Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue" is a 1929 jazz standard composed by Fats Waller (1904–1943) and Harry Brooks, with lyrics by Andy Razaf. It debuted in the Broadway musical Hot Chocolates—the same show that produced "Ain't Misbehavin'"—where it was introduced by Edith Wilson.

Originally commissioned as a comedic number by the show's financier, gangster Dutch Schultz, lyricist Razaf subverted the directive by crafting a deeply felt protest against racial discrimination. The result is a poignant ballad whose beautiful, blues-inflected melody carries lyrics of profound social commentary. Typically performed as a straight-eighth ballad with smooth, lyrical melodic lines, the song demands emotional depth and expressive nuance from the performer. Beyond its musical merit, the composition holds significant cultural importance as one of the earliest popular songs to address racism directly, and it features memorably in Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man (1952).

Louis Armstrong recorded the definitive version in 1929, stripping away the comedic context to reveal the song's underlying anguish and humanity. Ethel Waters's 1930 recording was also a hit. The tune has since been interpreted by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others.