Origin:

Premiered in the Musical Revue Connie’s Hot Chocolates

Style:

Usually played at a medium-up tempo swing.

Form:

A-A-B-A (32 Bars) [8-8-8-8]

Key:

Early recordings from the likes of Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong were performed in the key of Eb Major, although it has since taken many different keys with some of the most popular being C and F.

Harmony/Overview:

The A section is very functional and cycles through a I – VI – II – V before setting up IV – IVmi. A very commonly used reharmonization in this section is to instead add passing diminished chords: I6 – bIIdim7 – IImi7 – bIIIdim 7. The bridge begins on VImi and proceeds with the interesting harmonic movement of VImi – bVI7/VI – II7  - VI7 before finishing with a I-VI-II-V of V.

Recordings:

This tune has been recorded over 480 times to date. The first recording comes from Leo Reisman and his Orchestra with vocal by Lew Conrad in 1929. Although introduced in the original Revue as a ballad it has become common practice to perform the tune at  much brighter tempos, as evidenced by some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and Bing Crosby.

JGC Top Picks:

Art Tatum, 1949

Sarah Vaughan Featuring George Treadwell, 1950

Emmet Cohen, Dirty in Detroit, 2018