Barney Bigard and His Jazzopaters introduced “Caravan” on the Variety label in December, 1936. The recording entered the pop charts in June of 1937, rising to number four. A month later, the recording by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra on the Master label (pressed in May, 1937) found its way onto the charts and rose to number twenty.

Other recordings of “Caravan” to make the pop charts include:

• Billy Eckstine (1949, with Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra, #27)
• Ralph Marterie (1953, #6, million seller)
• Esquire Boys (1953, #27)

Around the same time that publisher and manager Irving Mills was writing the lyrics for “Caravan,” he was launching two new record labels, Master and Variety. A veritable who’s who of the jazz world attended the over-the-top party and jam session in celebration of the new labels. Mercer Ellington and Stanley Dance, authors of Duke Ellington in Person: An Intimate Memoir, report that the guest list included Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Lester Young, Herschel Evans, and Jo Jones while Duke Ellington played in a trio with Artie Shaw and Chick Webb. Ella Fitzgerald sang. The press coverage, as planned, was terrific.

Of the two labels, Variety was reserved for new talent and experimental projects. Helen Oakley, the wife of journalist Stanley Dance, was its A & R (artist and repertoire) manager. She suggested to Mills that they try some small group recordings using musicians from the Ellington Orchestra. Given the go-ahead, Oakley arranged for a number of sessions, one of which included the December 19, 1936, Los Angeles recording of “Caravan” by Barney Bigard and His Jazzopaters. With Bigard on clarinet, the Jazzopaters consisted of Cootie Williams (trumpet), Juan Tizol (valve trombone), Harry Carney (baritone sax), Duke Ellington (piano), Billy Taylor (bass), and Sonny Greer (drums). Though the Jazzopator hit proved the feasibility of Oakley’s idea, both the Variety and Master labels were defunct before the close of 1937 due, in part, to stiff business competition.

As with many of Duke Ellington’s compositions the idea originated with one of his musicians. In the case of “Caravan” it was trombonist Juan Tizol. Ellington is quoted in Stuart Nicholson’s Reminiscing in Tempo: A Portrait of Duke Ellington as saying “... that’s one of those things Tizol came up with. See, it wasn’t in tempo, he stood [and played it] sort of ad lib. He played it, [the] first ten bars, we took it and worked out the rest of it.”

When it came to credit and royalties for musicians’ contributions, the settlement was often a flat fee. For “Caravan” Irving Mills paid Juan Tizol twenty-five dollars. When the recording became a hit, however, Tizol requested Mills cut him in on the royalties, which the manager did.