Richard Rodgers, music · Lorenz Hart, lyrics · Sung by Jeanette MacDonald in the film Love Me Tonight, 1932
Lover
Lover is a 1932 Rodgers and Hart song from the film Love Me Tonight, sung there by Jeanette MacDonald. Rodgers wrote a waltz, but jazz players usually play it very fast, through that visit nearly every . Hear it from Gene Krupa, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Max Roach and John Coltrane.
Listen in this order
The path begins with Gene Krupa's fast band record from 1945 and Peggy Lee's 1952 hit. It then moves to Dave Brubeck's quartet, Ella Fitzgerald's relaxed songbook version and Max Roach's return to waltz time, followed by two 1958 sessions led by John Coltrane and Art Blakey and a 1984 quintet with Kenny Garrett.
Gene Krupa's band recorded it in New York on September 26, 1945, in an arrangement by Eddie Finckel. According to JazzStandards.com, the fast pace most players use today comes largely from this arrangement.
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Listen for
A big band races through the tune while Krupa's drums drive it and Charlie Ventura's tenor saxophone gets a showcase. Compare this pace with the waltz Rodgers wrote.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four slowly: for two bars, then and , one bar each. Sing or play the melody over them, then raise the tempo a little at a time.
Peggy Lee with Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra · 1952
Single, with You Go to My Head on the other side
Lee recorded it in New York on May 1, 1952, with Gordon Jenkins' orchestra, after an April 28 session had not produced a usable master. According to JazzStandards.com, the record reached number 3 on the charts that year.
latin · up tempo
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Listen for
Lee sings over a driving Latin-style beat, a long way from the waltz Rodgers wrote.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight with a Latin-style beat: for two bars, then , and , one bar each. Sing the melody over them.
The quartet first tried it on October 13, 1954, but Columbia rejected that take. The version on Jazz: Red, Hot and Cool was recorded in New York on August 8, 1955.
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Listen for
Paul Desmond's alto saxophone and Dave Brubeck's piano share the lead, with bass and drums underneath. The record runs just over five minutes, long enough for both to play on their own.
Try it on your instrument
Compare how the and the begin. The A section opens on for two , then and . The bridge opens in with , , Am7 and D7. Play both and hear the change of .
Ella Fitzgerald with Buddy Bregman and His Orchestra · 1956 · Vocal
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it in August 1956 for her Rodgers and Hart songbook, with Buddy Bregman arranging and conducting and Norman Granz producing. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
swing · medium tempo
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Listen for
Fitzgerald sings at a moderate pace with a full orchestra behind her, a calmer version than the band records before it. Listen for how the orchestra stays behind her voice.
Try it on your instrument
Sing the first eight slowly and read the as one falling line: , E♭maj7, , , , , , .
Max Roach recorded it with Kenny Dorham and Sonny Rollins at Capitol Tower in Los Angeles on March 21, 1957, for his album Jazz in 3/4 Time. Played as a waltz at a medium pace, it returns to the three-beat feel Rodgers wrote.
3/4 · medium tempo
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Listen for
Count the beats in groups of three, as in a waltz. Sonny Rollins's tenor saxophone and Kenny Dorham's trumpet each get room to solo while Roach's drums keep the pulse.
Try it on your instrument
Count the tune in threes instead of fours. Play for two , then and , tapping three beats to the bar.
Coltrane recorded it with trumpeter Donald Byrd at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, on January 10, 1958. Prestige did not release it until The Last Trane in 1965.
very fast tempo
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Listen for
The holds a very fast pace while Coltrane's tenor saxophone and Donald Byrd's trumpet each take long solos. At almost eight minutes, it is the longest version on the path so far.
Try it on your instrument
Play the slowly, one to a : , , , twice, then , , , . Soloing over it at this speed is a much bigger step; the smaller version is to play just the chords with a metronome and speed up a little each time.
