Richard Rodgers, music · Lorenz Hart, lyrics · Introduced by Eddie Albert and Marcy Westcott in The Boys from Syracuse, 1938
This Can't Be Love
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote this song for the 1938 musical The Boys from Syracuse. Its words joke that the singer feels far too healthy to be in love, and the tune swings easily. Benny Goodman's and Horace Heidt's orchestras made it a hit, and singers and jazz trios have played it since.
Listen in this order
Eight versions in teaching order: Benny Goodman's 1938 hit with Martha Tilton, Ella Fitzgerald with a studio orchestra, Oscar Peterson's piano trio, a Lionel Hampton vibraphone quartet, a live trio and a studio trio, then two saxophone-led records. The versions grow longer as the path goes on. Each step gives one thing to listen for and one thing to try.
Ben Webster with the Oscar Peterson Trio1959 · Bebop
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Hear the song as a 1938 dance-band hit
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (vocal Martha Tilton) · 1938
Victor 26099
Benny Goodman's orchestra recorded the song for Victor on October 13, 1938, and Victor released it that November as record number 26099. Martha Tilton sings with the band on the version that was a hit in late 1938 and early 1939.
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Listen for
Martha Tilton sings with Goodman's band, and the whole record lasts 2:46, short enough for one side of a ten-inch disc. Compare that length with the eight- and ten-minute versions at the end of the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first in F, one per after the first four bars: and Fmaj7, and B♭7, then Fmaj7, , , . Smaller version: play only Fmaj7 and B♭7, two bars each.
Ella Fitzgerald with Buddy Bregman and His Orchestra · 1956 · Vocal
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald recorded the song in August 1956 for her Rodgers and Hart songbook, with Buddy Bregman arranging and conducting the orchestra. Verve released the album the same year as a two-LP set.
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Listen for
Ella Fitzgerald sings with Buddy Bregman's orchestra, and the track lasts 2:58. Compare this singer-and-orchestra sound with the small groups that follow.
Try it on your instrument
Play the one per : , , , Dm7, , , , . Smaller version: play only Em7, A7 and Dm7.
Oscar Peterson recorded it with guitarist Herb Ellis and bassist Ray Brown in Los Angeles on December 7, 1953. Clef released it in 1954 on Oscar Peterson Plays Richard Rodgers.
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Listen for
Piano, guitar and bass play with no drummer, and the track lasts 3:04. Listen for how three instruments fill the sound without drums.
Try it on your instrument
Play the ending of the second A: and share a , and share the next bar, then for two bars. Smaller version: play only Gm7, C7 and F6.
Ahmad Jamal's trio recorded it live at the Spotlite Club in Washington, DC, on September 5 or 6, 1958. Argo released it in 1959 on Portfolio of Ahmad Jamal.
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Listen for
Piano, bass and drums play live with an audience in the room, and the track lasts 5:02. Compare its length with the 3:04 studio trio before it.
Try it on your instrument
Play the form in order, one per and eight bars to a section, and say '' out loud when you reach . Smaller version: play only the first four bars of the bridge: Em7, , , Dm7.
Lionel Hampton led a quartet with Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Buddy Rich at Fine Sound in New York on April 12, 1954. Clef released the take in 1955 on The Lionel Hampton Quartet/Quintet.
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Listen for
Hampton's vibraphone leads, with piano, bass and drums behind it. At 7:36 the track runs more than twice as long as the Peterson trio record.
Try it on your instrument
Spell out the first A one per , playing each chord's notes one at a time from the bottom up the way a vibraphone does: F A C E, then B♭ D F A♭. Smaller version: play only those two chords.
Red Garland recorded it with bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, on February 7, 1958. Prestige did not release this take until 1971, on the LP It's a Blue World.
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Listen for
At 8:28 the track runs almost three times as long as Goodman's 2:46, so the trio has room to play through the tune more than once. Piano leads, with bass and drums behind.
Try it on your instrument
Soloing over is harder than the other steps here. The smaller version is to play only each 's root, one per , in time: F, F, B♭, B♭, F, D, G, C.
Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan recorded it in Los Angeles on October 12, 1957, with pianist Lou Levy, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Stan Levey. The take is listed on the album Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi.
A♭ major · 4/4 · swing · 269 bpm (up)
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Listen for
Two saxophonists, Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan, lead over piano, bass and drums. Listen for what two lead horns add compared with the piano trios before this step.
Try it on your instrument
Play the four that lead back home from the : , , , , then land on . Smaller version: play only Gm7, C7 and Fmaj7.
Ben Webster with the Oscar Peterson Trio · 1959 · Bebop
Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson
Ben Webster recorded it with the Oscar Peterson Trio, with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums, in New York on November 6, 1959. The take is on the album Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson.
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Listen for
Ben Webster's tenor saxophone leads, with piano, bass and drums behind him. At 9:51 this is the longest track on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first A at the slowest tempo you can keep steady, holding each for its full : , Fmaj7, , B♭7, Fmaj7, , , . Smaller version: play only the first four bars.
Rodgers and Hart write the song for the 1938 musical The Boys from Syracuse. Benny Goodman's orchestra records it that October with Martha Tilton singing, and Victor releases it in November.
1950s
Oscar Peterson's trio records it in 1953, and Lionel Hampton leads a vibraphone quartet through it in 1954. Ella Fitzgerald sings it on her Rodgers and Hart songbook in 1956.
1980s
Lenny Breau and Chet Atkins record it in 1981, and RCA issues the album Standard Brands in 1994.
2000s
Stacey Kent sings it on In Love Again, an album of Richard Rodgers songs on Candid, with saxophone, guitar, piano, bass and drums behind her.
More great versions
3 more, from 1955 to 2001. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sDinah Washington1955 · Vocal
1960s
1970s
1980sLenny Breau and Chet Atkins1981 · Easy listening
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 → D m → G m → Fkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
F
D m
G m
F
The is 32 in , in . The first A runs , Fmaj7, , B♭7, then Fmaj7, , and , which turns back to the top. The second A starts the same way and ends differently: and Dm7 share a bar, Gm7 and C7 share the next, and closes the last two bars. The (B) moves to : , , Dm7, Dm7. Then and point at , and Gm7 and C7 lead back to F. The last A repeats the second A.