Ray Noble, music and lyrics · Recorded in 1938 by Ray Noble's orchestra with Tony Martin
I Hadn't Anyone Till You
Ray Noble wrote the words and music in 1938, and Tony Martin sang it with his band. Its last eight are new music, so the tune does not simply return to where it began. Hear it from Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, Frank Sinatra and Thelonious Monk.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Ray Noble's own 1938 record and Ella Fitzgerald's 1949 vocal, then moves to a tenor saxophone quartet and Billie Holiday with a small band. It continues with Coleman Hawkins, Frank Sinatra with strings and Thelonious Monk alone at the piano, and ends with a big band recorded live in Paris.
2000sCarla Bley and Her Remarkable Big Band2006 · Big band
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Ray Noble and His Orchestra (vocal Tony Martin) · 1938 · Big band
Ray Noble Plays Ray Noble and Others
Ray Noble wrote the song in 1938 and recorded it with his orchestra and the singer Tony Martin in Los Angeles on February 3, 1938, according to a listing of Martin's recordings. According to JazzStandards.com, this version reached number four on the charts that year.
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Listen for
Tony Martin sings the tune with the Ray Noble orchestra behind him, and the record runs 3:05. Hum the melody along with it before you hear the other versions.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four as , two chords to a bar: , Gm7 C7, Gm7, . For a smaller version, play only Gm7 and C7 back and forth.
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it for Decca in New York on September 21, 1949, with Gordon Jenkins leading his orchestra. Decca issued it on 78 rpm single number 24900.
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Ella Fitzgerald sings the song with Gordon Jenkins leading the orchestra behind her. The record runs about three minutes, close to the length of Noble's.
Try it on your instrument
Hum the melody while you play the first eight : , Gm7 C7, Gm7, , Am7 D7, Am7 D7, , G7. For a smaller version, stop after the first four bars.
Stan Getz recorded it in Los Angeles on January 23, 1954, with Jimmy Rowles, Bob Whitlock and Max Roach. Norgran issued it as a single, number 119, and then on the 1955 LP Tenor Saxes.
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Stan Getz leads on tenor saxophone, with Jimmy Rowles on piano, Bob Whitlock on bass and Max Roach on drums. The track runs 2:56.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last eight , the section that comes only once: , , , , , , , F6. For a smaller version, play just Gm7, C7, F6.
Billie Holiday recorded it in Los Angeles on August 25, 1955, in the sessions that also produced her album Music for Torching. Clef released it on Velvet Mood in 1956.
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Listen for
Listen for the celesta, which Jimmy Rowles plays on this track, and for Harry Edison's trumpet and Benny Carter's alto saxophone in the band. The record runs 4:03.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight quietly, one to a bar: , Gm7, , , Am7, Am7, , G7. Leave a short silence before each change. For a smaller version, play only the first four.
Coleman Hawkins recorded it at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack on November 7, 1958, with a of Ray Bryant, Kenny Burrell, Wendell Marshall and Osie Johnson. Prestige released it on the album Soul in March 1959.
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Coleman Hawkins plays tenor saxophone, with Kenny Burrell on guitar, Ray Bryant on piano, Wendell Marshall on bass and Osie Johnson on drums. The track runs 4:36, almost two minutes longer than Getz's.
Try it on your instrument
Play the root of each as a bass line through the first eight : G C, G C, F G, A D, A D, A D, G, G. For a smaller version, play only the first four bars.
Frank Sinatra recorded it in Hollywood in November 1961 for Sinatra and Strings, the first album he made with the arranger Don Costa. Reprise released the album in January 1962, and this song opens it.
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Frank Sinatra sings with a string orchestra, arranged and conducted by Don Costa. The record runs 3:44.
Try it on your instrument
Play the second section's turn toward : , , , . For a smaller version, play only A7, D7, G7, C7 and listen for how they lead back to F.
Thelonious Monk recorded it alone at the piano in Los Angeles on November 2, 1964. Columbia released it on the 1965 album Solo Monk, produced by Teo Macero.
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Listen for
Thelonious Monk plays alone at the piano for 3:19, with no other players, so the tune and its come from one person.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole tune alone, melody in your right hand and one a in your left, and keep going through the final eight bars without stopping. For a smaller version, play only the final eight bars.
“I Hadn't Anyone 'Till You (Live)”, Appearing Nightly
Carla Bley's big band recorded it live at New Morning in Paris on July 17 and 18, 2006. Watt/ECM released it on the 2008 album Appearing Nightly, where it is the closing track.
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Carla Bley plays piano in front of her big band, which has trumpets, trombones, saxophones, organ, bass guitar and drums. The track runs 7:38, more than twice the length of Ray Noble's.
Try it on your instrument
Play a full in the order A, B, A, C, then play it again an octave higher. For a smaller version, play only the first eight twice.
Ray Noble writes the song in 1938 and records it in Los Angeles with Tony Martin. A Tommy Dorsey version with the singer Jack Leonard also reaches the charts that year.
1940s
Ella Fitzgerald records it for Decca in New York on September 21, 1949, with Gordon Jenkins leading his orchestra.
1950s
Stan Getz records it with a quartet in 1954, Billie Holiday with a small band in 1955, and Coleman Hawkins with Kenny Burrell on guitar in 1958.
1960s
Ella Fitzgerald sings it with only Paul Smith on piano in 1960. Frank Sinatra records it with strings arranged by Don Costa in 1961, and Thelonious Monk plays it alone in 1964.
2000s
Carla Bley's big band plays it live at New Morning in Paris in July 2006. The track runs 7:38 on her album Appearing Nightly.
More great versions
3 more, from 1958 to 1961. Tap a cover to play it here.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from the Soundtrack of "Let No Man Write My Epitaph"
Ella Fitzgerald sang it with only Paul Smith on piano at United Western Studios in Hollywood in April 1960. Verve released it on her album of songs from the film Let No Man Write My Epitaph.
Lena Horne recorded it in New York in the summer of 1961 with arrangements and conducting by Marty Gold. RCA Victor released it on Lena on the Blue Side in February 1962.
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
32 barsA · B · A · C form
F major → D minor → A major → F majorkey centers
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
C8 bars
F
D m
A
F
The iReal Pro chart runs 32 in : A (8 bars), B (8), A (8) and C (8). The last section is new music, so this is not a standard A, A, B, A tune. A opens with twice, then Gm7, then for three bars, and rests on two bars of . B starts the same way, with Gm7 C7, then G7 , then and , and . Its second half moves to with and , then A7 D7 and G7 C7, which lead back to F. A comes back unchanged. C closes the tune with , , E7, D7, Gm7, C7 and two bars of F6.