Richard Rodgers, music · Lorenz Hart, lyrics · Introduced in the 1932 film Love Me Tonight
Isn't It Romantic?
Richard Rodgers wrote the music and Lorenz Hart the words for the 1932 film Love Me Tonight. In the film, Maurice Chevalier starts the song and others pass it along until Jeanette MacDonald sings it. Singers, pianists, guitarists and horn players have recorded it, from Chet Baker and Ella Fitzgerald to Diana Krall.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Ella Fitzgerald singing the song with an orchestra in 1956, then goes back to 1952 to hear it played by a saxophone with strings and by Chet Baker's quartet. It continues through a piano trio, a guitar quintet, Carmen McRae with a trio and Bill Evans live in 1963, and ends with a vibraphone and piano duo from 1990.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald sang it with Buddy Bregman's orchestra during the sessions held between August 21 and 31, 1956, for her Rodgers and Hart Song Book on Verve. Norman Granz produced the two-record set, and this is its fifth track.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Ella Fitzgerald sings the song with Buddy Bregman's orchestra behind her, and the track runs about three minutes. Follow the tune through its four parts: the opening part comes back after a contrasting middle part, and a different part closes the .
Try it on your instrument
Hum or play the tune along with Ella. If you play , try the first two in E♭ at a slow tempo: and , then and , two beats each. A smaller version: play only the roots of those chords, E♭, C, F, B♭.
Benny Carter and His Strings with the Oscar Peterson Quartet · 1952 · Swing
“Isn't It Romantic”, Isn't It Romantic / Key Largo
Benny Carter recorded it on alto saxophone in New York on September 18, 1952, with Oscar Peterson's quartet, horns and strings, arranged and conducted by Joe Glover. Mercury issued it as a single in 1953, with Key Largo on the other side.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Listen for the alto saxophone out front, the strings and horns behind it, and Oscar Peterson's quartet underneath. Compare how a saxophone shapes the melody with how Ella Fitzgerald sang it.
Try it on your instrument
Loop 1 to 4 at a slow tempo, two beats per : | | | Fm7 B♭7. A smaller version: play only the roots, E♭, C, F, B♭, E♭, E, F, B♭.
Chet Baker's quartet with pianist Russ Freeman recorded it in Los Angeles on December 15, 1952, probably at Gold Star Studios. It came out on Pacific Jazz in 1953.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Chet Baker plays trumpet with Russ Freeman on piano, Red Mitchell on bass and Bobby White on drums. The whole track lasts 3:30, so the group has time for the tune and not much more.
Try it on your instrument
Play 9 to 12, the start of the contrasting middle part: | | | . Listen to how the music leaves E♭ and heads for A♭. A smaller version: play only A♭ for two bars, then B♭ for two bars.
“Isn't It Romantic”, Oscar Peterson Plays Richard Rodgers
Oscar Peterson, guitarist Barney Kessel and bassist Ray Brown recorded it in Los Angeles on December 6, 1953. It came out in 1954 on the Clef album Oscar Peterson Plays Richard Rodgers.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Piano, guitar and bass share the tune, and at 2:17 this is the shortest track on the path. Notice how few seconds the trio needs to get through the tune's four parts.
Try it on your instrument
Take the first eight at a medium-fast tempo with a steady four beats to the bar. If you play a instrument, use the chords: | | | Fm7 B♭7 | | Fm7 B♭7 | E♭maj7 | . A smaller version: play the four-bar half only.
Jimmy Raney Quintet featuring Bob Brookmeyer · 1956
“Isn't It Romantic”, Jimmy Raney Featuring Bob Brookmeyer
Guitarist Jimmy Raney recorded it in New York on July 23, 1956, with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer in a quintet. It opens his ABC-Paramount album Jimmy Raney Featuring Bob Brookmeyer.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Jimmy Raney's guitar and Bob Brookmeyer's valve trombone share the , with piano, bass and drums behind them. At 4:06 there is room for each of them to take a turn.
