Africana–Ethel Waters, 1932

We now come to a song written by Harry Akst (music) and Sam Lewis and Joe Young (lyrics) in 1925. The collaborators wanted Ethel Waters to sing it, because she was a big star at the time. They plugged their own song, and they sang it fast. She asked “Is that the way you want me to sing it?” They answered: “Why not sing it your own way.”

And she did, first in 1926. When the musical revue, Africana, opened on Broadway on July 11, 1932, Ethel introduced the song and later recorded it. This is her unique arrangement.