Axel Stordahl and Paul Weston, music · Sammy Cahn, lyrics · First heard in the MGM film Thrill of a Romance, 1945
I Should Care
I Should Care is a 1944 ballad by Axel Stordahl, Paul Weston and Sammy Cahn. Its eight-bar sections chain ii–V chords, which makes it a good study in ballad harmony. Frank Sinatra, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans all recorded it.
Start with Sinatra's 1945 vocal and the 1948 Monk quartet vocal, then hear the song as a bop piano trio, a vibes quartet and a long hard bop quintet. The last three steps are solo Monk, Paul Desmond with strings and Bill Evans's trio.
Thelonious Monk Quartet with Kenny 'Pancho' Hagood1948
1950sMilt Jackson Quartet1955 · Hard bop
Hank Mobley Quintet1956 · Hard bop
Thelonious Monk1957 · Bebop
1960sPaul Desmond with Jim Hall and strings1961 · Easy listening
Bill Evans Trio1962 · Post-bop
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Learn the song
Frank Sinatra with Axel Stordahl and His Orchestra · 1945
78 rpm single, B-side of "When Your Lover Has Gone"
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Listen for
Sinatra sings the song with an orchestra conducted by Stordahl, and the track runs about three minutes. Follow the sung line first, since later versions in this path build on it.
Try this
Play the first four bars (Dm7 G7, Em7 A7, Dm7 G7, Cmaj7) with one chord per half bar while you hum along with Sinatra.
Thelonious Monk Quartet with Kenny 'Pancho' Hagood · 1948
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Listen for
Hagood sings, and the band is vibes, piano, bass and drums. The track runs about three minutes.
Try this
Play the A section chords (Dm7 G7, Em7 A7, Dm7 G7, Cmaj7, Em7♭5, A7♭9, Dm7, Fm7 B♭7) on piano or guitar, giving two beats to each chord where two are named.
Vibes lead and piano answers over bass and drums, and the track runs a little over four minutes. Notice who plays the melody first and who takes the next chorus.
Try this
Play the 32 bars once through with a lead sheet. Then play only the first chord of each bar, as the piano might when the vibes lead.
The track runs just over ten minutes with trumpet, tenor sax, piano, bass and drums. Try to count the 32-bar choruses as the track goes by.
Try this
Play along with only the roots of the chords for one full chorus. Soloing over the changes needs more practice, so a smaller step is to clap the downbeat of every eighth bar and keep your place in the 32 bars.
Monk plays without bass or drums, and the track runs about three minutes. Follow how he places each chord in the left hand.
Try this
Play the whole 32 bars alone, with the chord in your left hand on beat one of each bar and the melody in your right. Leave the rests in the melody empty.
Alto sax, guitar, harp and woodwinds share the track with a rhythm section, and it runs under four minutes. Follow Desmond's line first, then listen for Jim Hall's guitar.
Try this
Play the melody on your instrument slowly, then play the B section chords (Cmaj7, Bm7♭5 E7♭9, Gm7 C7, Fmaj7) under it on piano or guitar.
Piano, bass and drums play for just under five minutes. Compare how the bass and drums stay with the piano here against the Powell trio from 1947.
Try this
Play the song once with the chords as written. Then repeat it, changing the way you voice the chords in the left hand each time you reach the start of a new eight-bar section.
C major · D minor · F major · A minor · E minorkeys it moves between
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
C8 bars
C
D m
C
F
A m
C
E m
C
D m
C
A m
C
The first A section opens on Dm7 G7 and Em7 A7, repeats Dm7 G7, and lands on Cmaj7 in bar 4. Em7♭5, A7♭9 and Dm7 make a ii–V into D minor, and Fm7 B♭7 turns back to C. The B section starts on Cmaj7, passes through Bm7♭5 E7♭9 to Gm7 C7 and Fmaj7, then goes through Bm7♭5 E7♭9 to Am7 and returns to C by way of Am7 D7 and Dm7 G7. The second A opens on F♯m7♭5 B7♭9, which leads to Em7 A7, and then follows the first A. The C section opens on Cmaj7, goes to Am7 by way of Bm7♭5 E7♭9, passes D7 and Dm7 G7, and ends on C6 F7 and Em7 A7, which leads back to the top. These key areas follow the iReal Pro chart and leave out passing chords.