Try it on your instrument
Play the closing section, 25 to 32: | | | | | | A♭m6 | E♭6. A smaller version: play only the last four bars, Gm7 G♭7 | Fm7 B♭7 | E♭6 A♭m6 | E♭6.
Carmen McRae recorded it in New York on December 1 and 2, 1958, for her Kapp album Book of Ballads. Frank Hunter arranged the album, and Don Abney's piano trio backed her.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Carmen McRae sings with a small of piano, bass and drums, a much smaller band than the orchestra behind Ella Fitzgerald. The track runs three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Sing the tune at a ballad tempo and write the section letters A, B, A, C on a sheet of paper, eight each. Mark where each one starts as McRae sings. A smaller version: clap four beats to the bar and count the first eight bars.
“Isn't It Romantic? (live)”, Bill Evans Trio at Shelly's Manne-Hole, Hollywood, California
Bill Evans recorded it live at Shelly's Manne-Hole in Los Angeles over two nights, May 14 and 19, 1963, with Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. It is on the album that was his last for Riverside.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
This is a club recording with Bill Evans on piano, Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums, and it runs 4:42. Listen for all three playing together rather than one soloist with backing.
Try it on your instrument
If you can play over , take one pass through the ( 1 to 8) using only notes from , and try ending the pass on a long note. If not, play the melody on repeat and change only how loud you play it each time round.
Vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Paul Bley recorded it on March 29, 1990, at Studio 3 of Danmarks Radio in Copenhagen. It appears on their Sonet album Right Time - Right Place.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Only two players take part, Gary Burton on vibraphone and Paul Bley on piano. At 6:04 it is the longest track on the path, so the tune has room to stretch.
Try it on your instrument
Play the tune as a duet with a friend or a recording: one of you plays the melody and the other plays the , then swap. If that is too much, play only the first eight ( | | | Fm7 B♭7 | | Fm7 B♭7 | E♭maj7 | ).
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart write the song for the 1932 film Love Me Tonight. Maurice Chevalier sings it first on screen, and Jeanette MacDonald is the last to sing it in the sequence.
1950s
Benny Carter plays it with strings in 1952, and Chet Baker's quartet records it that December. In 1956 Ella Fitzgerald sings it with Buddy Bregman's orchestra.
1960s
Bill Evans records it live at Shelly's Manne-Hole in Los Angeles in May 1963, with Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums.
1980s
Chet Baker plays it in Copenhagen in February 1986 with Butch Lacy on piano, for the SteepleChase album When Sunny Gets Blue.
1990s
Vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Paul Bley record it in Copenhagen in March 1990 for the Sonet album Right Time - Right Place.
2010s
Diana Krall records it with strings at Capitol Studios in Hollywood in the fall of 2016, and it appears on Turn Up the Quiet in 2017.
More great versions
2 more, from 1986 to 2016. Tap a cover to play it here.
Chet Baker recorded it again in Copenhagen on February 23, 1986, with pianist Butch Lacy, bassist Jesper Lundgaard and drummer Jukkis Uotila. It is on the SteepleChase album When Sunny Gets Blue.
Diana Krall recorded it at Capitol Studios in Hollywood in the fall of 2016, singing and playing piano with strings conducted by Alan Broadbent. It is the second track on Turn Up the Quiet.
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 · B · A · C form
E♭ major → A♭ major → C minor → E♭ major → C minor → E♭ majorkey centers
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
C8 bars
E♭
A♭
C m
E♭
C m
E♭
The has four sections of eight : A, B, A and C. A stays in : and , then and twice, with and in bar 3, and in bar 5, and and in bar 8, which leans toward A♭. B opens on , plays B♭7 , and , B♭m7 and E♭7, then A♭maj7 and , and turns to with , , G7, Cm and before B♭7alt in bar 16 leads home. A returns in bars 17 to 24. C does not repeat B: it moves through Fm, Dm7♭5 and into a C minor line (Cm, , , ) in bars 25 to 28, then , , Fm7 and B♭7 lead to E♭6 and A♭m6 and a last bar of E♭6. The follow the iReal Pro chart; players often vary them.