Karl Suessdorf, music · John Blackburn, lyrics · Introduced by Margaret Whiting, 1944
Moonlight in Vermont
A song about Vermont in autumn, first recorded by Margaret Whiting in 1944. Its words do not rhyme, and each follows the haiku form. It is often played as the first dance at Vermont wedding receptions.
Listen in this order
Eight versions in teaching order, from Margaret Whiting's 1944 record to a 1986 duet for voice and guitar. In between come a guitar and tenor saxophone quintet, a quartet with no piano, an organ trio, Billie Holiday, a live piano trio and Willie Nelson. Each step gives one thing to listen for and one thing to try.
Margaret Whiting with Billy Butterfield and His Orchestra · 1944
Moonlight in Vermont / There Goes That Song Again
Margaret Whiting sang it with Billy Butterfield's orchestra at WMCA Studios in New York on September 20, 1944, and Capitol put it out as a 78 that year. According to JazzStandards.com, it sold two million copies in its first two years.
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Listen for
A singer with an orchestra, and Billy Butterfield's trumpet, which plays both open and muted solos around her voice. The record lasts 3:12.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first A, six : and , then and , then E♭6 and Cm7, then , then Fm7 and , then E♭6. Smaller version: play E♭6, Fm7 and B♭7 for one bar each, then E♭6 again.
Johnny Smith's quintet recorded it in New York on March 11, 1952, with Stan Getz on tenor saxophone. Roost put it on the Johnny Smith Quintet LP and later issued a Johnny Smith and Stan Getz album under the title Moonlight in Vermont.
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Listen for
Johnny Smith's guitar and Stan Getz's tenor saxophone lead a five-piece group. The take lasts 3:16.
Try it on your instrument
Play the , seven : and , and , Am7 and D7, Gmaj7, then and , and , B♭m7 and E♭7. Smaller version: play only Am7, D7 and Gmaj7 for one bar each, then B♭m7, E♭7 and A♭maj7.
The Gerry Mulligan Quartet recorded it at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles on January 3, 1953, with Chet Baker on trumpet. Fantasy issued it on a single with Limelight on the other side.
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Listen for
The group is two horns, bass and drums, with no instrument. Listen to how the trumpet and baritone saxophone share the sound. The track lasts 4:09.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last nine : and , then the six-bar A, ending with , and together in one bar, then . Smaller version: play only the last two bars, F7, B♭7 and E7 in one bar, then E♭6.
Jimmy Smith recorded it with guitarist Thornel Schwartz and drummer Donald Bailey at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, on March 27, 1956. Blue Note issued it on the second volume of A New Sound - A New Star.
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Listen for
An organ trio: Jimmy Smith's organ with a guitar and drums. At 4:34, this is longer than the records before it.
Try it on your instrument
Play the roots of the first A with your left hand, one note per : E♭, C, F, B♭, E♭, C, D♭, F, B♭, E♭. Smaller version: play only E♭, F and B♭.
Billie Holiday recorded it on January 3, 1957 in Los Angeles with Harry Edison, Ben Webster and a . Verve put it on her album Body and Soul.
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Listen for
Her voice with a small group that includes Ben Webster's tenor saxophone and Harry Edison's trumpet. The record lasts 3:51.
Try it on your instrument
Play the end of the and the way back to the last A: and , and , B♭m7 and E♭7, then A♭maj7 and into . Smaller version: play B♭m7, E♭7 and A♭maj7 for one each, then B♭7♭9 and E♭6.
Ahmad Jamal's trio recorded it live at the Pershing Lounge in Chicago on January 16, 1958. Argo picked it as one of eight tracks from that night for the album At the Pershing: But Not for Me.
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Listen for
A live trio of piano, bass and drums plays the whole song in 3:10. Compare that with the 4:34 of the Jimmy Smith track before it.
Try it on your instrument
Play one full : two six-bar , the seven-bar , then the nine-bar last A. Smaller version: count the bars aloud while the recording plays and clap on the first beat of each.
Willie Nelson asked his Malibu neighbor Booker T. Jones to arrange this song, liked the result and asked him to produce the whole album, Stardust. The album was recorded in December 1977 and released in April 1978.
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Listen for
Willie Nelson sings it over a sparse band, and the album has no backup singers and no string section. The track lasts 3:26.
Try it on your instrument
Hum the melody while you play the of the first A at a slow pace: and , then and , then E♭6 and Cm7, then , then Fm7 and , then E♭6. Smaller version: play only E♭6, Fm7 and B♭7 and hum along.
Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass · 1986 · Swing, Bebop
Easy Living
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it with guitarist Joe Pass on February 25 and 28, 1986, for the album Easy Living. Norman Granz produced it for his Pablo label.
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Listen for
Only two musicians: Ella Fitzgerald's voice and Joe Pass's guitar. The track lasts 4:20.
Try it on your instrument
Accompany yourself: play the of the first A while you sing or hum the melody. If you read charts, add the lead-in before the last A, and . Smaller version: play only , and under the humming.
Karl Suessdorf and John Blackburn write it in 1944, and Margaret Whiting records it that September with Billy Butterfield's orchestra. According to JazzStandards.com, it sold two million copies in its first two years.
1950s
Johnny Smith's quintet, with Stan Getz on tenor saxophone, records it in 1952, and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet follows in 1953. Billie Holiday sings it with a small group in 1957.
1970s
Willie Nelson records it in December 1977 for his album Stardust, in an arrangement by Booker T. Jones. The album comes out in April 1978.
1980s
Ella Fitzgerald records it in February 1986 as a duet with guitarist Joe Pass for the album Easy Living, produced by Norman Granz for Pablo.
More great versions
4 more, from 1951 to 1958. Tap a cover to play it here.
Wynton Kelly recorded it as a trio with Franklin Skeete on bass and Lee Abrams on conga drum at WOR Studios in New York on August 1, 1951. Blue Note issued it in 1953 on New Faces - New Sounds.
Frank Sinatra sang it with Billy May conducting for Come Fly With Me, recorded in October 1957 and released on Capitol in January 1958. He also sang it regularly in concert, according to Wikipedia.
Dorothy Ashby recorded it on harp with flutist Frank Wess at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, on March 21, 1958. Prestige issued it on Hip Harp.
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
28 barsA · A · B · A form
E♭ major → G major → A♭ major → E♭ majorkey centers
A6 bars
A6 bars
B7 bars · bridge
A9 bars
E♭
G
A♭
E♭
The is 28 in this iReal Pro chart: two six-bar , a seven-bar (B) and a nine-bar last A. Each A runs and , and , E♭6 and Cm7, , Fm7 and , then E♭6. The bridge moves up to for four bars ( and , and , Am7 and D7, Gmaj7), then drops to for three ( and , and Fm7, B♭m7 and E♭7). The last A starts with a lead-in bar of A♭maj7 and , which some players count as the bridge's eighth bar, then repeats the A and ends with a bar of , B♭7 and before the final E♭6.