Ray Noble, music and lyrics · Introduced on record by Al Bowlly in London, 1934
The Very Thought of You
The Very Thought of You is a love song that Ray Noble wrote in 1934. The tune is simple, which leaves players room to change the under it. You can hear it from Al Bowlly in 1934 to Roy Hargrove in 1999.
Listen in this order
Eight versions, from Al Bowlly with Ray Noble's orchestra in 1934 to Roy Hargrove with a string orchestra in 1999. On the way you hear Billie Holiday with Lester Young on clarinet, a piano trio, a clarinet and trumpet quintet, a voice with guitar and bass, a tenor saxophone and a solo pianist. Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Art Farmer, Joe Newman, Stanley Turrentine with Shirley Scott and a second piano trio sit with the extras.
1930sRay Noble and His Orchestra, vocal Al Bowlly1934
Billie Holiday1938
1940s
1950sThe Red Garland Trio1957 · Post-bop
1960sPee Wee Russell Quintet with Buck Clayton1960 · Swing
Sarah Vaughan with Barney Kessel and Joe Comfort1962 · Vocal
1970s
1980sSonny Rollins1980 · Contemporary jazz
1990sHank Jones1991 · Bebop
Roy Hargrove with strings1999 · Contemporary jazz
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Hear the original hit
Ray Noble and His Orchestra, vocal Al Bowlly · 1934
Ray Noble wrote the song and recorded it in London with singer Al Bowlly on April 21, 1934. Victor issued the record in the United States, where it reached number one for five weeks.
A singer leads
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Listen for
Follow Al Bowlly's voice through the whole song once, with Ray Noble's orchestra behind him. At 3:34 it is short enough to replay straight away.
Try it on your instrument
Play 1 to 4 as written, two per bar: , , D♭maj7, Cm7 E♭7sus. Hum the melody over them. Smaller version: play only the lowest note of each chord (A♭ D♭, C E♭, A♭ D♭, C E♭).
Billie Holiday recorded it in New York on September 15, 1938, with a band that included Buck Clayton on trumpet and Lester Young on clarinet. Vocalion issued it on a single with I Can't Get Started.
A singer leads
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Listen for
Billie Holiday sings the tune with a small band behind her. Lester Young plays clarinet here and Buck Clayton plays trumpet, so listen for those two alongside her voice.
Try it on your instrument
Play 5 to 8 as written: , , then for two bars. Hum the melody over them. Smaller version: play only the lowest note of each (A♭ B♭, B C, B♭, B♭).
Red Garland recorded it with Paul Chambers and Arthur Taylor at the Van Gelder studio in Hackensack on March 22, 1957. Prestige released it the same year on the album Red Garland's Piano.
Piano trio
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Listen for
Three players: Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Arthur Taylor on drums. Follow the piano through the tune first, then listen again for the bass and drums underneath it.
Try it on your instrument
Play the ( 9 to 16) slowly: , , , , , , B♭m7, E♭7. These changes take practice, so a smaller version is to play only the first of each bar (B♭m7, Gm7♭5, Fm7, Dm7♭5, Cm7, B♭7sus, B♭m7, E♭7).
Pee Wee Russell Quintet with Buck Clayton · 1960 · Swing
Swingin' with Pee Wee
Pee Wee Russell led a quintet with trumpeter Buck Clayton at the Van Gelder studio in Englewood Cliffs on March 29, 1960. Swingville issued it that year on Swingin' with Pee Wee.
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Listen for
Pee Wee Russell plays clarinet and Buck Clayton plays trumpet, with piano, bass and drums behind them. Follow the clarinet through the tune, then listen for the trumpet.
Try it on your instrument
Play the ( 25 to 32): , , , , B♭m7 A°7, B♭m7 E♭7, , B♭m7 E♭7. It starts like the and ends differently. Smaller version: play only bars 28 to 32.
Sarah Vaughan with Barney Kessel and Joe Comfort · 1962 · Vocal
Sarah + 2
Sarah Vaughan recorded the album Sarah + 2 for Roulette on August 7 and 8, 1962, with Barney Kessel on guitar and Joe Comfort on double bass. The Very Thought of You is on it.
A singer leads
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Listen for
Sarah Vaughan sings with just a guitar and a double bass behind her. With so few players you can follow each one: her voice, Barney Kessel's guitar and Joe Comfort's bass.
