Harold Arlen, music · Ted Koehler, lyrics · Introduced in the Cotton Club Parade, Harlem, 1932
I've Got the World on a String
Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler wrote it for a Cotton Club revue that opened in Harlem in October 1932. Cab Calloway's orchestra had a hit with it that year, and Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1933. Frank Sinatra's 1953 record with Nelson Riddle reached number 14, and Sarah Vaughan and Diana Krall sang it later.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Cab Calloway's 1932 hit and Louis Armstrong's record from early 1933, then follows the song through Frank Sinatra's swing arrangement, Erroll Garner's trio and Serge Chaloff's baritone saxophone. It ends with Oscar Peterson's live trio, Sarah Vaughan's 1978 session and Diana Krall's 1994 recording.
Cab Calloway's orchestra recorded the song on November 9, 1932, after the Cotton Club revue that introduced it had opened. According to JazzStandards.com, the band was featured in the revue and the record reached number 18 that year.
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Listen for
Calloway sings with the full band behind him: trumpets, trombones, saxophones and a . The whole record lasts 3:17.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first two as : , and share bar 1, then and share bar 2. A smaller version uses F, then and C. Hum the tune over them.
I've Got the World on a String / Sittin' in the Dark
Louis Armstrong recorded this with his orchestra at the Daily News Building in Chicago on January 26, 1933, and Victor issued it as 24245. According to JazzStandards.com, it was only Teddy Wilson's third recording session.
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Listen for
Armstrong plays trumpet and sings on this side, and Teddy Wilson gets a piano solo. Compare his voice and horn with Calloway's record from the year before.
Try it on your instrument
Play 3 to 6 as : and , then and , then and twice. A smaller version uses F, B♭, , and C.
South of the Border / I've Got the World on a String
Frank Sinatra recorded this on April 30, 1953, with an orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle, among his first records after he moved to Capitol. According to JazzStandards.com, it reached number 14.
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Listen for
Sinatra sings with a band of trumpets, trombones, saxophones, piano, guitar, bass and drums, conducted by Nelson Riddle. The record lasts 2:11, far shorter than the jazz versions later on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , 17 to 24, as : for two bars, for two, for two, then and . Each chord leads to the next. A smaller version plays only the root notes A, D, G and C.
Erroll Garner recorded this trio version at Universal Recording in Chicago on July 27, 1954, with Wyatt Ruther on bass and Fats Heard on drums. EmArcy issued it on the album Contrasts.
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Listen for
Garner's piano carries the tune, with bass and drums behind him. The track lasts about four minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last two of the first A and of the second A. The first ends , , , and goes back to the start. The second ends F6, , F6 and goes on to the .
Serge Chaloff recorded Blue Serge on March 14 and 16, 1956, at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, with Sonny Clark on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Capitol issued the album that year.
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Chaloff leads on baritone saxophone, with piano, bass and drums behind him. At 6:47 it is the longest track on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Count the 32 while the track plays: eight bars each of A, A, B and A. A smaller version is to tap the first beat of every bar and note when the starts.
Oscar Peterson's trio, with Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass, played this live at the Opera House in Chicago on September 29, 1957. Verve issued it in 1958 on the album At the Concertgebouw.
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Listen for
The trio is piano, guitar and bass, recorded in front of an audience. The track lasts 6:27, about twice as long as the Calloway and Armstrong records.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , 1 to 6, as in a steady four beats to the bar: , and in bar 1, then , , , Gm7 C7, Gm7 C7. A smaller version uses F, , C and B♭.
Sarah Vaughan recorded this on April 25, 1978, in Los Angeles, with Oscar Peterson on piano, Joe Pass on guitar, Ray Brown on bass and Louie Bellson on drums. Pablo issued it on How Long Has This Been Going On?
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Vaughan sings with a quartet of piano, guitar, bass and drums. The track lasts 5:34, more than twice as long as Sinatra's record.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last two of the tune, and , slowly with long held , and hum the last line of the melody over them. A smaller version uses F, , and C.
Diana Krall recorded this at the Power Station in New York between September 13 and 16, 1994, with Christian McBride on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. GRP released the album Only Trust Your Heart on February 14, 1995.
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Listen for
Krall sings and plays piano, with McBride's bass and Nash's drums. The track lasts 5:21, a little shorter than Vaughan's.
Try it on your instrument
Play 1 to 6 as while a friend plays the bass notes F, E♭, D, G and C. A smaller version is to play only the bass notes F, G and C.
Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler write the song for a Cotton Club revue in 1932. Cab Calloway's orchestra records it in November 1932, and Louis Armstrong's orchestra records it in Chicago in January 1933.
1940s
Woody Herman's First Herd records Ralph Burns's arrangement for Columbia in 1945, with Herman singing and playing clarinet and Flip Phillips on tenor saxophone.
1950s
Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle record it for Capitol in 1953. Serge Chaloff's baritone saxophone stretches it past six minutes in 1956, and Oscar Peterson's trio plays it live in 1957.
1970s
Sarah Vaughan sings it for the Pablo label in Los Angeles on April 25, 1978, with Oscar Peterson on piano.
1990s
Diana Krall records it in New York in September 1994 with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Lewis Nash. It appears on her album Only Trust Your Heart in 1995.
2000s
Michael Bublé records it for Call Me Irresponsible, released in 2007, with saxophonist Joel Peskin as the soloist.
More great versions
5 more, from 1950 to 2007. Tap a cover to play it here.
Oscar Peterson recorded this with Herb Ellis on guitar and Ray Brown on bass in Los Angeles on November 15, 1954. Clef issued it in 1955 on Oscar Peterson Plays Harold Arlen.
Anita O'Day recorded this in Chicago on January 31, 1957, with Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass and John Poole on drums. Verve issued the session in 1958 on Anita Sings the Most.
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 · A · B · A form
F majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
F
The tune is 32 in four 8-bar sections: A, A, B, A. It stays in throughout. Each A starts with , and in bar 1, then , , , Gm7 C7 and Gm7 C7. Bars 7 and 8 change: the first A has F6 and Gm7 C7, which lead back to the start; the second A has F6 B♭7 and F6, which lead into the ; the last A ends with F6 Dm7 and Gm7 C7. The bridge, bars 17 to 24, gives two bars, D7 two bars, two bars, then Gm7 and C7. Each of those pulls toward the next, and C7 brings the tune back to F. These follow the iReal Pro chart; other lead sheets may spell some chords differently.