Matty Malneck and Frank Signorelli, music · Mitchell Parish, lyrics · Began as the instrumental Park Avenue Fantasy, recorded by Paul Whiteman, 1934
Stairway to the Stars
Stairway to the Stars began as an instrumental, Park Avenue Fantasy, by Matty Malneck and Frank Signorelli. Mitchell Parish added words in 1939, and Glenn Miller's record with Ray Eberle reached number one. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Bud Powell, Bill Evans and Dexter Gordon all recorded it.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Glenn Miller's 1939 hit and Ella Fitzgerald's version from the same year. It then follows the song through Bud Powell's trio, Sarah Vaughan live, vibes and guitar with Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery, Bill Evans and Dexter Gordon, and ends with Miki Yamanaka's 2020 recording.
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded this on May 9, 1939, with Ray Eberle singing and an arrangement by Bill Finegan. According to JazzStandards.com, the Bluebird record reached number one and stayed on the charts for 13 weeks.
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Ray Eberle sings the words with the full orchestra behind him. The whole record lasts only 2:52.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four as : and , then and , then , then . A smaller version uses C, , F and B♭ only. Hum the tune over them.
Ella Fitzgerald recorded this for Decca in New York on June 29, 1939. Discogs credits it to Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra, while Apple Music credits Chick Webb and His Orchestra.
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Fitzgerald sings the words with her orchestra, recorded about seven weeks after the Miller record. The track lasts 3:17, about 25 seconds longer than Miller's.
Try it on your instrument
Play 5 to 8 of the first : and , and , then and , then Dm7 and G7. A smaller version uses , D, , G, E, A, Dm, G.
Bud Powell recorded this with George Duvivier on bass and Art Taylor on drums at Fine Sound in New York on April 27, 1955. Norgran issued it in 1956 on Piano Interpretations by Bud Powell.
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Powell's piano carries the tune, with bass and drums behind him. The track runs just over five minutes, so there is room for the tune and then more.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first note of each of the as a slow low line: E, E, E, E, D, D, D, G. The first four bars sit on and the next four on .
Sarah Vaughan sang this live at Mister Kelly's in Chicago, on a run of shows recorded August 6 to 8, 1957. EmArcy released At Mister Kelly's in February 1958.
slow tempo
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Vaughan sings at a very slow pace with her trio of piano, bass and drums behind her. The track runs 5:06, almost two minutes longer than Ella Fitzgerald's.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first two at a slow ballad pace, holding each for two beats: , , , . Take them slower than you think you need.
Milt Jackson on vibes and Wes Montgomery on guitar recorded this with Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones and Philly Joe Jones at Plaza Sound Studios in New York on December 18 and 19, 1961. Riverside issued it on Bags Meets Wes! in 1962.
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Milt Jackson's vibes and Wes Montgomery's guitar are the two lead voices, with Wynton Kelly's piano, bass and drums behind them. At 3:40 it is one of the shorter versions on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first twice: once melody alone, then once as alone ( , , , , , ). Then try the melody with a chord under it.
Bill Evans recorded this with Chuck Israels on bass and Paul Motian on drums at Sound Makers in New York on June 2, 1962. Moon Beams was his first trio album after bassist Scott LaFaro died, and Riverside released it that December.
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Evans plays with bass and drums behind him, on an album made up of ballads. This version lasts about 4:52.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole with only the bass note in your left hand and a plain three-note in your right, one chord per , using the first chord of each bar of the chart.
Dexter Gordon recorded this in Paris on May 23, 1963, with Bud Powell on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. Blue Note released it that year on Our Man in Paris.
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Gordon's tenor saxophone leads, with Bud Powell at the piano. At nearly seven minutes it is the longest version on the path so far.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody twice through, the second time in a different octave. Soloing over the takes more practice, so this is the smaller version.
Pianist Miki Yamanaka named her 2021 album after this song. Discogs lists the album as recorded at home on August 12, 2020, with Orlando le Fleming on bass and Mark Turner on tenor saxophone.
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Listen for
A piano, bass and tenor saxophone group plays for 8:24, almost three times as long as Glenn Miller's 2:52 record. Count how many times you hear the main tune come back.
Try it on your instrument
Soloing over the takes more than melody and chords. A smaller version: play the tune, then play it again with a different rhythm for each , keeping the chords from step 1 under it.
Malneck and Signorelli's Park Avenue Fantasy is recorded by Paul Whiteman in 1934. After Mitchell Parish adds words in 1939, Glenn Miller's record with Ray Eberle reaches number one and Ella Fitzgerald records it for Decca.
1940s
Oscar Peterson's trio records it in Montreal in December 1947. The alternate take is issued in 2002 on the Bluebird collection This Is Oscar Peterson.
1950s
Bud Powell's trio records it in New York in April 1955, and Serge Chaloff's quartet in Los Angeles in 1956. Sarah Vaughan sings it live at Mister Kelly's in Chicago in August 1957.
1960s
Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery play it in New York in 1961, Bill Evans records it with his trio in 1962, and Dexter Gordon plays it in Paris in 1963 with Bud Powell at the piano.
2020s
Pianist Miki Yamanaka, with bassist Orlando le Fleming and saxophonist Mark Turner, records the song at home on August 12, 2020, according to Discogs. It becomes the title track of her 2021 album.
More great versions
6 more, from 1947 to 1965. Tap a cover to play it here.
“Stairway to the Stars (alternate take)”, This Is Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson's trio recorded this in Montreal on December 15, 1947, with Austin Roberts on bass and Clarence Jones on drums. This is the alternate take, issued in 2002 on the Bluebird collection This Is Oscar Peterson.
Serge Chaloff plays baritone saxophone with Sonny Clark, Leroy Vinnegar and Philly Joe Jones on Blue Serge, recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles on March 14 and 16, 1956. According to JazzStandards.com, it was Chaloff's last session as a leader.
Bill Evans on piano and Jim Hall on guitar recorded this as a duo at Sound Makers in New York on April 24, 1962. It was released that year on Undercurrent.
Johnny Hartman sang this at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs on October 17, 1963, with Illinois Jacquet, Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones, Milt Hinton and Elvin Jones. Impulse! released it in 1964 on his second album for the label.
Chet Baker plays flugelhorn in a quintet with George Coleman on tenor saxophone. They recorded in New York on August 23, 25 and 29, 1965, and Prestige released the album in 1967.
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
C majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
C major → E minor → D minor → C majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
C
E m
D m
C
The tune is 32 in four 8-bar sections: A, A, B, A. The stay in . The first six bars are , , , , , . Bars 7 and 8 change each time: and Dm7 G7 the first time, C6 and the second time to lead into the , and C6 Am7 and D7 G7 the last time to close the tune. The B section, bars 17 to 24, moves away from C. Four bars of ( , Em7 , Em7 B7♭9, ) are followed by four bars of (Dm7 , Dm7 , Dm7 D7, G7). These follow the iReal Pro chart; other lead sheets may spell some differently.