Standards · 1941
Lover Man chords & key
“Lover Man” is a jazz standard by Davis-Ramirez-Sherman from 1941. Most bands play it in F major, ballad; the tune runs 32 bars in AABA form. Harmonically it contains 5 major ii–V–I cadences and 3 minor ii–V–i, uses 21 different chords and moves between the key centres F major, D minor, G major and G minor. In this atlas it appears on 10 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
- Gm7×10
- C7×10
- Dm7×6
- G7×6
- Fmaj7×4
- F7×3
Key centres reached by ii–V
F major, D minor, G major and G minor
Characteristics
- AABA song form
History
"Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" (often called simply "Lover Man") is a 1941 popular song written by Jimmy Davis, Roger ("Ram") Ramirez, and James Sherman. It is particularly associated with Billie Holiday, for whom it was written, and her version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1989. Holiday's version reached No. 5 on the R&B chart and No. 16 on pop in 1945. In July 1946, Charlie Parker recorded a rendition of "Lover Man" while he was intoxicated. Dial Records producer Ross Russell had to hold him up to the microphone during the recording. Sonny Stitt played the song many times on alto saxophone in a virtuoso way, in the original key of D flat. Most jazz musicians, nevertheless, play the song in the key of F. Barbra Streisand recorded a version for her album Simply Streisand in 1967, and her version peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
| 1951 | Lover Man Billie Holiday · “Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)” |
| 1961 | My Heart Sings Tony Bennett |
| 1966 | Whisper Not Ella Fitzgerald · “Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?)” |
| 1967 | Simply Streisand Barbra Streisand · “Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)” |
| 1982 | Live Dizzy Gillespie Live With The Mitchell-Ruff Duo |
| 1994 | The Concert Barbra Streisand |
| 2001 | Billie Holiday: Star Power Billie Holiday |
| 2003 | Les Plus Beaux Moments Jazz Billie Holiday · “Lover man” |
| 2005 | All My Life Ella Fitzgerald |
| 2026 | Barcelona Meeting Charlie Mariano & Sal Nistico |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- Lover Man Dizzy Gillespie and his All Star Quintette · Sarah Vaughn · Ramirez… · 1945 archive.org ↗
- Lover Man Dizzy Gillespie and his All Star Quintette · Sarah Vaughn · Ramirez… · 1945 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| What A Difference A Day Made 33% | F major |
| The Odd Couple 26% | F major |
| Alone Too Long 25% | G major |
| The Good Life 25% | A♭ major |
| In Love In Vain 25% | B♭ major |
| Dinah 24% | G major |
| Falling In Love With Love 24% | B♭ major |
| Secret Love 24% | E♭ major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is Lover Man in?
Lover Man is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.
Who wrote Lover Man?
Lover Man was written by Davis-Ramirez-Sherman (1941).
What is the form of Lover Man?
Lover Man has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is Lover Man played?
The usual groove is Ballad.
What are the chord changes to Lover Man?
The opening bars are Dm7 G7 | Dm7 G7 | Gm7 C7 | Gm7 C7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.