Vernon Duke, music · John La Touche and Ted Fetter, lyrics · Introduced by Ethel Waters in Cabin in the Sky, 1940
Taking a Chance on Love
Taking a Chance on Love is a 1940 song by Vernon Duke, with lyrics by La Touche and Fetter. Ethel Waters introduced it in Cabin in the Sky, and Benny Goodman's 1940 record reached number one in 1943. Lester Young, Tal Farlow, Kenny Drew and Zoot Sims all recorded it in 1956.
Listen in this order
The path starts with Benny Goodman's 1940 record with Helen Forrest, then moves to Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown's duo in 1950 and Dizzy Gillespie's Paris quintet in 1952. It continues through four records from 1956, by Lester Young, Tal Farlow, Kenny Drew and Zoot Sims, and ends with Anita O'Day's vocal from 1957.
Anita O'Day with the Oscar Peterson Quartet1957 · Vocal
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Hear the record that made it a hit
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (vocal: Helen Forrest) · 1940
Columbia 78 rpm single
Benny Goodman's orchestra recorded it with Helen Forrest singing on November 29, 1940, about five weeks after the show opened. The record was reissued in 1943, when the film came out, and reached number one.
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Helen Forrest sings the song with the Goodman band behind her. The record runs 3:08, so the tune is laid out plainly before any later player changes it.
Try it on your instrument
Learn the , 1 to 8: , , Gm7 , Fmaj7 , Dm7, , Gm7 C7, Gm7 C7. Smaller version: play only the first four bars, Fmaj7 Dm7, Gm7 D7, Gm7 C7, Fmaj7 A7.
Pianist Oscar Peterson and bassist Ray Brown recorded it as a duo in New York in August 1950. It came out on Clef MGC-697 and was later collected on Debut: The Clef/Mercury Duo Recordings 1949-1951.
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Only two players are on this record, Oscar Peterson on piano and Ray Brown on bass. With so few players, you can follow each one clearly.
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Learn the , 17 to 24: , , Cm7 F7, , , , B♭m7 , . Smaller version: play only Cm7 F7 and B♭6 G7, the first two bars.
Dizzy Gillespie recorded it in Paris on April 5, 1952, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. The same day he also recorded a separate set with a larger group, but this song is played by his five-piece group.
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Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet leads, with piano, guitar, bass and drums behind him. The issued take runs 2:43.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole tune once through, 32 in the shape A, A, B, A, and keep the beat steady the whole way. Smaller version: play one and stop.
Lester Young and Teddy Wilson Quartet · 1956 · Swing
Pres and Teddy
Lester Young and Teddy Wilson recorded the album in one day in January 1956 for producer Norman Granz, the day after they made The Jazz Giants '56. Verve did not release it until April 1959.
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Lester Young plays tenor saxophone and Teddy Wilson plays piano, with bass and drums behind them. At 5:11 this runs longer than any record on the path so far.
Try it on your instrument
Play the of the as slow arpeggios, one note per beat: , , Gm7 , Fmaj7 . Smaller version: play only the lowest and highest note of each chord.
Guitarist Tal Farlow recorded it in New York on May 31, 1956, with pianist Eddie Costa and bassist Vinnie Burke. Verve issued it on The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow in 1957.
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Tal Farlow's guitar carries the tune that singers and horn players carried on the earlier records, with piano and bass beside it. The record runs 4:47.
Try it on your instrument
Play the turn back to the top: , then Gm7 C7, four times in a row. Smaller version: play only Gm7 C7 four times.
Pianist Kenny Drew recorded it in New York in September 1956 with bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Riverside issued it on his trio album.
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Kenny Drew plays piano with Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums, for 4:41. The drums are the new voice here, since the 1950 duo had only piano and bass.
Try it on your instrument
Play the with a bass note on beat 1 of each in your left hand and the melody in your right. Smaller version: play only the first 's bass note in each bar, F, G, G, F, D, G, G, A, for the eight bars of the first A.
Zoot Sims led a quintet with trumpeter Nick Travis at Reeves Sound Studios in New York on December 13 and 18, 1956. Riverside released it on the album Zoot! in 1957.
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Zoot Sims plays tenor saxophone and Nick Travis plays trumpet, with piano, bass and drums behind them. At 6:01 this is the longest record on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last two of the , and , five times in a row, then go straight into the . Smaller version: play C7 followed by .
Anita O'Day with the Oscar Peterson Quartet · 1957 · Vocal, Swing
Anita Sings the Most
Anita O'Day recorded it in January 1957 with the Oscar Peterson Quartet for Verve and producer Norman Granz. Verve released the album, Anita Sings the Most, in April 1958.
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Anita O'Day sings with the Oscar Peterson Quartet, and the whole record takes 2:24. Compare that with Helen Forrest's 3:08 at the start of the path.
Try it on your instrument
Sing or hum the melody through all 32 while you play the from the iReal Pro chart on your own instrument. Smaller version: sing and play only the first .
Ethel Waters introduces the song in Cabin in the Sky, which opens on Broadway in October 1940. Benny Goodman's orchestra records it with Helen Forrest that November, and the record reaches number one when the film comes out in 1943.
1950s
Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown play it as a piano and bass duo in 1950. In January 1956 Lester Young records it with Teddy Wilson's quartet, and Kenny Drew's trio plays it that September.
2000s
Jane Monheit records the song in 2004 and gives her album its name. Nancy Wilson sings it on Turned to Blue in 2006.
More great versions
4 more, from 1940 to 2004. Tap a cover to play it here.
1940sElla Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra1940
1950sThe Dave Brubeck Quartet1955
Tony Bennett and Count Basie1959 · Big band
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000sJane Monheit2004 · Soul jazz
Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra
1940
The Complete Decca Singles, Vol. 2: 1939-1941
Ella Fitzgerald sang it with her orchestra for Decca in 1940 or 1941. It is on The Complete Decca Singles, Vol. 2: 1939-1941.
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 major → B♭ major → A♭ major → F majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
F
B♭
A♭
F
The tune is 32 in four 8-bar sections: A, A, B, A. The , bars 1 to 8, runs , , Gm7 , Fmaj7 , Dm7, , Gm7 C7, and the first time it closes with Gm7 C7, which leads back to the top. The second A, bars 9 to 16, closes with Gm7 C7 and instead. The , bars 17 to 24, moves to B♭ with , G7, Cm7 F7 and , then and , and finishes with B♭m7 and C7, which lead back to F. The last A, bars 25 to 32, repeats the second A. These follow iReal Pro's chart; other lead sheets may spell some differently.