George Gershwin, music · Ira Gershwin, lyrics · Introduced by Fred Astaire in the film A Damsel in Distress, 1937
A Foggy Day
A Foggy Day is a 1937 Gershwin song that Fred Astaire introduced in a film. Its full title is A Foggy Day (In London Town), a reference to London's thick fogs. Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald with Louis Armstrong, Red Garland, Art Tatum and Charles Mingus all recorded it.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Fred Astaire's 1937 record, then follows Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald with Louis Armstrong. It then turns to Oscar Peterson, Red Garland, Art Tatum and Charles Mingus, and ends with Rufus Wainwright live in 2006.
Fred Astaire with Ray Noble & His Orchestra · 1937 · Vocal
A Foggy Day / I Can't Be Bothered Now
Fred Astaire sang the song in the 1937 film A Damsel in Distress and recorded it for Brunswick in Los Angeles on October 17, 1937. According to JazzStandards.com, the record rose to number three on the pop charts that year.
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Astaire sings it himself, with an orchestra behind him, and the record lasts 2:53. Treat it as the reference: every later version here plays or sings this same tune.
Try it on your instrument
Play the slowly, one per bar: , , , , , , , C7. Hum the melody over it. Smaller version: play only the first four chords.
Frank Sinatra recorded this at Capitol Studios in Hollywood in sessions on November 5 and 6, 1953, for Songs for Young Lovers, which Capitol released in January 1954. Nelson Riddle conducts.
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Sinatra sings with Nelson Riddle conducting the orchestra behind him. The track lasts about two and a half minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play only the roots of the as a slow low line: F, C, F, B♭, E♭, A, D, G, C. The full are , , , , , , , .
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong recorded this on August 16, 1956, at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, backed by the Oscar Peterson Quartet. It is on Ella and Louis, the first of their three albums together for Verve.
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Two singers share the song, with a piano, guitar, bass and drums quartet behind them. The track runs 4:31.
Try it on your instrument
Loop the last four of the , , , , , until the move from A♭7 to G7 to C7 feels smooth. Then hum the melody over the loop.
Oscar Peterson's trio recorded this in Los Angeles in early December 1952, with Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Brown on bass. Norman Granz produced it for Oscar Peterson Plays George Gershwin, released in 1953.
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This is an instrumental trio of piano, guitar and bass. Listen to how the guitar and bass share the space with the piano over its 3:37.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four of the closing , , , , , in a steady swing. Smaller version: play just the roots, C, F, B♭, E♭.
Red Garland, then a member of the Miles Davis Quintet, recorded this at Van Gelder Studio on August 17, 1956, on his first album as a leader. Paul Chambers plays bass and Art Taylor drums.
swing
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The trio swings from the first , with Garland's piano out front and Chambers and Taylor behind him. The track lasts about five minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the roots of the , F, D, G, C, F, A♭, G, C, four steady beats to each , the way a bass player keeps time under a trio. Smaller version: one note per bar.
Art Tatum recorded this in Los Angeles on February 6, 1956, in a quartet with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, bassist Red Callender and drummer Bill Douglass. It came out on Pablo in The Tatum Group Masterpieces series.
up tempo
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Tatum's piano and DeFranco's clarinet share the lead at a fast pace, and the whole track lasts 3:20.
Try it on your instrument
Play the closing tag, the last three of the : , , Gm7 C7. Then hum the melody's last phrase over it. Smaller version: play only F6 and C7.
The Charlie Mingus Jazz Workshop recorded this at Audio-Video Studios in New York on January 30, 1956, for Pithecanthropus Erectus, which Atlantic released that August.
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The track runs 7:50, longer than any earlier step on this path. Mingus leads from the bass, with Jackie McLean on alto saxophone and J.R. Monterose on tenor saxophone.
Try it on your instrument
Hold each of the for a full , using only the first chord in bars that have two, and play them as slowly as you like: , , , , , , , .
“A Foggy Day (Live At Carnegie Hall)”, Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall
Rufus Wainwright sang this live at Carnegie Hall on June 14 or 15, 2006, in a concert of Judy Garland songs. The recording came out in December 2007 on Geffen.
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This is a live recording from Carnegie Hall, with Wainwright's voice out front. It lasts 2:56.
Try it on your instrument
Hum the melody while you play the , one per , the way a singer is accompanied: , , , , , , , C7. Smaller version: play only the first four.
The song comes from the 1937 film A Damsel in Distress, where Fred Astaire introduced it. He recorded it for Brunswick in Los Angeles that October, and JazzStandards.com puts the record at number three on the pop charts.
1950s
Singers and jazz players both take it up. Frank Sinatra records it with Nelson Riddle in 1953, and Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong record it in 1956, while Oscar Peterson, Red Garland, Art Tatum and Charles Mingus make instrumental versions.
1960s
George Benson's quartet, with Lonnie Smith on organ, records it for the Columbia album It's Uptown in February and March 1966.
1980s
Joe Pass plays it on guitar for the album Ira, George and Joe, recorded at Group IV Recording Studios in Hollywood in November 1981.
2000s
Rufus Wainwright sings it live at Carnegie Hall in June 2006, in a concert of Judy Garland songs. The recording is released on Geffen in December 2007.
More great versions
3 more, from 1955 to 1981. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sJulian Cannonball Adderley with Strings1955
1960sThe George Benson Quartet1966 · Soul jazz
1970s
1980sJoe Pass1981 · Bebop
Julian Cannonball Adderley with Strings
1955
Julian Cannonball Adderley and Strings
Cannonball Adderley recorded this in New York on October 28, 1955, with strings directed by Richard Hayman and arranged by Bill Russo. Bob Shad produced the album, Julian Cannonball Adderley and Strings.
George Benson's quartet recorded this for the Columbia album It's Uptown in February and March 1966. Lonnie Smith plays organ and Ronnie Cuber baritone saxophone.
Joe Pass recorded this on guitar at Group IV Recording Studios in Hollywood, for the album Ira, George and Joe. The album was recorded on November 23, 1981, and released in 1982.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
F majorusual key
34 barsA · B · A · C form
F major → B♭ major → F major → B♭ major → F majorkey centers
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
C10 bars
F
B♭
F
B♭
F
The whole tune stays near . The , 1 to 8, is , , , , , , , C7. The , bars 9 to 16, starts on Fmaj7, visits with , and , then comes home with , , G7, C7. The A section returns in bars 17 to 24. The closes the tune in bars 25 to 34: Cm7, F7, B♭maj7, E♭7, then twice, Fmaj7/C , Gm7 C7, F6, Gm7 C7. These follow the iReal Pro chart, which also lists a 16-bar before the A section; other lead sheets may spell some differently.