ENDEIT

Standards · 1922

Chicago chords & key

Fred Fisher · Lyrics: Fred Fisher

Key
C major
Form
ABAC
Bars
32
Groove
Medium swing
Time signature
4/4
Year
1922

“Chicago” is a jazz standard by Fred Fisher from 1922. It is usually played in C major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar ABAC form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences and 4 minor ii–V–i, uses 20 different chords and moves between the key centres D minor, C major and A minor. In this atlas it appears on 5 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — C major

A
Cmaj7Dm7
Em7A7
Dm7G7
Dm7A7♯5
Dm7
G7
Cmaj7/EE♭dim7
Dm7G7
B
Cmaj7Dm7
Em7A7
D7
D7A7♭9
Dm7G7
Dm7G7
B♭7A7
A♭7G7
A
Cmaj7Dm7
Em7A7
Dm7G7
Dm7A7♯5
Bm7♭5
E7♭9
Am7A♭7
Gm7G♭7
C
Fmaj7
B♭9
Em7
A7
Dm7
G7
C6A7
Dm7G7

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

Harmonic analysis

3Major ii–V–I
4Minor ii–V–i
13ii–V moves
2Tritone substitutions
1Dominant chains
20Different chords

Most used chords

  • Dm7×13
  • G7×9
  • A7×6
  • Em7×4
  • Cmaj7×3
  • A7♯5×2

Key centres reached by ii–V

D minor, C major and A minor

Characteristics

  • ABAC song form

History

"Chicago" is a popular song written by Fred Fisher and published in 1922 by Fred Fisher. The original sheet music variously spelled the title "Todd'ling" or "Toddling." The song has been recorded by many artists, but the best-known versions are by Frank Sinatra, Ben Selvin and Judy Garland. The song alludes to the city's colorful past, feigning "... the surprise of my life / I saw a man dancing with his own wife", mentioning evangelist Billy Sunday as having not been able to "shut down" the city, and State Street where "they do things they don't do on Broadway". The song made a minor appearance on the U.S. pop charts, reaching #84 in the fall of 1957. It was the first of two charting songs about Chicago recorded by Sinatra. The other was "My Kind of Town" from 1964, which reached U.S. #110.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recorded on these albums

1957 New Tricks...
Bing Crosby with Buddy Cole and His Trio
1961 I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face
Tony Bennett, Al Tornello · “Chicago (That Toddling Town)”
1963 The Early Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
2015 The Complete Hits 1943-62
Frank Sinatra
2026 Speechless
Steve Dobrogosz

Historic 78 rpm recordings

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
What A Little Moonlight Can Do 25% Harry Woods G major ABCD · 64 Up-tempo swing
Violets For Your Furs 23% Adair-Dennis F major ABAC · 32 Ballad
At Long Last Love 22% Cole Porter C major AB · 32 Medium swing
Give Me The Simple Life 22% Rube Bloom E♭ major AABA · 32 Medium swing
As Time Goes By 21% Herman Hupfeld E♭ major AABA · 32 Ballad
Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe 21% Harold Arlen F major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
That's Amore (That's Love) 21% Warren-Brooks B♭ major AB · 32 Medium swing
Change Partners 20% Irving Berlin F major AABA · 56 Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Chicago in?

Chicago is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.

Who wrote Chicago?

Chicago was written by Fred Fisher (1922).

What is the form of Chicago?

Chicago has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is Chicago played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to Chicago?

The opening bars are Cmaj7 Dm7 | Em7 A7 | Dm7 G7 | Dm7 A7#5. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.