Do Nothing till You Hear from Me


"Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" is a song with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Bob Russell. It originated as a 1940 instrumental that was designed to highlight the playing of Ellington's lead trumpeter, Cootie Williams. Russell's words were added later. In 1944, Ellington's own recording of the song was a number one hit R&B chart for eight non-consecutive weeks and number six on the pop chart.
Other recordings to reach the Billboard charts in 1944 were by Woody Herman and by Stan Kenton.

Other Versions

"Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" has since been performed by many other famous musical artists, including: