“On this date in 1932, vocalist Bing Crosby, at just 29 years old, recorded “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.“ (Jazziz Magazine, 2020)

The first recorded version of St. Louis Blues was made by Charles Prince’s Band on December 18, 1915 and released some two months later on Columbia Records. It has subsequently been waxed by dozens of artists including the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Bessie Smith, the Mills Brothers, Guy Lombardo, Eubie Blake and Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. But the pairing of the Ellington orchestra with Tacoma-born crooner Crosby was a rare and interesting choice. The record was reportedly one of Louis Armstrong’s favorites, but he recognized similarities between Crosby’s scat singing near the end of St. Louis Blues and his own on an Armstrong recording of Lazy River released just weeks before the Ellington/Crosby side was cut. “The thievery is unmistakable,” said Armstrong.

Here is a link to the 1932 recording:

"ST. LOUIS BLUES"