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (with Roy Haynes, Philly Joe Jones and Ray Barretto) · 1958 · Hard bop
Drums Around the Corner
Blakey recorded it at Manhattan Towers in New York on November 2, 1958, with Roy Haynes and Philly Joe Jones on drums beside him and Ray Barretto on conga. Blue Note did not release it until 1999, on Drums Around the Corner.
up tempo
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Listen for
Lee Morgan's trumpet and Bobby Timmons's piano solo first, then the drum section takes over. Three drummers and a conga player share the rhythm.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight at a fast tempo with a metronome: , E♭maj7, , , , , , . If that is too quick, start at half the speed and add a little each time.
Kenny Garrett recorded it with trumpeter Woody Shaw at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on December 28, 1984, for the album Introducing Kenny Garrett. Criss Cross issued it in 1985.
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Listen for
An alto saxophone and a trumpet share the , with piano, bass and drums behind them. The take runs more than eight minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last four of the on their own, , , , , then land on . Repeat them until you hear how they lead the tune home.
Jeanette MacDonald sings it in the 1932 film Love Me Tonight. According to JazzStandards.com, Paul Whiteman's 1933 record with singer Jack Fulton charted for seven weeks.
1940s
Gene Krupa's band records a fast version in 1945. Louis Armstrong's All Stars play it live in Boston in 1947 as a feature for Jack Teagarden, and Les Paul builds his guitar version the same year.
1950s
Peggy Lee's Latin-style record comes out in 1952, and Ella Fitzgerald sings it for her Rodgers and Hart songbook in 1956. Max Roach plays it as a waltz in 1957, and John Coltrane takes it very fast in 1958.
1960s
Anita O'Day sings it with Billy May's arrangements on a Rodgers and Hart album recorded in June 1960.
1970s
Tony Bennett sings it on an album of Rodgers and Hart songs, first issued on the Improv label.
1980s
Kenny Garrett records it in December 1984 with trumpeter Woody Shaw, for his album Introducing Kenny Garrett.
More great versions
5 more, from 1947 to 1973. Tap a cover to play it here.
1940sLes Paul1947
Louis Armstrong1947 · Swing
1950sMilt Jackson Quintet1956 · Bebop
1960sAnita O'Day with Billy May1960
1970sTony Bennett1973
Les Paul
1947
78 rpm single
Les Paul worked it out in 1947 in his garage studio, playing every guitar part himself, some recorded at half speed. According to Guitar Player, Capitol issued it in February 1948 as the first multitrack popular music recording.
“Lover (Live 1947 Symphony Hall)”, Satchmo at Symphony Hall
Armstrong's All Stars played it live at Boston's Symphony Hall in 1947 as a feature for trombonist and singer Jack Teagarden. According to JazzStandards.com, Sid Catlett's drumming drives the performance.
Jackson recorded it at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, on January 23, 1956, with tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson. Savoy issued it on MG-12070.
O'Day recorded it with Billy May's arrangements on the album Anita O'Day and Billy May Swing Rodgers and Hart, made over June 6 to 8, 1960, and produced by Norman Granz.
Tony Bennett's Lover comes from his album of Rodgers and Hart songs, first issued on Improv and reissued by Concord as Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook.
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
64 barsA · A · B · A form
E♭ major → G major → B♭ major → E♭ majorkey centers
A16 bars
A16 bars
B16 bars · bridge
A16 bars
E♭
G
B♭
E♭
The iReal Pro chart gives each a , so the tune runs 64 bars in four 16-bar sections. Each A opens with for two bars, then steps downward with , , , and , one bar each. The first A closes with Gm7 C7 and Fm7 B♭7. The second closes with E♭maj7, , E♭maj7 and Am7 D7, which leads into the . The bridge sits in for Am7 D7, played twice, then moves to Gm7 in and comes home with Gm7 C7 and Fm7 B♭7. The last A repeats the first. JazzStandards.com gives as the original , with the middle section passing through false key changes to and G major, which are G major and B♭ major in E♭. These chords follow the iReal Pro chart.