On this date in 1932, vocalist Bing Crosby, at just 29 years old, recorded this rendition of “St. Louis Blues” with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for Columbia Records. The song was written by trumpeter and composer W.C. Handy in 1914 and became a hit for jazz luminaries such as Louis Armstrong and Glenn Miller. Bing’s version with Duke is a study in contrasts— the dark, shadowy harmonies of Ellington’s horn arrangements rendering Crosby’s coppery baritone in a new light.