Ain’t She Sweet” is a song composed by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was published in 1927. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century and typified the Roaring Twenties. Like “Happy Days Are Here Again” (1929), it became a Tin Pan Alley standard. Both Ager and Yellen were elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Milton Ager wrote “Ain’t She Sweet” for his daughter Shana Ager, who in her adult life was known as the political commentator Shana Alexander. This song was first recorded in 1927 as a piano tune by Frank Banta. Some of the many artists who recorded this include Frank Sinatra, Harry James, Lawrence Welk and Gene Vincent. The Beatles recorded this in June 1961 in Hamburg, Germany, where they honed their skills playing clubs in 1960 and 1961. When they hit it big in 1964, their recording of “Ain’t She Sweet” was released as a single; it’s an anomaly in their discography, placed between their massive self-written hits “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “A Hard Day’s Night.” It’s a testament to the power of Beatlemania that a standard the band recorded three years earlier still did well.
Songs with Banjo from Harold Hagler
