Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton, music · Sid Robin, lyrics · First recorded by the Benny Goodman Sextet, 1939
Flying Home
Flying Home is a swing tune credited to Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton, with words by Sid Robin. Hampton thought of it while waiting for his first plane trip, and he kept it as his signature song. You can hear it from the Goodman Sextet, from Hampton's orchestra with Illinois Jacquet, and from Ella Fitzgerald.
Listen in this order
The path starts with the Benny Goodman Sextet's first record in 1939, then moves to Charlie Barnet's big band and Lionel Hampton's 1942 record with Illinois Jacquet. It continues with a piano quartet, Ella Fitzgerald's voice, a 17-minute Hampton quintet, Arnett Cobb's tenor saxophone and a live Ella Fitzgerald performance with Count Basie's orchestra.
The Benny Goodman Sextet made the first record of the tune in October 1939. Lionel Hampton had thought of the melody while waiting for his first plane trip.
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Listen for
Lionel Hampton's vibraphone and Charlie Christian's electric guitar each take a solo. At 3:12 this is a short, direct record.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first two of the , then repeat them: bar 1 is E♭ and E♭/D♭, bar 2 is , and . Hum the tune over them. Smaller version: play only the bass notes E♭, D♭, C, B and B♭.
Hampton's orchestra recorded this version for Decca on May 26, 1942, in an arrangement by pianist Milt Buckner. Nineteen-year-old Illinois Jacquet takes the long tenor saxophone solo, and Hampton kept the tune as his signature song.
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Listen for
After a short vibraphone opening, the saxophones play the tune and Illinois Jacquet takes the longest solo on tenor saxophone. Near the end the trumpet climbs higher and the band builds to a loud finish.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole as : the twice, the once, then the A section again. Smaller version: play only bars 1 to 7 of the A section and stop on .
Ella Fitzgerald with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra · 1945 · Soul jazz
Ella: The Legendary Decca Recordings
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it for Decca in New York on October 4, 1945, with Vic Schoen arranging and conducting his orchestra.
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Listen for
Ella Fitzgerald improvises with her voice over Vic Schoen's orchestra. The record is over in 2:30.
Try it on your instrument
Sing or hum the tune along with the record, then make up your own notes over the first 's : E♭, E♭/D♭, , , . Smaller version: hum the tune on one syllable only.
The Complete Lionel Hampton Quartets and Quintets with Oscar Peterson on Verve
Hampton recorded this 17-minute version for Clef on April 13, 1954, with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco and pianist Oscar Peterson in the quintet. By then the tune had been his signature for more than a decade.
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Listen for
At 17:08 this is the longest track on the path, so the vibraphone, clarinet and piano have room to take turns while bass and drums keep time.
Try it on your instrument
Play the once as , then go around again and hum a made-up line over the . Soloing over takes more skill; the smaller version is to play the B section's four chords (, , , , two bars each) and hum a single note that fits each one.
Tenor saxophonist Arnett Cobb recorded it for Prestige at Van Gelder Studio on May 14, 1959, in a quintet with a conga drum.
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Listen for
Cobb's tenor saxophone leads, with piano, bass and drums, and Ray Barretto's conga drum adds a second layer of rhythm. At 5:17 it is longer than the 1940s records and far shorter than Hampton's 1954 quintet.
Try it on your instrument
Play the tune in E♭ as a lead sheet: melody in the right hand, the in the left, . Smaller version: play the melody alone, then add the bass notes of the (E♭, D♭, C, B, B♭).
Ella Fitzgerald with Count Basie and His Orchestra · 1979 · Vocal, Swing
Digital III at Montreux
Ella Fitzgerald sang it with Count Basie and his orchestra at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 12, 1979. The performance came out on the live album Digital III at Montreux.
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Listen for
At 8:04 this is more than three times as long as her 1945 record, with Count Basie's band behind her.
Try it on your instrument
Go back to the 1945 record, then play this one, and count how many of 32 fit in 8:04 at the tempo you hear. Smaller version: tap the beat for one chorus and count the four 8-bar sections.
Lionel Hampton thinks of the tune while waiting for his first plane trip. The Benny Goodman Sextet, with guitarist Charlie Christian, makes the first record of it in October 1939.
1940s
Lionel Hampton's orchestra records it in May 1942, with a long tenor saxophone solo by Illinois Jacquet. In October 1945 Ella Fitzgerald sings it with Vic Schoen's orchestra.
1950s
Lionel Hampton plays it for about 17 minutes with a Clef quintet in April 1954. In May 1959 tenor saxophonist Arnett Cobb records it for Prestige with a conga drum in the band.
1960s
Organist Jimmy McGriff plays it on his 1962 album I've Got a Woman, in a trio with guitar and drums.
1970s
In July 1979 Ella Fitzgerald sings it with Count Basie's orchestra at the Montreux Jazz Festival, stretching it past eight minutes. Teddy Wilson's trio plays it in Nice in 1976.
More great versions
6 more, from 1949 to 1979. Tap a cover to play it here.
1940sIllinois Jacquet1949 · Bebop
1950sMary Lou Williams1953 · Bebop
Lionel Hampton Quartet1954
1960sJimmy McGriff1962 · Soul jazz
1970sTeddy Wilson1976 · Swing
Dexter Gordon with Budd Johnson, Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb and Buddy Tate1979 · Post-bop
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
E♭ majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
E♭ major → A♭ major → E♭ majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
E♭
A♭
E♭
The tune is 32 in four 8-bar sections: A, A, B, A. In iReal Pro's chart the starts with E♭ and E♭/D♭ in bar 1, then , and in bar 2, and repeats that pair through bar 6. Bar 7 is . Bar 8 is B♭7 the first time, which returns to the top, and E♭6 the second time, which goes on to the . The B section, bars 17 to 24, plays , , and B♭7, two bars each. The last A ends on B♭7, which leads into the next . The areas above are a reading of iReal Pro's chart, and other lead sheets may spell some differently.