Vincent Youmans, music · Irving Caesar, lyrics · From the musical No, No, Nanette
I Want to Be Happy
Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar wrote this song in 1924 for the musical No, No, Nanette. Its phrasing is straightforward and its range is small, which makes it easy to sing and to learn. Lester Young's trio, Sonny Rollins with Thelonious Monk and Stan Getz all recorded it.
Listen in this order
The path starts with a 1924 dance-band record, made before the show reached Broadway. It moves through Lester Young's 1946 trio, Dave Brubeck's live set and Sonny Rollins with Thelonious Monk in 1954, Stan Getz in 1957, Art Farmer's live quartet and Sarah Vaughan's 1967 vocal, and ends with Don Byron's 2004 nod to the Young trio.
1940sLester Young, Nat King Cole and Buddy Rich1946
1950sThe Dave Brubeck Quartet1954 · Bebop
Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk1954
Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio1957 · Bebop
1960sThe Art Farmer Quartet featuring Jim Hall1963 · Bebop
Sarah Vaughan1967 · Vocal
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000sDon Byron2004 · Post-bop
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Meet the song as a 1924 hit
Carl Fenton and His Orchestra · 1924
Brunswick 2640
Carl Fenton's orchestra recorded the song for Brunswick in New York on June 26, 1924, with Billy Jones, Ernest Hare, Wilfred Glenn and Elliott Shaw singing. According to JazzStandards.com, the record charted for three weeks and peaked at number 5.
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Listen for
Four men sing the song together over a dance band. The record runs about three minutes, the length of one side of a 78 rpm disc.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four slowly: and in bar 1, and in bar 2, in bar 3, in bar 4. Smaller version: play just C, Dm7 and G7, one per bar.
Lester Young, Nat King Cole and Buddy Rich recorded this trio in Los Angeles in spring 1946 for producer Norman Granz. Granz released it in 1949 on The Jazz Scene, a six-disc 78 rpm set, with Cole credited under a made-up name for contractual reasons.
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Listen for
Only a tenor sax, a piano and drums play. Listen for the piano and the drums trading ideas with each other.
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Play 5 to 8 over and over: , , , then Dm7 G7, until the move back to bar 1 feels easy. Smaller version: play Dm7, G7 and C, one per bar.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet recorded the song live at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in May 1954. Columbia issued it that year on the album Jazz Goes to College.
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Listen for
This is a live recording from a university concert. Listen for Paul Desmond's alto sax and Dave Brubeck's piano, with bass and drums behind them.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , 17 to 24, one per bar: , , , , , , , . Smaller version: play only the root of each chord: G, C, F, B♭, E, A, D, G.
Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk recorded the song at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, on October 25, 1954, with Tommy Potter on bass and Arthur Taylor on drums. Bob Weinstock produced the session for Prestige.
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Listen for
A tenor sax and a piano share the lead for nearly eight minutes, with bass and drums keeping time behind them.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , then the , then the A section again, humming the melody over the . Smaller version: loop the eight of the A section on their own.
Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio · 1957 · Bebop, Hard bop
Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio
Stan Getz recorded the song with Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis and Ray Brown at the Capitol Tower in Los Angeles on October 10, 1957, for Verve.
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Listen for
Getz's tenor sax leads, with Peterson's piano, Ellis's guitar and Brown's bass behind him. Listen for the guitar, which none of the earlier steps use.
Try it on your instrument
Play the while a metronome or recording keeps time, and solo over the and using only notes of . This needs some practice at improvising; the smaller version is to play just the root of each in the A section.
The Art Farmer Quartet featuring Jim Hall · 1963 · Bebop
“I Want to Be Happy (Live)”, "Live" at the Half Note
Art Farmer's quartet with guitarist Jim Hall recorded this live at the Half Note in New York on December 5, 6 and 7, 1963. Atlantic issued it in 1964 on the album "Live" at the Half Note.
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Listen for
Art Farmer plays flugelhorn and Jim Hall plays guitar, with bass and drums behind them. At 9:44 it is the longest track on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play 1 to 8 with a metronome set slowly, one per bar: , , , , Dm7, G7, , Dm7. Smaller version: play C, Dm7 and G7 only.
Sarah Vaughan sang the song on Sassy Swings Again, recorded January 23 and 24, 1967 for Mercury. Hal Mooney produced the album, and Thad Jones arranged this track.
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Sarah Vaughan sings with Thad Jones's arrangement behind her. The track lasts only 2:20, so the song goes by quickly.
Try it on your instrument
Sing or hum the melody while you play the 's , then try it at a quick pace. Smaller version: sing the first eight with the chords played slowly.
Don Byron recorded the song for Ivey-Divey at Allaire Studios in Shokan, New York, on May 23 and 24, 2004, with Jason Moran on piano and Jack DeJohnette on drums. The album takes its cue from the 1946 Lester Young trio, according to All About Jazz.
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Listen for
Compare this with the Lester Young step: a lead horn, a piano and drums, and no bass credited on the track. It runs 8:47.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole 32 as a slow , melody in the right hand and in the left, then again at a medium-up pace. Smaller version: chords only, one per bar.
Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar write the song for No, No, Nanette, which opens on Broadway in September 1925. Carl Fenton's orchestra records it in New York in June 1924, with four men singing.
1930s
Benny Goodman's orchestra records it for Victor in New York in January 1937. According to JazzStandards.com, the record charted for one week and peaked at number 17.
1940s
Edmond Hall's quartet with pianist Teddy Wilson plays it in 1944. Lester Young records it in 1946 with Nat King Cole on piano and Buddy Rich on drums, and Norman Granz releases it in 1949 on The Jazz Scene.
1950s
The Dave Brubeck Quartet plays it live at the University of Michigan in May 1954, and Sonny Rollins records it that October with Thelonious Monk. Stan Getz follows in 1957 with Oscar Peterson's group.
1960s
Art Farmer's quartet with guitarist Jim Hall plays it for 9:44 at the Half Note in New York in December 1963. Sarah Vaughan records it in January 1967 for Sassy Swings Again, with Thad Jones arranging.
1970s
Violinist Joe Venuti and guitarist George Barnes open their 1975 Concord Jazz album Gems with it.
2000s
Don Byron records it in May 2004 for Ivey-Divey, a Blue Note album that takes its cue from Lester Young's 1946 trio, with Jason Moran on piano and Jack DeJohnette on drums.
More great versions
3 more, from 1944 to 1975. Tap a cover to play it here.
1940sEdmond Hall Quartet with Teddy Wilson1944 · Swing
Oscar Peterson's trio with Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass recorded the song in Los Angeles on December 10, 1953. Clef issued it on MGC-625.
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 · A · B · A form
C majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
C
The tune is 32 long: A, A, B and A, eight bars each, all in . Bars 1 to 8 run , , , , Dm7, G7, and Dm7 G7, where two in one bar are written side by side. The second A ends differently, with C6 for two bars in place of C6 Am7 and Dm7 G7. The in bars 17 to 24 runs , , , , Em7, A7, and G7, and the last A repeats bars 1 to 8. These follow iReal Pro's chart; other lead sheets may spell some chords differently.