), trk# B.03 [1936/06/15?] (It Ain't Nobody's Business) Hurt, Mississippi John. Best of Mississippi John Hurt, Vanguard VMS 73103, LP (1974), trk# 5 (It Ain't Nobody's Business); Johnson, Earl; and his Clodhoppers. Red Hot Breakdown, County 543, LP (1976), trk# A.02 [1927/02/21] (Ain't Nobody's Business But My Own); Macon, Uncle Dave. Tennessee Strings, Rounder 1033, LP (197?), trk# B.02b (Tennessee Jubilee); Magpie. Live at the Dunham Inn, Folkways FTS 31061, LP (1978), trk# B.02 (Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do); Reno, Don;, Bill Harrell and the Tenn. Cutups. Don Reno and Bill Harrell with the Tennesse Cutups, Rural Rhythm RR 171, LP (1967), trk# 17 Stokes, Frank; and Dan Sane. Garwood, Donald / Masters of Instrumental Blues Guitar, Oak, Fol (1967), p26 [1928/08/30] (T'aint Nobody's Business); Tveden, Sig. National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest & Folk Music Festival. 1973, Century, LP (1973), trk# B.13; Twyman, Goebel. Old Time Fiddler, Atwell Lps 1677, LP (197?), trk# A.05; Walker's Corbin Ramblers. Kentucky Country; Old Time Music From Kentucky, Rounder 1037, LP (1983), trk# 10 [1934/01/23]; Weems, Ace; and his Fat Meat Boys. It's All Gone Now, Carryon 002, LP (199?), trk# A.01; Lipscomb, Mance. Texas Songster, Vol. 2, Arhoolie 1023, LP (1964), trk# 10 (Cocaine Done Killed My Baby); Lipscomb, Mance. Garwood, Donald / Masters of Instrumental Blues Guitar, Oak, Fol (1967), p60; Lipscomb, Mance. Grossman, Stefan; Stephen Calt, Hal Grossman / Country Blues Songb, Oak, Sof (1973), p 66 Emry Arthur, "Nobody's Business" (Vocalion 5230, 1927); Jerry Behrens, "Nobody's Business" (OKeh 45564, 1932); Warren Caplinger's Cumberland Mountain Entertainers, "Nobody's Business" (Brunswick 294, 1929; Brunswick [Canada] 224, 1928) Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five, "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" (Decca 27200, c. 1950); Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers, "Ain't Nobody's Business" (OKeh 45092, 1927, on Rough2) Lulu Belle & Scotty, "It Ain't Nobody's Bizness" (OKeh 04962, 1939); Sara Martin w. Fats Waller "'Tain't Nobody's Bus'ness If I Do" (OKeh 8043, 1923; rec. 1922); Charles Nabell, "Nobody's Business" (OKeh 40389, 1925); Riley Puckett, "Nobody's Business" (Bluebird B-6103, 1935; Bluebird B-8621, 1941) Roy Sexton & his Arizona Hoedowners, "Nobody's Business" (Old Timer 8013, n.d.); Bessie Smith, "Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do" (Columbia A3898, 1923); Leo Soileau & his Aces, "Nobody's Business" (Decca 5101, 1935); Walker's Corbin Ramblers, "Nobody's Business" (Vocalion 01648, 1934) Lena Wilson, "Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do" (Victor 19085, 1923); Jimmy Witherspoon, "Ain't Nobody's Business, Pts. 1 & 2" (Supreme 1506/Swing Time 263, 1947)

RELATED TO: Cocaine Done Killed My Baby; Champagne Don't Hurt Me Baby

OTHER NAMES: Nobody's Business If I Do; It Ain't Nobody's Business; Tennessee Jubilee T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do; Ain't Nobody's Business

SOURCES: Traditional Ballad Index; Meade; Folk Index On-line; Mudcat Forum;

NOTES: In the typical lyrics the singer confesses to all sorts of wrong doings; rambling, drinking, gambling -- but says it's "nobody's business if I do." He says he might even kill somebody; his girlfriend "runs a weenie stand..." and drives a Cadillac, but it's all nobody's business.

