Standards

Blues In The Night chords & key

Key: G major
Form: AABB
Bars: 40
Groove: Slow swing
Time signature: 4/4

“Blues In The Night” is a jazz standard by Harold Arlen. It is usually played in G major as a slow swing, and the 40-bar AABB form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains no major ii–V–I cadences and 1 minor ii–V–i, uses 12 different chords. In this atlas it appears on 24 album tracks.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — G major

×2

G⁷

C⁷

G⁷

C⁷

G⁷

D⁷

D♯⁷D⁷

G⁷C⁷

G⁷

C⁷

F⁷

A♯⁷

D♯⁷

A♯⁷

A⁷

D⁷

C♯⁷D⁷

B^m7E⁷

A^m7D⁷

⊕

A⁷C♯⁷

C⁷

D♯⁷D⁷

G⁶

Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.

Harmonic analysis

0Major ii–V–I

1Minor ii–V–i

2ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

16Dominant chains

12Different chords

Most used chords

G⁷×14
C⁷×11
D⁷×8
D♯⁷×5
A♯⁷×4
A⁷×3

Recorded on these albums

1956	Chet Atkins in 3 Dimensions Chet Atkins · “Blues in the Night”
1956	Buddy Rich Sings Johnny Mercer Buddy Rich
1957	Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson Louis Armstrong & Oscar Peterson · “Blues in the Night”
1957	The Beat of My Heart Tony Bennett · “Blues in the Night”
1957	Drummin’ the Blues Max Roach and Stan Levey with Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse Allstars · “Blues in the Night”
1957	About the Blues Julie London · “Blues in the Night”
1958	Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely Frank Sinatra, orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle · “Blues in the Night”
1958	Rockin’ the Blues Big Joe Turner · “Blues in the Night”
1958	Tormé Mel Tormé · “Blues in the Night”
1959	Ella Swings Lightly Ella Fitzgerald · “Blues in the Night”
1959	Harmonica Virtuoso with Piano, Trumpet, Bass, Guitar and Drums Larry Adler · “Blues in the Night”
1960	Once More With Feeling Billy Eckstine · “Blues in the Night”
1961	Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book Ella Fitzgerald · “Blues in the Night”
1961	Plays Harold Arlen Cal Tjader · “Blues in the Night”
1962	Blues Make Me Happy Cab Calloway · “Blues in the Night”
1962	The Big Band's Back in Town Doc Severinsen · “Blues in the Night”
1963	Contemporary Latin Rhythms Barney Kessel
1963	That's How I Love the Blues! Mark Murphy · “Blues in the Night”
1964	The Cat Jimmy Smith
1964	Soul Burnin' Red Garland · “Blues in the Night”
1967	Blues for Easy Livers Jimmy Witherspoon · “Blues in the Night”
1968	Plays the Music of Harold Arlen Tal Farlow · “Blues in the Night”
1970	... Hello There, Universe Mose Allison · “Blues in the Night”
1972	’Round Midnight Kenny Burrell · “Blues in the Night”

Historic 78 rpm recordings

Blues in the Night archive.org ↗
BLUES IN THE NIGHT DORIS DAY · Frank De Vol & His Orch. · J. Mercer · Arlen archive.org ↗
BLUES IN THE NIGHT HARRY JAMES AND HIS ORCH. · Mercer · Arlen · 1945 archive.org ↗
BLUES IN THE NIGHT LOUMELL MORGAN TRIO · Loumell Morgan · Lynwood Jones · James Jackson… · 1946 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
Fine And Mellow 21%	Billie Holiday	F major	A · 12	Slow swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Blues In The Night in?

Blues In The Night is usually played in G major. For B♭ instruments that is A major, for E♭ instruments E major.

Who wrote Blues In The Night?

Blues In The Night was written by Harold Arlen.

What is the form of Blues In The Night?

Blues In The Night has 4 sections (AABB) with 40 bars in total.

How fast is Blues In The Night played?

The usual groove is Slow swing.

What are the chord changes to Blues In The Night?

The opening bars are G7 | C7 | G7 | G7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.