Richard Rodgers, music · Oscar Hammerstein II, lyrics · Sung by Dick Haymes and Louanne Hogan in the film State Fair, 1945
It Might As Well Be Spring
It Might As Well Be Spring is a 1945 film song by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Dick Haymes and Louanne Hogan sang it in State Fair, and it won the Oscar for best song. Sarah Vaughan, Bill Evans, Stan Getz with Astrud Gilberto and Frank Sinatra all recorded it.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Frank Sinatra's slow 1961 record with strings, then moves to Sarah Vaughan in 1950 and the Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal trios. It stretches out with Gene Ammons and Red Garland in 1958, and ends with Bill Evans in 1962 and Stan Getz with Astrud Gilberto in 1964.
Frank Sinatra recorded this over three days in November 1961 in Hollywood for the album Sinatra and Strings. Don Costa wrote the arrangements, and it was the first album Sinatra made with him.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Sinatra sings the song with a string orchestra behind him. The tune comes through plainly, so this is a good first listen.
Try it on your instrument
Learn the first four : , , , Am7 . Play the melody over them slowly, then sing along with the record. The record may sit in a different from the chart's .
Sarah Vaughan recorded this for Columbia in New York on May 18, 1950, with Miles Davis on trumpet in a small band. According to JazzStandards.com, she had recorded the song four years earlier with John Kirby's band.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Sarah Vaughan sings with a small band, and Miles Davis plays trumpet in it. The band is small enough to pick out single instruments, so try to hear the trumpet behind her voice.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four twice, once as written and once with one note held longer or shorter. You need only the melody and basic .
Oscar Peterson Plays the Richard Rodgers Song Book
The Oscar Peterson Trio recorded this in Los Angeles on December 7, 1953, with Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Brown on bass. It is on an album of Richard Rodgers songs.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Oscar Peterson's piano leads, with Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Brown on bass. The trio has only these three players, so the bass line is easy to follow.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four with the melody in your right hand and the , , , Am7 in your left. Then play only the bass notes G, A, B then E, A then D, as a simple bass line.
Ahmad Jamal's trio recorded this live at the Pershing Lounge in Chicago on January 17, 1958, with Israel Crosby on bass and Vernel Fournier on drums. It came out in 1961 as the second volume of Jamal at the Pershing.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
This is a live club recording that lasts 3:27. Piano, bass and drums play as three equal parts, so follow the bass for a while, then switch to the drums.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight with the from the chart, then play them again leaving out every other chord. You need only the melody and basic chords.
Gene Ammons' All Stars recorded this at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack on January 3, 1958, with John Coltrane on alto sax and Mal Waldron on piano. Prestige issued it in 1961 on the album Groove Blues.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
At 11:33 this is the longest record on the path. Two saxophones share the , Gene Ammons on tenor and John Coltrane on alto, so listen for who is playing at each moment.
Try it on your instrument
While the record plays, pick one such as and hum or play a few notes of your own over it. This is a small version of soloing; real soloing over all takes more practice.
Red Garland recorded this at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack on June 27, 1958, with Paul Chambers on bass, Arthur Taylor on drums and Ray Barretto on conga. Prestige first issued it in 1977 on Rediscovered Masters.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Ray Barretto's conga joins the usual piano, bass and drums, so there are two drummers under Garland's piano. Try to tell the conga apart from the drum kit.
Try it on your instrument
Play the of the first four , , , , Am7 , and tap a steady pattern on your knee with your free hand, as a second drummer.
Bill Evans's trio recorded this in New York on June 2, 1962, with Chuck Israels on bass and Paul Motian on drums. It is on Moon Beams, issued by Riverside.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Piano, bass and drums share the music as equal partners. Follow Chuck Israels's bass for a minute, then switch to Paul Motian's drums.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight slowly and quietly, melody in your right hand and one per bar change in your left. Keep the volume even from start to finish.
Stan Getz's quartet recorded this at Carnegie Hall in New York on October 9, 1964, with Astrud Gilberto singing and Kenny Burrell added on guitar. Verve released it that December on Getz Au Go Go, an album that also holds tracks from a May 1964 night at the Cafe Au Go Go.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Astrud Gilberto sings, with Stan Getz's tenor sax, Gary Burton's vibes and Kenny Burrell's guitar around her. Compare the beat with the swinging trios earlier on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody and the of the first four again, this time with the beats evenly spaced instead of swung. Listen to the record afterward and judge which rhythm sounds closer.
Rodgers and Hammerstein write it for the 1945 film State Fair, where Dick Haymes sings it and Louanne Hogan sings for Jeanne Crain. It wins the Oscar for best song, and Haymes records it for Decca on July 2, 1945.
1950s
Sarah Vaughan records it with Miles Davis on trumpet in 1950. In 1958 Ahmad Jamal's trio plays it live in Chicago, and Gene Ammons's All Stars stretch it past eleven minutes.
1960s
Frank Sinatra records it with Don Costa's arrangement in 1961, and Bill Evans records it with his trio in 1962. Stan Getz plays it at Carnegie Hall in 1964 with Astrud Gilberto singing.
1990s
Brad Mehldau opens his 1995 Warner Bros. album Introducing Brad Mehldau with a trio version that runs 7:46.
More great versions
4 more, from 1945 to 1995. Tap a cover to play it here.
1940sDick Haymes1945
1950sKenny Dorham Septet featuring Cannonball Adderley1959 · Hard bop
1960sIke Quebec1961 · Hard bop
1970s
1980s
1990sBrad Mehldau1995 · Contemporary jazz
Dick Haymes
1945
“It Might as Well Be Spring”, Decca 18706
Dick Haymes sang the song in the 1945 film State Fair and recorded it for Decca on July 2, 1945. According to JazzStandards.com, his record reached number 5.
Kenny Dorham led a septet that included Cannonball Adderley on alto sax and Cecil Payne on baritone sax. The record is on Blue Spring, which Riverside issued in 1959.
Ike Quebec recorded this at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on December 9, 1961. Blue Note held the album until mid-1964, and it takes its title from the song.
“It Might as Well Be Spring”, Introducing Brad Mehldau
Brad Mehldau recorded this at the Power Station in New York in March and April 1995, with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums. It is the first track of his album Introducing Brad Mehldau.
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
G majorusual key
66 barsA · A · B form
G major → C major → A minor → G majorkey centers
A16 bars
A16 bars
B34 bars
G
C
A m
G
The chart is in , from iReal Pro. According to JazzStandards.com, the song was written in , with false changes of in the long closing section. The first section runs 16 and is played twice. Bars 1 to 8 are , , , Am7 , Gmaj7, Gmaj7, and . Bars 9 to 14 are , , Bm7, E7, Am7 and D7. The first time through, bars 15 and 16 are Bm7 and Am7 D7, which lead back to the top. The second time they are Gmaj7 and Dm7 G7, which lead into the long closing section. That section, bars 33 to 66, starts in C major with Cmaj7, Am7, Dm7, G7, Dm7, G7, Cmaj7 and E7 (bars 33 to 40). Bars 41 to 44 turn to with Am7, , and . Em7, , Am7 and D7 (bars 45 to 48) pull back toward G, then Bm7, E7, A7, A7, and (bars 49 to 54) wander away once more. The last twelve bars, 55 to 66, are Gmaj7 , Em7 , C♯m7♭5, , Bm7, E7, Am7, D7, Gmaj7, Gmaj7, Am7 and D7, which settle in G.