Jimmy Van Heusen, music · Johnny Burke, lyrics · Written for the film Belle of the Yukon, 1944
Like Someone in Love
Like Someone in Love is a 1944 film song by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke. Its first four bars sit over a falling bass line, and the B section visits C major. Bing Crosby had a hit with it in 1945; Coltrane, Blakey, Ella Fitzgerald and Bill Evans recorded it later.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter✓
- 2 Hear a jazz singer with an orchestra Ella Fitzgerald with Frank DeVol✓
- 3 Hear it on guitar Tal Farlow Trio✓
- 4 Follow a tenor sax quartet Stan Getz Quartet✓
- 5 Hear a hard bop band Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers✓
- 6 Hear a tenor with no piano John Coltrane✓
- 7 Hear a live piano trio Bill Evans Trio✓
- 8 Hear a modern tenor quartet Joe Lovano with Hank Jones, George Mraz and Paul Motian✓
How the tune works
A chorus runs 32 bars in four eight-bar sections: A, B, A and C. The A section opens in E♭ over a bass line that falls from E♭ to D, C, B♭, A, A♭ and G. The chords are E♭maj7 and G7/D, Cm7 and Cm7/B♭, Am7♭5 and A♭7, then Gm7 and C7. Bars 5 to 8 go Fm7, Am7 and D7, Gm7, then B♭m7 and E♭7, which lead on to A♭maj7. B (bars 9 to 16) starts on A♭maj7, and Dm7 and G7 reach Cmaj7 in bar 11, a ii-V-I in C that lasts through bar 12. Cm7 and F7 in bars 13 and 14 steer back toward E♭, and Fm7 and B♭7♯5 lead to the repeat of A. C (bars 25 to 32) starts like B with A♭maj7, Dm7 and G7, and Cmaj7, then bar 28 holds F♯°7 where B repeated Cmaj7. Gm7 and C7, then Fm7 and B♭7, arrive on E♭6, and a last Fm7 and B♭7 turn the tune around to the top.
The 32-bar chorus in E♭, four bars to a line: A (bars 1–8), B (9–16), A again (17–24) and C (25–32). The source writes A once with a repeat, then a first ending (B) and a second ending (C), so A is shown twice here.
Taken from the E♭ chord chart on standardrepertoire.com (marked Medium Swing, form ABAC, 32 bars), which shows the changes as an image. Bars with two chords change at the half bar. The chart prints small alternate chords over bars 6 and 7 of the A, B♭7 for the Am7 and D7 bar and E♭maj7 for the Gm7 bar; Bruno Pelletier's guitar page gives the same options for bars 5 to 8: Fm7, B♭7, E♭maj7 and B♭m7 E♭7 (the version he plays), Fm7, Am7 D7, Gm7 and B♭m7 E♭7, or Fm7, Am7 D7, E♭maj7 and B♭m7 E♭7. His page also gives other variants: Cm and Cm/B then Cm/B♭ and Cm/A over bars 13 and 14 where this chart has Cm7 and F7, Fm7 and B♭7 then Bm7 and E7 over bars 15 and 16 where this chart has Fm7 and B♭7♯5, and a half-step slide to Emaj7 at bar 31 in place of the E♭maj7 landing. Pelletier's page says the tune is usually played in E♭ or C. This is a chord chart from a reference site, not a scan of a published sheet, so compare it with the sheet you play from and with the recording. Use the key buttons to move the chart to C or another key.
Source: Like Someone In Love chord chart (Standard Repertoire, common key E♭)
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with Bing Crosby's 1944 record and Ella Fitzgerald's orchestra version, then moves through a guitar trio, a tenor sax quartet, a hard bop band, a tenor trio with no piano, a live piano trio and a modern tenor quartet. Each step gives you one thing to hear and one thing to try.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra 1944
Single: Like Someone in Love / Sleigh Ride in July
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- Listen for
- Crosby sings with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra on a record that runs 3:05. Hear it once through, then follow the chart a second time and mark where each eight-bar section begins.
- Try this
- Play the first four bars of the chart: E♭maj7 and G7/D, Cm7 and Cm7/B♭, Am7♭5 and A♭7, then Gm7 and C7. The bass notes fall by step, E♭, D, C, B♭, A, A♭, G, before C7 turns it around. Smaller version: play only those bass notes, two to a bar, while you hum the melody.
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Step 2 · Hear a jazz singer with an orchestra Now playing
Ella Fitzgerald with Frank DeVol and His Orchestra 1957
Like Someone in Love
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Ella Fitzgerald sings with a studio orchestra arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol. Follow the chart while she sings and mark the four eight-bar sections, A, B, A and C.
- Try this
- Play bars 5 to 8 of the chart under the melody: Fm7, Am7 and D7, Gm7, then B♭m7 and E♭7. The chart also shows B♭7 for bar 6 and E♭maj7 for bar 7, so try both. Smaller version: play only the roots F, A, D, G, B♭ and E♭.
