In a Mellow Tone, sometimes spelled In a Mellotone, is a 1940 jazz standard composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics added later by Milt Gabler. The tune’s chord changes are based on the 1917 standard Rose Room by Art Hickman and Harry Williams, which Ellington had recorded in 1932. Ellington and His Orchestra first recorded the piece on September 5, 1940, featuring notable solos by bassist Jimmy Blanton, trumpeter Cootie Williams, and alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who plays in double-time. The original recording is collected on The Blanton–Webster Band. The version with lyrics and the alternate title In a Mellow Tone was first recorded by The Mills Brothers in 1955, and the song has since been recorded more than 400 times. It sits in the jazz standard and swing repertoire and is a hallmark of Ellington’s mid-century sound. Howard Stern used a take from Ellington’s Blues in Orbit (1960) as the opening theme to The Howard Stern Show from 1987 to 1994.
