Editing Scat singing (section)

=== Origins ===
{{Listen|type=music|filename=Jolsonscat.ogg|title="That Haunting Melody" (1911) excerpt|description=[[Al Jolson]]'s scatting during his 1911 recording of "That Haunting Melody" has been cited as one of the earliest examples of scat singing|pos=right|format=[[Ogg]]}}

Improvisational singing of nonsense syllables occurs in many cultures, such as [[Lilting|diddling or lilting]] in Ireland, German [[yodeling]], Sámi [[joik]], and [[speaking in tongues]] in various religious traditions. 

Although [[Louis Armstrong]]'s 1926 recording of "[[Heebie Jeebies (composition)|Heebie Jeebies]]" is often cited as the first modern song to employ scatting,<ref name="Crowther Pinfold 1997"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Edwards|2002|p=618}}</ref> there are many earlier examples.<ref name="Edwards 2002 618-619"/> One early master of ragtime scat singing was [[Gene Greene]] who recorded scat choruses in his song "King of the Bungaloos" and several others between 1911 and 1917.<ref name="Edwards 2002 619">{{Harvnb|Edwards|2002|p=619}}</ref> Entertainer [[Al Jolson]] scatted through a few bars in the middle of his 1911 recording of "That Haunting Melody."<ref name="Gioia">{{Harvnb|Gioia|2011|p=59}}</ref> Gene Greene's 1917 "From Here to Shanghai," which featured faux-Chinese scatting,<ref name="Edwards 2002 619"/> and [[Gene Rodemich]]'s 1924 "Scissor Grinder Joe" and "Some of These Days" also pre-date Armstrong.<ref>{{Harvnb|Edwards|2002|p=619}}</ref> [[Cliff Edwards|Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards]] scatted an interlude on his 1923 "Old Fashioned Love" in lieu of using an instrumental soloist.<ref>{{Harvnb|Edwards|2002|p=620}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Friedwald|1990|p=16}}</ref> One of the early female singers to use scat was [[Aileen Stanley]], who included it at the end of a duet with [[Billy Murray (singer)|Billy Murray]] in their hit 1924 recording of "[[It Had To Be You (song)|It Had To Be You]]" (Victor 19373).

Jazz pianist [[Jelly Roll Morton]] credited Joe Sims of [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]], as the creator of scat around the turn of the 20th century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Nicholson|1993|p=89}}</ref> In a conversation between [[Alan Lomax]] and Jelly Roll Morton, Morton recounted the history of scat:<ref name="Hill 2014">{{Harvnb|Hill|2014}}</ref>
<blockquote>
'''Lomax''': "Well, what about some more scat songs, that you used to sing way back then?"
<br />
'''Morton''': "Oh, I'll sing you some scat songs. That was way before Louis Armstrong's time. By the way, scat is something that a lot of people don't understand, and they begin to believe that the first scat numbers was ever done, was done by one of my hometown boys, Louis Armstrong. But I must take the credit away, since I know better. The first man that ever did a scat number in history of this country was a man from Vicksburg, Mississippi, by the name of Joe Sims, an old comedian. And from that, [[Tony Jackson (jazz musician)|Tony Jackson]] and myself, and several more grabbed it in [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]]. And found it was pretty good for an introduction of a song."
<br />
'''Lomax''': "What does scat mean?"
<br />
'''Morton''': "Scat doesn't mean anything but just something to give a song a flavor."<ref name="Hill 2014"/>
</blockquote>

Morton also once boasted, "Tony Jackson and myself were using scat for novelty back in 1906 and 1907 when Louis Armstrong was still in the orphan's home."<ref>{{Harvnb|Edwards|2002|p=620}}</ref> [[Don Redman]] and [[Fletcher Henderson]] also featured scat vocals in their 1925 recording of "My Papa Doesn't Two-Time No Time" five months prior to Armstrong's 1926 recording of "Heebie Jeebies."<ref>{{Harvnb|Edwards|2002|p=619}}</ref>