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Step 3 · Hear it on guitar Now playing
Tal Farlow Trio 1956
The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Tal Farlow plays with Eddie Costa on piano and Vinnie Burke on bass, a trio of guitar, piano and bass. Use the chart to follow the trio through the 6:42 track, and check whether bars 10 to 12 reach C major the way the chart does.
- Try this
- Play the B section from the chart: A♭maj7, Dm7 and G7, Cmaj7, Cmaj7, then Cm7, F7, Fm7 and B♭7♯5. Smaller version: play only Dm7, G7 and Cmaj7, the three chords that move to C major.
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Step 4 · Follow a tenor sax quartet Now playing
Stan Getz Quartet 1956
The Steamer
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Stan Getz plays tenor with Lou Levy on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Stan Levey on drums. Keep your place in the chart across the 6:31 track, and use the Fm7 and B♭7 in bar 32 as the cue that a new chorus starts.
- Try this
- Play the C section from the chart, bars 25 to 32: A♭maj7, Dm7 and G7, Cmaj7, F♯°7, Gm7 and C7, Fm7 and B♭7, E♭6, then Fm7 and B♭7. Smaller version: play only the last four bars, from Gm7 and C7 to the final Fm7 and B♭7.
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Step 5 · Hear a hard bop band Now playing
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers 1960
Like Someone in Love
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The group has two horns, Lee Morgan on trumpet and Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, over Bobby Timmons on piano, Jymie Merritt on bass and Art Blakey on drums. The track runs 8:04, so use the chart to count choruses and see how long each player stays out front.
- Try this
- Play all 32 bars of the chart once through at a steady beat, in the order A, B, A, C. Smaller version: play the A section twice and stop.
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Step 6 · Hear a tenor with no piano Now playing
John Coltrane (trio) 1957
Lush Life
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- John Coltrane plays tenor sax with Earl May on bass and Art Taylor on drums, and the lineup lists no piano or other chord instrument. Listen with the chart in front of you and notice which chord changes you can hear from the bass and the saxophone line alone.
- Try this
- Play only the chord roots of bars 1 to 8 of the chart as a bass line: E♭, D, C, B♭, A, A♭, G, C, then F, A, D, G, B♭ and E♭. Soloing over the changes needs more practice, so the smaller version is to play each chord's root and third and nothing else.
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Step 7 · Hear a live piano trio Now playing
Bill Evans Trio 1980
“Like Someone in Love (Recorded August 31, 1980)”, The Last Waltz: The Final Recordings at Keystone Korner
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- Listen for
- Bill Evans plays piano with Marc Johnson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums in a live set at Keystone Korner. The track runs 6:57, so follow the chart and count how many choruses the trio takes.
- Try this
- Compare two ways to play bars 5 to 8: the chart has Fm7, Am7 and D7, Gm7, then B♭m7 and E♭7, and a simpler version has Fm7, B♭7, E♭maj7, then B♭m7 and E♭7. Play both, then listen to the trio's chorus and decide which one fits what you hear, or whether neither does.
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Step 8 · Hear a modern tenor quartet Now playing
Joe Lovano with Hank Jones, George Mraz and Paul Motian 2003
I'm All for You
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- Listen for
- Joe Lovano plays tenor sax with Hank Jones on piano, George Mraz on bass and Paul Motian on drums. The track runs 6:50, so keep your place in the chart across several choruses.
- Try this
- Use the chart's key buttons to move the tune to C, a key guitarist Bruno Pelletier says it is also played in, and play the first four bars there. Smaller version: play only the first two bars in C.
More great versions
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Frank Sinatra with Nelson Riddle 1953
Songs for Young Lovers
Frank Sinatra sang the song in the November 1953 Capitol sessions with Nelson Riddle that produced the album Songs for Young Lovers.
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The Jazz Messengers 1955
The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia, Volume 2
The Jazz Messengers played this version live at the Cafe Bohemia in New York on 23 November 1955, with Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley and Horace Silver, and Blue Note issued it in 1956.
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Chet Baker Quartet 1956
Chet Baker Sings
Chet Baker sings the song with his quartet of piano, bass and drums on a track added to the 1956 reissue of Chet Baker Sings.
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The Cecil Taylor Quintet with John Coltrane and Kenny Dorham 1958
Hard Driving Jazz
John Coltrane and Kenny Dorham join the Cecil Taylor Quintet on this track, recorded in New York on 13 October 1958 and issued in 1959 on Hard Driving Jazz.
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Stan Getz Nonet 1958
Imported from Europe
Stan Getz recorded this track in Stockholm on 15 September 1958 with trumpet, trombone, two tenor saxes and a piano trio, and Verve issued it on Imported from Europe in 1959.
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Paul Desmond with Jim Hall and strings 1961
Desmond Blue
Paul Desmond plays alto sax with Jim Hall on guitar and strings on this track, recorded in New York on 28 September 1961 for Desmond Blue.
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Diana Krall 2016
Turn Up the Quiet
Diana Krall sings and plays piano on the opening track of Turn Up the Quiet, with Christian McBride on bass and Russell Malone on guitar, recorded in fall 2016.