Standards · 1929
Am I Blue? chords & key
- Key
- F major
- Form
- AABC
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Medium swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1929
“Am I Blue?” is a jazz standard by Harry Akst from 1929. Most bands play it in F major, medium swing; the tune runs 32 bars in AABC form. Harmonically it contains 2 major ii–V–I cadences and 5 minor ii–V–i, uses 11 different chords and moves between the key centres G minor, F major and A minor. In this atlas it appears on 6 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — F major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- C7×9
- D7×8
- Am7×6
- Gm7×6
- F6×4
- Fmaj7×3
Key centres reached by ii–V
G minor, F major and A minor
History
"Am I Blue?" is a 1929 song composed by Harry Akst (music) and Grant Clarke (lyrics), and published by M. Witmark & Sons. It was featured in four films that year, most notably with Ethel Waters in the movie On With the Show. It has become a standard covered by numerous artists. As a work from 1929 with its copyright renewed, it entered the public domain on January 1, 2025.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
| 1959 | The Genius of Ray Charles Ray Charles · “Am I Blue” |
| 1963 | Where Did Everyone Go? Nat King Cole |
| 1968 | A Portrait of Ray Ray Charles · “Am I Blue” |
| 1995 | Love Me or Leave Me Billie Holiday |
| 2005 | Romance in the Dark, Vol. 1 Billie Holiday |
| 2020 | Ray Charles - Optimum Ray Charles · “Am I Blue” |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- AM I BLUE BUSTER BAILEY ORCHESTRA · Axt · Clarke archive.org ↗
- Am I Blue Buster Bailey Sextet · Akst · Clarke · Charles Shavers · Billy Kyle… · 1940 archive.org ↗
- Am I Blue Hoagy Carmichael · Akst · Clark · 1945 archive.org ↗
- Am I Blue Al Hall Quintet · Ben Webster · Dick Vance · Jimmy Jones · Al Hall ·… · 1946 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| I'm An Old Cowhand 37% | E♭ major |
| This Is All I Ask 34% | F major |
| I'm Getting Sentimental Over You 31% | F major |
| Rosetta 31% | F major |
| Yardbird Suite 30% | C major |
| A Foggy Day 28% | F major |
| Flintstones 28% | B♭ major |
| Line For Lyons 28% | G major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Am I Blue? in?
Am I Blue? is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.
Who wrote Am I Blue??
Am I Blue? was written by Harry Akst (1929).
What is the form of Am I Blue??
Am I Blue? has 4 sections (AABC) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Am I Blue? played?
The usual groove is Medium swing.
What are the chord changes to Am I Blue??
The opening bars are Fmaj7 | Am7 D7 | Gm7 | C7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.