Meade [Meade et alia 'Country Music Sources' p.499] attributes the source of this song incorrectly to Will Skidmore’s 1919 version but it was clearly published earlier and appears in the JOAFL in 1911. Meade gives 'Will E. Skidmore - Walker 1919'. Earliest recordings: Bert Williams 16 April 1919 [Co A2750, 35593]; Sara Martin 1 December 1922 [OK 8043]; Bessie Smith 11 April 1923 [Co A3898]. Meade has 15 entries for country recordings of the song from 1924 to 1940. Riley Puckett recorded it 3 times.

Two of the early recordings are based on the arrangement by Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins, which was copyrighted in 1922; Sara Martin- December 1,1922 [OK 8043] and Bessie Smith- April 11 1923 [Co A3898]. Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins "‘Tain’t Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do" is clearly a re-write of traditional material. Since the spelling is the same as the published 1911 lyrics from the JOAFL, it is quite possible they took that title and slightly changed it. Here are two sample verses from Odum’s 1911 publication:

'Tain't Nobody's Bizness but my Own (collected by Howard Odum, published 1911)

I'm goin' to happy Hollow,
Where I can make a dollar,
'Tain't nobody's bizness but my own.

Don't care if I don't make a dollar,
So I wear my shirt an' collar,
'Tain't nobody's bizness but my own. 

Compare this to Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins verse copyrighted in 1922:

'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do

I should take a notion
To jump into the ocean,
'Tain't nobody's biz-ness if I do.

Rather than persecute me,
I choose that you would shoot me,
'Tain't nobody's biz-ness if I do. 

A more likely source is "Nobody's Business But Our Own" by C. R. Dockstader in 1882 (see Version 3). It was performed by the Dockstaders in blackface. The last two lines are:

If we don't hang the cranks, put an end to their pranks,
Why it's nobody's business but our own. 

Published by J. W. Pepper, Philadelphia in 1882, Dockstader’s song (although in a longer song form) is very close to the 1911 Odum version and the classic 1922 Porter Grainger and Everett Robbins version.

“Nobody's Business” was in the repertoire of famed fiddler Kenny Baker (The Puritan Sessions Kenny Baker & Josh Graves Rebel Records) and played by fiddlers in numerous string bands notably Earl Johnson and His Dixie Clodhoppers (1927) and Warren Caplinger's Cumberland Mountain Entertainers (Brunswick 294, 1928). Uncle Dave Macon had a medley version on Br 355 in 1929 entitled "Tennessee Jubilee." The first part is Turkey in the Straw, the second is “Nobody's Business.”

Here are the lyrics to “Ain't Nobody’s Business” from Earl Johnson: 

AIN'T NOBODY'S BUSINESS- Earl Johnson & His Dixie Entertainers 
Okeh 45092 Issued: March 1927

(Fiddle)

Sometimes I ramble
Get drunk and gamble
Nobody's business if I do.
It’s nobody's business, nobody's business
Nobody's business if I do.

(Fiddle)

Some of these mornings I'll wake up crazy
Kill my wife and save my baby
Nobody's business if I do.
It’s nobody's business, nobody's business
Nobody's business if I do.

(Fiddle)

Morphine’s gonna run me crazy
Cocaine’s gonna kill my baby
Pretty girls gonna cause me to lose my mind.
It’s nobody's business, nobody's business
Nobody's business if I do

(Fiddle)

When she rides in a Ford machine
I buy the gasoline
Nobody's business if I do.
It’s nobody's business, nobody's business
Nobody's business if I do 

That’s where my money goes 
To buy my baby clothes 
Nobody's business if I do.
(Fiddle)

She runs a weenie stand
Way down in no man’s land
Nobody's business if I do.
 
That’s where my money goes 
To buy silk and fancy clothes
Nobody's business if I do.
(Fiddle)

She rides in a Cadillac
Oh boy she makes the jack
Nobody's business if I do.

That’s where my money goes 
To buy silk and fancy clothes
Nobody's business if I do.
(Fiddle)

It’s nobody's business, nobody's business
Nobody's business if I do.

(Fiddle)