Arthur Schwartz, music · Howard Dietz, lyrics · Introduced by John Barker in The Band Wagon, 1931
Dancing in the Dark
Arthur Schwartz wrote the music and Howard Dietz the words for the 1931 revue The Band Wagon. John Barker introduced it on stage with Tilly Losch dancing, and Bing Crosby made the first record that August. Hear it from Artie Shaw, Charlie Parker with strings, Sarah Vaughan, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans and Sonny Rollins.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Bing Crosby's first record and Artie Shaw's big-band hit, then hears the song with Charlie Parker and strings, sung by Fred Astaire, live with Sarah Vaughan, from a saxophone quartet, a piano trio and a long tenor saxophone version from 1987.
Bing Crosby made the first record of the song in New York on August 19, 1931, for Brunswick, with a studio orchestra directed by Victor Young. The record stayed on the pop charts for six weeks and peaked at number 3.
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Listen for
Crosby sings the song with the studio orchestra behind him. The record runs 2:31.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight as : for two bars, for two bars, for two bars, then and for a bar each. A smaller version: play only the lowest note of each chord, C, C, D, G, and hum the tune over them.
Artie Shaw and His Orchestra recorded the song in Hollywood on January 23, 1941, for Victor, to an arrangement by Shaw and Lennie Hayton. The record earned Shaw one of his eight gold records.
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Listen for
The whole band plays a written arrangement, and Shaw conducts and plays clarinet. The record runs 3:02.
Try it on your instrument
Play 9 to 12 of the A part as : , , , . The Cm7 in the second bar changes the mood. A smaller version: play Cmaj7 and then Cm7 and listen to what the one note change does.
Charlie Parker recorded the song on July 5, 1950, in New York City with a string section, a harp, an oboe and a French horn arranged by Joe Lippman. Mercury issued it with Laura on a single, Mercury 11068.
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Listen for
Parker plays alto saxophone while violins, viola, cello, harp, oboe and French horn play around him, with piano, bass and Buddy Rich's drums underneath. The master take runs about 3:12.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last eight of the A part (bars 9 to 16) as : , , , , then for two bars, Dm7♭5 to , . Soloing over them takes more practice; a smaller version is to play only the chord roots, C, C, E, A, D, D, D–A♭, G, slowly.
Fred Astaire recorded the song in December 1952 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, for the four-LP set The Astaire Story, which Norman Granz produced with a jazz group. In the 1953 film The Band Wagon, Astaire and Cyd Charisse dance to the song in Central Park.
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Astaire sings, and the album's band of trumpet, tenor saxophone, piano, guitar, bass and drums plays with him. The track runs 4:47, nearly twice as long as Crosby's record.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last eight of the B part (bars 25 to 32) as while you hum the tune: , , , , , and , C6, and .
“Dancing in the Dark (Live at Mister Kelly's)”, At Mister Kelly's
Sarah Vaughan recorded this live at Mister Kelly's, a Chicago club, between August 6 and 8, 1957. EmArcy issued the album in February 1958.
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Vaughan sings live, with Jimmy Jones on piano, Richard Davis on bass and Roy Haynes on drums behind her. The track runs 3:36.
Try it on your instrument
Loop the last two of the A part, bar 15 ( moving to ) and bar 16 (), and hum the tune while you play them. Each time round, try holding the last note a little longer.
Cannonball Adderley recorded the Somethin' Else session on March 9, 1958, at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. Miles Davis plays on the first five tracks only, so this one is a quartet.
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Cannonball plays the song on alto saxophone with Hank Jones on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Art Blakey on drums. Miles Davis, who plays on the first five tracks of the album, sits this one out. It runs 4:08.
Try it on your instrument
Play 5 to 8 of the A part as , then bars 9 to 12: for two bars, , , then , , , . Listen for the point where Cmaj7 turns to Cm7.
Sonny Rollins recorded the title track of his 1987 Milestone album at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, in sessions held September 15 to 25. It is the longest take on this path.
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Listen for
Rollins plays tenor saxophone with Clifton Anderson on trombone, Mark Soskin on piano, Jerome Harris on electric bass and Smitty Smith on drums. The track runs 7:04, which leaves room for long solos.
Try it on your instrument
Follow the 32 with the iReal chart while you listen, and count how many times the form comes round. To play along, loop bars 9 to 12 (, , , ) and play one tone per bar. Soloing over changes takes more practice; this is the smallest version.
Schwartz and Dietz write the song for the 1931 revue The Band Wagon, where John Barker sings it with Tilly Losch dancing. Bing Crosby makes the first record that August.
1940s
Artie Shaw and His Orchestra record it in Hollywood in January 1941, to an arrangement by Shaw and Lennie Hayton. The record is one of Shaw's eight gold records.
1950s
Charlie Parker plays it with strings in 1950, and Fred Astaire sings it with a jazz group in 1952. The 1953 film The Band Wagon has Astaire and Cyd Charisse dancing to it in Central Park.
1960s
Bill Evans records it with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian in December 1963, and Verve issues it on Trio '64.
1980s
Chet Baker plays it with an Italian orchestra in 1985, and Sonny Rollins records it in 1987 as the title track of a Milestone album.
2000s
Diana Krall sings it on her 2001 album The Look of Love, with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman.
More great versions
6 more, from 1950 to 2003. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sZoot Sims Quartet1950
Donald Byrd Sextet1955 · Bebop
Sonny Clark Trio1958 · Hard bop
1960s
1970s
1980sChet Baker Quartet with Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana1985
1990s
2000sDiana Krall2001 · Contemporary jazz
Jane Monheit2003 · Soul jazz
Zoot Sims Quartet
1950
Dancing in the Dark / My Silent Love
Zoot Sims recorded the song with John Lewis, Curly Russell and Don Lamond on September 16, 1950, in New York City. Prestige issued it that year on a 78 rpm single, Prestige 726.
Donald Byrd's sextet recorded this live at the New World Stage Theatre in Detroit on August 23, 1955. Transition issued it on Byrd Jazz in 1956, and Delmark reissued it on First Flight.
Sonny Clark recorded this trio session at Rudy Van Gelder's studio on December 7, 1958. Blue Note did not issue it until 1979, in Japan, on the album Blues in the Night.
Chet Baker Quartet with Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana
1985
Symphonically
Chet Baker's quartet recorded this with the Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana at Port Recanati, Italy, on July 8, 1985. Soul Note issued it on Symphonically.
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
C majorusual key
32 barsA · B form
C majorkey centers
A16 bars
B16 bars
C
The iReal Pro chart runs 32 in , in two 16-bar halves, A and B. Both halves open with the same eight bars: for two bars, for two, for two, then and for a bar each, which pull back to C. The second eight bars of A run Cmaj7, , and , then Dm7♭5 for two bars, Dm7♭5 moving to , and G7♭9, which lead into B. The second eight bars of B run Cmaj7, Cm7, and , then , Dm7♭5 with , C6, and Dm7 with , which turn back to the top for another .