Try it on your instrument
Try it as a duet, the way the record is built: one player takes the lowest note of each through 1 to 8 (A♭ D♭, C E♭, A♭ D♭, C E♭, A♭ B♭, B C, B♭, B♭) while the other plays the chords and hums the melody.
Sonny Rollins recorded it in May 1980 at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley for the Milestone album Love at First Sight. George Duke plays piano and Stanley Clarke plays bass on this track.
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Listen for
Sonny Rollins plays tenor saxophone, with George Duke on piano and Stanley Clarke on bass. Follow the saxophone through the tune once, then listen again for the piano and bass.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody of 1 to 8 slowly, once with the from bars 1 to 8 and once with only the lowest note of each chord under it. Smaller version: do the same for bars 1 to 4 only.
Hank Jones played it alone at Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkeley on November 11, 1991. It came out in 1992 on the album Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Sixteen.
Solo piano · Live recording
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Listen for
Hank Jones plays alone, so one piano carries the melody and the together. Follow the tune first, then listen again for the lower notes under it.
Try it on your instrument
Play the song alone: the melody on top and one per underneath, bars 1 to 16, playing the first chord when a bar has two. Smaller version: bars 1 to 8 only.
Roy Hargrove recorded it in October 1999 at Red Barn Studio in Big Sur, California, with his quintet and a string orchestra. Verve released it on the album Moment to Moment.
With strings
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Listen for
Roy Hargrove plays a horn with his quintet and a string orchestra around him. Listen for the strings behind the horn, then for the piano, bass and drums underneath.
Try it on your instrument
Play the ending, 29 to 32: , B♭m7 , , B♭m7 E♭7. The last bar leads back to the top for another . Smaller version: play A♭6, then B♭m7 E♭7, a few times in a row.
Ray Noble writes the song in 1934 and records it in London with singer Al Bowlly. The record reaches number one in the United States, and Bing Crosby records it the same year.
1950s
Red Garland's piano trio plays it in 1957. In 1958 Nat King Cole sings it on a Gordon Jenkins album, and Art Farmer plays it with a quartet in New York.
1960s
Pee Wee Russell's clarinet and Buck Clayton's trumpet lead a quintet in 1960. Joe Newman's quartet and the Shirley Scott and Stanley Turrentine quartet both record it in 1961, and in 1962 Sarah Vaughan sings it with guitar and bass.
1980s
Sonny Rollins plays it on tenor saxophone in May 1980 for the Milestone album Love at First Sight, with George Duke on piano and Stanley Clarke on bass.
1990s
Hank Jones plays it alone at Maybeck Recital Hall in Berkeley in 1991. In 1999 Roy Hargrove records it with a string orchestra in Big Sur, California.
More great versions
4 more, from 1934 to 1961. Tap a cover to play it here.
1930sBing Crosby with Georgie Stoll1934 · Vocal
1940s
1950sArt Farmer Quartet1958 · Hard bop
Nat King Cole with Gordon Jenkins1958 · Easy listening
1960sShirley Scott - Stanley Turrentine Quartet1961
Bing Crosby also recorded the song in 1934, the year Ray Noble's record came out. According to JazzStandards.com, his version reached number 11 in the charts.
Art Farmer recorded it in New York in 1958 with Hank Jones on piano, Addison Farmer on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. It is on the Contemporary album Portrait of Art Farmer.
Stanley Turrentine played tenor saxophone and Shirley Scott played Hammond organ at the Van Gelder studio in Englewood Cliffs on November 17, 1961. Prestige issued the track in 1962 on Hip Twist.
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
A♭ majorusual key
32 barsA · B · A · C form
A♭key centers
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
C8 bars
A♭
The tune runs 32 in four eight-bar sections: A, B, A, C. Each A opens with two a bar: , , D♭maj7, Cm7 E♭7sus. Bars 5 to 8 go A♭6 , , then for two bars. B and C open alike: B♭m7 , , . B then goes , Cm7 , B♭7, B♭m7, E♭7, which leads back to the next A. C goes Dm7♭5 , B♭m7 A°7, B♭m7 E♭7, A♭6, B♭m7 E♭7, which turns back to the top. The chords follow the iReal Pro chart.