Standards
What Is This Thing Called Love chords & key
- Key
- C major
- Form
- AABA
- Bars
- 32
- Groove
- Up-tempo swing
- Time signature
- 4/4
“What Is This Thing Called Love” is a jazz standard by Cole Porter. It is usually played in C major as a up-tempo swing, and the 32-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 1 major ii–V–I cadence and 6 minor ii–V–i, uses 11 different chords and moves between the key centres F minor, C minor and B♭ major. In this atlas it appears on 7 album tracks.
Chord changes
Showing in: Concert (C) — C major
Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.
Harmonic analysis
Most used chords
- Fm6×6
- Cmaj7×6
- Dm7♭5×4
- Gm7♭5×3
- C7♭9×3
- G7♯5×3
Key centres reached by ii–V
F minor, C minor and B♭ major
Characteristics
- AABA song form
Recorded on these albums
| 1942 | Moanin' Low Lena Horne · “What Is This Thing Called Love?” |
| 1953 | Oscar Peterson Plays Cole Porter Oscar Peterson |
| 1955 | In the Wee Small Hours Frank Sinatra · “What Is This Thing Called Love?” |
| 1956 | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book Ella Fitzgerald · “What Is This Thing Called Love?” |
| 2007 | Sings Cole Porter Ella Fitzgerald |
| 2025 | Jukebox Ella: The Complete Verve Singles, Volume 2 Ella Fitzgerald · “What Is This Thing Called Love?” |
| 2026 | Too Marvelous For Words Peggy Lee · “What Is This Thing Called Love?” |
Historic 78 rpm recordings
- WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE. (Part II) Dave Usden · Vic Feldman · Damian Robinson · Pete Blannin · Freddie… archive.org ↗
- WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE. (Part 1) Dave Usden · Vic Feldman · Damian Robinson · Pete Blannin · Freddie… archive.org ↗
- What Is This Thing Called Love Corky Corcoran and his Orchestra · Emmett Berry · Corky Corcoran ·… · 1945 archive.org ↗
- What Is This Thing Called Love Barney Kessel's Allstars · Cole Porter · Barneey Kessel · Dodo… · 1946 archive.org ↗
- WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE NORMAN DAVIS and his ORCHESTRA · C. PORTER · 1946 archive.org ↗
- What is This Thing Called Love Anita O'Day · Will Bradley and his Orchestra · Cole Porter · 1947 archive.org ↗
- What Is This Thing Called Love The Sheboblou Trio · Porter · Lou Stein · Shelly Manne · Bob Carter · 1947 archive.org ↗
- WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE THE SHEBOBLOU TRIO · LOU STEIN · SHELLY MANNE · BOB CARTER · PORTER · 1947 archive.org ↗
Standards with similar changes
Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.
| Title | Key |
|---|---|
| Hot House 69% | C major |
| Subconscious Lee 69% | C major |
Frequently asked questions
What key is What Is This Thing Called Love in?
What Is This Thing Called Love is usually played in C major. For B♭ instruments that is D major, for E♭ instruments A major.
Who wrote What Is This Thing Called Love?
What Is This Thing Called Love was written by Cole Porter.
What is the form of What Is This Thing Called Love?
What Is This Thing Called Love has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.
How fast is What Is This Thing Called Love played?
The usual groove is Up-tempo swing.
What are the chord changes to What Is This Thing Called Love?
The opening bars are Gm7b5 | C7b9 | Fm6 | Fm6. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.