Standards · 1912

My Melancholy Baby chords & key

Burnett-Norton · Lyrics: George A. Norton

Key: B♭ major
Form: ABAC
Bars: 32
Groove: Medium swing
Time signature: 4/4
Year: 1912

“My Melancholy Baby” is a jazz standard by Burnett-Norton from 1912. It is usually played in B♭ major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar ABAC form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 3 major ii–V–I cadences, uses 15 different chords and moves between the key centres B♭ major and E♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 9 album tracks.

Chord changes

to key

Showing in: Concert (C) — B♭ major

B♭^maj7

A♭⁷

G⁷

C^m7

G^9♯5

C^m7

G^9♯5

C^m7

F⁷

G♭^dim7

G^m7

C⁷

C^m7

F⁷

B♭^maj7

A♭⁷

G⁷

C^m7

G^9♯5

C^m7

F^m7B♭⁷

E♭^maj7

E^dim7

B♭⁷

G⁷

C^m7

F⁷

B♭⁶B^dim7

C^m7F⁷

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

Harmonic analysis

3Major ii–V–I

0Minor ii–V–i

6ii–V moves

0Tritone substitutions

0Dominant chains

15Different chords

Most used chords

C^m7×9
B♭^maj7×4
F⁷×4
G⁷×3
G^9♯5×3
A♭⁷×2

Key centres reached by ii–V

B♭ major and E♭ major

Characteristics

ABAC song form

History

"My Melancholy Baby" is a popular song published in 1912 and first sung publicly by William Frawley. The music was written by Ernie Burnett (1884–1959), the lyrics by George A. Norton.

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

Recorded on these albums

1940	Star Dust Bing Crosby
1952	Bird and Diz Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie · “Melancholy Baby”
1957	The Great Ray Charles Ray Charles
1959	Come Back to Sorrento Frank Sinatra
1960	Let No Man Write My Epitaph Ella Fitzgerald
1964	The Third Album Barbra Streisand
1964	Dream With Dean: The Intimate Dean Martin Dean Martin
1993	Jazz Portraits Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald
2020	Ray Charles - Optimum Ray Charles

Historic 78 rpm recordings

My Melancholy Baby Larry Adler · Otto Francker · Helge Jacobsen · Willy Sørensen ·… archive.org ↗
MY MELANCHOLY BABY Ted Meyn · Lee Pepper · Ernie Burnett archive.org ↗
MY MELANCHOLY BABY JAN AUGUST · Burnett · Norton · Watson archive.org ↗
My Melancholy Baby Don Byas All Star Quartet · Johnny Guarnieri · Norton · Burnett ·… · 1945 archive.org ↗
MY MELANCHOLY BABY Mus 1/c Sam Donahue and the Navy Dance Band · Norton · Watson ·… · 1945 archive.org ↗
MY MELANCHOLY BABY LAMPLIGHTER ALL STARS · Barney Bigard · Red Callender · Vic… · 1946 archive.org ↗
My melancholy baby Tyree Glenn · Simon Brehms kvintett · Åke Hasselgård · Thore… · 1947 archive.org ↗
My melancholy baby Tyree Glenn · Simon Brehms kvintett · Åke Hasselgård · Thore… · 1947 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

Title	Composer	Key	Form	Groove
When You're Smilin' 26%	Shay - Fisher - Goodwin	B♭ major	AB · 32	Medium swing
The Best Things In Life Are Free 24%	DeSylva-Brown-Henderson	C major	AB · 32	Medium-up swing
Imagination 24%	Jimmy Van-Heusen	E♭ major	AABA · 36	Ballad
My Buddy 24%	Walter Donaldson	G major	AA · 32	Jazz waltz
Indiana (Back Home Again In) 23%	James Hanley	F major	BA · 32	Up-tempo swing
My One And Only Love 23%	Wood-Mellin	C major	AABA · 32	Ballad
Strike Up The Band 22%	George Gershwin	E♭ major	ABCD · 32	Up-tempo swing
My Baby Just Cares For Me 21%	Walter Donaldson	A major	ABCD · 32	Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is My Melancholy Baby in?

My Melancholy Baby is usually played in B♭ major. For B♭ instruments that is C major, for E♭ instruments G major.

Who wrote My Melancholy Baby?

My Melancholy Baby was written by Burnett-Norton (1912).

What is the form of My Melancholy Baby?

My Melancholy Baby has 4 sections (ABAC) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is My Melancholy Baby played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to My Melancholy Baby?

The opening bars are Bbmaj7 | Bbmaj7 | Ab7 | G7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.