Standards · 1929
Ain't Misbehavin' chords & key
- Key
- C major
- Form
- AABA
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Medium swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1929
“Ain't Misbehavin'” is a jazz standard by Fats Waller from 1929. Most bands play it in C major, medium swing; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 6 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 14 different chords and moves between the key centres C major and G major. In this atlas it appears on 15 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — C major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- C6×9
- A7×9
- G7×9
- Dm7×7
- Fm6×4
- D7×4
Key centres reached by ii–V
C major and G major
Characteristics
- AABA song form
History
"Ain't Misbehavin'" is a 1929 song in the stride piano and early swing style. Andy Razaf wrote the lyrics to a score by Thomas "Fats" Waller and Harry Brooks for the Broadway musical comedy play Connie's Hot Chocolates. It was published by Mills Music. As a work from 1929 with its copyright renewed, it entered the American public domain on January 1, 2025. In June 2026, CBS News included the song in its list of the 250 essential American songs of the past 250 years.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
| 1952 | Dizzy, Volume 2 Dizzy Gillespie |
| 1955 | Satch Plays Fats: A Tribute to the Immortal Fats Waller Louis Armstrong |
| 1957 | Love Is the Thing The Voice of Nat “King” Cole with The Orchestra of Gordon Jenkins · “Ain’t Misbehavin’” |
| 1957 | Dizzy at Home and Abroad Dizzy Gillespie |
| 1958 | Stay With Me Billie Holiday |
| 1961 | The Genius After Hours Ray Charles · “Ain’t Misbehavin’” |
| 1963 | Ella and Basie! Ella Fitzgerald & The Count Basie Orchestra · “Ain’t Misbehavin’” |
| 1963 | The Early Duke Ellington Duke Ellington · “Ain’t Misbehavin’” |
| 1964 | When Lights Are Low Tony Bennett with The Ralph Sharon Trio · “Ain’t Misbehavin” |
| 1976 | Stormy Weather Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Fats Waller · “Ain’t Misbehavin’” |
| 1982 | A Classy Pair Ella Fitzgerald & The Count Basie Orchestra · “Ain’t Misbehavin’” |
| 2004 | Ultimate Jazz & Blues Louis Armstrong |
| 2005 | Louis Armstrong - Great Moments 8 Louis Armstrong |
| 2026 | World Tour Oscar Peterson |
| 2026 | Voices Ran Blake · “Ain’t Misbehavin’” |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- Ain't Misbehavin' Teddy Wilson's Quartet · Teddy Wilson · Harry James · John Simmons ·… archive.org ↗
- AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' THE FOUR STAR RHYTHM SECTION · Stan Wrightsman · George Van Eps ·… archive.org ↗
- AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' archive.org ↗
- AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' GERRY MOORE · Razaf · Waller · Brooks archive.org ↗
- Ain't Misbehavin' Bobby Hackett and His Orch. · Razaf · Waller · Brooks · Master… · 1923 archive.org ↗
- AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' FREDDIE JOHNSON et son ORCHESTRE · Louis Bacon · Aline Contbelle ·… · 1939 archive.org ↗
- Ain't Misbehavin' Pat Flowers · Razaf · Waller · 1944 archive.org ↗
- Ain't Misbehavin' Eddie Miller · George Van Eps · Stanley Wrightsman · Razaf · Waller… · 1945 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
Frequently asked questions
What key is Ain't Misbehavin' in?
Ain't Misbehavin' is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.
Who wrote Ain't Misbehavin'?
Ain't Misbehavin' was written by Fats Waller (1929).
What is the form of Ain't Misbehavin'?
Ain't Misbehavin' has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Ain't Misbehavin' played?
The usual groove is Medium swing.
What are the chord changes to Ain't Misbehavin'?
The opening bars are C6 A7 | Dm7 G7 | C6 C7/E | F6 Fm6. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.