who composed it don't mean a thing
It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington, whose lyrics were written by Irving Mills. It is now accepted as a jazz standard, and jazz historian Gunther Schuller characterized it as "now legendary" and "a prophetic piece and a prophetic title."[1]