Hit song for Fats Waller in 1935. Written by Al Dubin and Harry Warren, the song reached #8 on the charts, after debuting in the film Broadway Gondolier, where it was sung by Dick Powell.
Gotta get my old tuxedo pressed, gotta sew a button on my vest,
'cause tonight I've gotta look my best, Lulu's back in town.
Gotta get a half a buck somewhere, gotta shine my shoes and slick my hair,
gotta get myself a boutonniere, Lulu's back in town.
You can tell all my pets, all my Harlem coquettes,
Mister Otis regrets, that he won't be aroun'.
You can tell the mailman not to call, I ain't comin' home until the fall
and I might not get back home at all... Lulu's back in town.
Now a jazz standard, it's not only been covered by vocalists (Mel Tormé, The Four Freshmen, Johnny Mercer, The Mills Brothers, Louis Prima, Leon Redbone, Teresa Brewer, Dan Hicks, and even Jim Henson via Sesame Street), but instrumentalists as well, including Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk, Marian McPartland, Oscar Peterson, Lyle Ritz, and David Grisman.