Standards · 1929
St. Louis Blues chords & key
- Key
- G major
- Form
- A
- Bars
- 12
- Groove
- Medium swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Year
- 1929
“St. Louis Blues” is a jazz standard by W.C. Handy from 1929. It is usually played in G major as a medium swing, and the 12-bar A form repeats as one section. Its changes follow the 12-bar blues. In this atlas it appears on 23 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — G major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- G7×6
- C7×4
- D7×2
Characteristics
- 12-bar blues
History
St. Louis Blues is a 1929 American two-reel short film starring Bessie Smith. Directed by Dudley Murphy, it is the only known film featuring Bessie Smith, and the soundtrack is her only recording not controlled by Columbia Records. An early sound film, it features an entirely black cast, with Smith in the role of a woman left alone by her roving lover; in a speakeasy during the Prohibition era, the woman sings the W. C. Handy standard "St. Louis Blues". Bessie Smith's recording of Handy's song was a hit in 1925, and Handy himself asked Bessie Smith to appear in the film. Handy co-authored the film and served as its musical director. The film is a dramatization of the song, concerning a woman left alone by her roving man. It features a band that includes James P. Johnson on piano, Thomas Morris and Joe Smith on cornet, Bernard Addison on guitar and banjo, as well as the Hall Johnson Choir. St.
Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Recorded on these albums
Transcribed solos on St. Louis Blues
| Roy Eldridge trumpet | 361 BPM |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- St. Louis Blues W. C. Handy archive.org ↗
- St. Louis Blues Raymond Burke and his New Orleans Jazz Band · Thomas Jefferson ·… archive.org ↗
- St. Louis Blues Los Bambucos · William C. Handy archive.org ↗
- ST. LOUIS BLUES W.C. Handy archive.org ↗
- ST. LOUIS BLUES BØRGE ROGER HENRICHSEN OG HANS ORKESTER · Freddy Albeck · Handy archive.org ↗
- ST. LOUIS BLUES CASSINO SIMPSON · LAURA RUCKER · HANDY archive.org ↗
- ST LOUIS BLUES CY WATTS AND HIS JAZZMEN · Les Robertson · Pete Skafte · Ken… archive.org ↗
- ST. LOUIS BLUES HENRY GEORGE'S ORCHESTRA · Handy archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Bessie's Blues 100% | E♭ major |
| Eighty One 100% | F major |
| Jumpin With Symphony Sid 80% | B♭ major |
| Watermelon Man 57% | F major |
| Blue Monk 50% | B♭ major |
| Blue Sphere 50% | B♭ major |
| Bluehawk 50% | B♭ major |
| Freddie Freeloader 50% | B♭ major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is St. Louis Blues in?
St. Louis Blues is usually played in G major. For B♭ instruments that is A major, for E♭ instruments E major.
Who wrote St. Louis Blues?
St. Louis Blues was written by W.C. Handy (1929).
What is the form of St. Louis Blues?
St. Louis Blues has 1 sections (A) with 12 bars in total.
How fast is St. Louis Blues played?
The usual groove is Medium swing. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 361 BPM.
What are the chord changes to St. Louis Blues?
The opening bars are G7 | C7 | G7 | G7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.