Richard Rodgers, music · Lorenz Hart, lyrics · Introduced by Mitzi Green in Babes in Arms, 1937
The Lady Is a Tramp
The Lady Is a Tramp is a show tune from Rodgers and Hart's 1937 musical Babes in Arms. Its lyric pokes fun at New York high society, and it became a signature song for Frank Sinatra. You can hear it from Tommy Dorsey, Gerry Mulligan, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga with Tony Bennett.
Listen in this order
The path opens with Tommy Dorsey's 1937 swing record, then moves to Gerry Mulligan's quartet and Oscar Peterson's trio in 1953 and Milt Jackson's quintet in 1956. Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra sing it later in 1956, Jackie McLean and John Jenkins play it on two alto saxophones in 1957, and Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga close the path in 2011.
1930sTommy Dorsey and His Clambake Seven1937 · Swing
1940s
1950sGerry Mulligan Quartet1953
Oscar Peterson Trio1953
Milt Jackson Quintet1956 · Bebop
Ella Fitzgerald1956 · Vocal
Frank Sinatra1956 · Swing
Jackie McLean and John Jenkins1957 · Bebop
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010sTony Bennett and Lady Gaga2011 · Vocal
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Hear the song on a 1937 swing record
Tommy Dorsey and His Clambake Seven · 1937 · Swing
Tears in My Heart / The Lady Is a Tramp
Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven recorded it in New York on September 11, 1937, with Edythe Wright singing. Victor issued it on a 78 rpm record with Tears in My Heart on the other side.
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Edythe Wright sings the song with a small band behind her, and Tommy Dorsey's trombone is part of the band. The whole record is just under three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four of the , , , , , one per bar, then play them again for bars 5 to 8. Smaller version: play only the bass notes, C, E♭, D and G.
Hear a quartet of trumpet, baritone sax, bass and drums
Gerry Mulligan Quartet · 1953
The Lady Is a Tramp / Turnstile
Gerry Mulligan's quartet with Chet Baker recorded it at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles on January 3, 1953. Fantasy issued it as a single with Turnstile on the other side.
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Chet Baker's trumpet and Gerry Mulligan's baritone saxophone carry the song together, with Carson Smith's bass and Chico Hamilton's drums keeping time underneath. The band is small enough that you can pick out each of the four.
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Play the , 33 to 40: , , , , Dm7, G7, Em7 A7, Dm7 G7. Smaller version: play only the first of each bar.
Oscar Peterson recorded it in Los Angeles on December 7, 1953. Clef issued it in 1954 on Oscar Peterson Plays Richard Rodgers, produced by Norman Granz.
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Oscar Peterson's piano leads, with Barney Kessel's guitar and Ray Brown's bass filling out the trio. The trio is small enough that you can follow each line.
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Play the last eight , 41 to 48: , , , , , Dm7 , , C6. Smaller version: play the first of each bar.
Milt Jackson recorded it at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, on January 23, 1956. Savoy issued it on The Jazz Skyline.
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Milt Jackson's vibraphone and Lucky Thompson's tenor saxophone lead, with Hank Jones's piano, Wendell Marshall's bass and Kenny Clarke's drums behind them. At 7:22 it is the longest take on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play 9 to 12: , C7, , . Then try the notes C, E and G over the two C7 bars. Soloing over the whole takes more practice, so a smaller version is to play only the four .
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald recorded it in August 1956 for her Rodgers and Hart Song Book, produced by Norman Granz for Verve. The orchestra on the record is Buddy Bregman's.
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Ella Fitzgerald carries the song with her voice, and Buddy Bregman's orchestra plays behind her. Listen again after the Frank Sinatra step, which was recorded three months later.
Try it on your instrument
Sing or hum the song while you play the first eight : , , , , Cmaj7, E♭7, Dm7, G7, one per bar.
Frank Sinatra recorded it at Capitol Studio A in Hollywood in November 1956 for A Swingin' Affair!. It was dropped from the original album, appeared on the Pal Joey soundtrack, and came back on the CD edition.
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Sinatra's voice stays out front the whole way, and the song runs 3:14. Play it next to the Ella Fitzgerald track and hear how two singers shape the same song.
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Play the 's last four , 13 to 16: , , then A7 and Dm7 G7 the first time through. Smaller version: play C6, Dm7 and G7 only.
Jackie McLean and John Jenkins recorded it at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack on May 3, 1957. Prestige issued it on Alto Madness.
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Listen for
Jackie McLean and John Jenkins both play alto saxophone, so listen for two horns of the same kind and try to tell them apart. Wade Legge's piano, Doug Watkins's bass and Arthur Taylor's drums play behind them for 6:54.
Try it on your instrument
Play 1 to 8 as a loop: , , , , twice through. Improvising over them takes practice, so a smaller version is to play the loop and hum a line of your own.
Rodgers and Hart wrote the song for the 1937 musical Babes in Arms, where Mitzi Green introduced it. Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven, with Edythe Wright singing, recorded it in September 1937.
1940s
Lena Horne recorded it with the MGM Studio Orchestra in March 1948, and it appeared in the film Words and Music, a fictionalized story of Rodgers and Hart.
1950s
Gerry Mulligan's quartet records it in January 1953, and Ella Fitzgerald sings it on her 1956 Rodgers and Hart album. Frank Sinatra records it that November and sings it in the 1957 film Pal Joey.
1960s
Sammy Davis Jr. sings it on his 1960 album I Gotta Right to Swing, and Peggy Lee follows on Mink Jazz in 1963.
2010s
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga record it as a duet in July 2011, and Columbia releases it as a single from their album Duets II.
More great versions
4 more, from 1952 to 1963. Tap a cover to play it here.
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
48 barsA · A · B · C form
C majorkey centers
A16 bars
A16 bars
B8 bars
C8 bars
C
The tune is 48 : A (16 bars), A (16), B (8) and C (8). In iReal Pro's chart the opens with , , and in bars 1 to 4, and plays them again in bars 5 to 8. Bars 9 to 12 play , C7, and , and bars 13 to 16 play , Dm7 G7, then A7 and Dm7 G7 the first time through. The second A ends on C6 and C6 instead. The , bars 33 to 40, plays Dm7, G7, Em7, A7, Dm7, G7, Em7 A7 and Dm7 G7. The , bars 41 to 48, plays Cmaj7, E♭7, Dm7, , , Dm7 G7, C6 and C6. The whole stays in in this chart, and other lead sheets may spell some differently.