- Style
- Jazz
- Tradition
- Jazz standard
- Form
- ABAC, 32 bars
- Key
- A♭
- Level
- 4
- Played on
- Voice
In the public domain. Source
Music
The 32 bar refrain, a light medium swing. Swing the eighths, keep the dotted rhythms short.
Click any note to start from there
Chord chart
History
Vincent Youmans played the tune for Irving Caesar and asked for words on the spot. Caesar wrote a quick dummy lyric he meant to replace, but Youmans liked it and it stayed. The song was written for No, No, Nanette and introduced in May 1924 during the show's Chicago run. Marion Harris's record went to number one in 1925 and stayed there 11 weeks.
Jazz players took to its stop and start phrases. Art Tatum's 1939 solo piano version is in the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 1927 Dmitri Shostakovich orchestrated it from memory in 45 minutes to win a bet with the conductor Nicolai Malko.