List of pre-1920 jazz standards

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A jazz band playing: A drummer on the left behind a drum set, a trombonist next to him facing right. A cornetist standing behind the trombonist facing left, and a clarinetist sitting on a chair in the front. A pianist sitting on the far left, facing right.
The earliest jazz recordings were made by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1917. Their composition "Tiger Rag" has become a popular jazz standard.

Jazz standards are musical compositions that are widely known, performed and recorded by jazz artists as part of the genre's musical repertoire. This list includes compositions written before 1920 that are considered standards by at least one major fake book publication or reference work. Some of the tunes listed were instant hits and quickly became well-known standards, while others were popularized later. The time of the most influential recordings of a song, where appropriate, is indicated on the list.

From its conception at the change of the twentieth century, jazz was music intended for dancing. This influenced the choice of material played by early jazz groups: King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, New Orleans Rhythm Kings and others included many Tin Pan Alley popular songs in their repertoire, and record companies often used their power to dictate which songs were to be recorded by their artists. Certain songs were pushed by recording executives and therefore quickly achieved standard status; this started with the first jazz recordings in 1917, when the Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded "Darktown Strutters' Ball" and "Indiana".[1] Originally simply called "jazz", the music of early jazz bands is today often referred to as "Dixieland" or "New Orleans jazz", to distinguish it from more recent subgenres.[2]

The origins of jazz are in the musical traditions of early twentieth-century New Orleans, including brass band music, the blues, ragtime and spirituals,[3] and some of the most popular early standards come from these influences. Ragtime songs "Twelfth Street Rag" and "Tiger Rag" have become popular numbers for jazz artists, as have blues tunes "St. Louis Blues" and "St. James Infirmary". Tin Pan Alley songwriters contributed several songs to the jazz standard repertoire, including "Indiana" and "After You've Gone". Others, such as "Some of These Days" and "Darktown Strutters' Ball", were introduced by vaudeville performers. The most often recorded standards of this period are W. C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues", Turner Layton and Henry Creamer's "After You've Gone" and James Hanley and Ballard MacDonald's "Indiana".[4]

Traditional (author unknown)[edit]

Short-haired African American man wearing a black suit and tie and holding a trumpet, standing facing the camera and smiling.
Songwriter and bandleader W. C. Handy was the first to transcribe and publish blues songs.[5] His compositions "The Memphis Blues" (1912), "St. Louis Blues" (1914) and "Beale Street Blues" (1916) have become popular jazz standards.

see also Spirituals#Notable songs

1900–1909[edit]

  • 1901 – "High Society". Composition by Porter Steele. Originally written as a march and published as a rag, the song soon became one of the most popular tunes of the early New Orleans jazz repertoire.[9] A counterpoint to the melody was arranged by Robert Recker for the piccolo in 1901 and made famous by clarinetist Alphonse Picou.[10] The complex countermelody was often used in auditions for brass band clarinet players.[9][11] King Oliver's Jazz Band popularized the tune in 1923, and other influential recordings were made by Abe Lyman and His Orchestra in 1932 and by Jelly Roll Morton's New Orleans Jazzmen in 1939.[12]
  • 1902 – "Bill Bailey". Ragtime song written by Hughie Cannon. It continued the story of an earlier coon song, "Ain't Dat a Shame" by Walter Wilson and John Queen.[13] The song was introduced by Queen in vaudeville and first recorded by Arthur Collins in 1902.[14] Its popularity inspired a host of "Bill Bailey" songs, including Cannon's own "He Done Me Wrong", which used a variation of the melody from "Frankie and Johnny".[15][14] Originally titled "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?", the song is also known as "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey".[16]

1910–1914[edit]

1915–1917[edit]

Sheet music cover showing a white house in a forest by a lake. The forest is orange and brown, and the sky is dark blue. On the other side of the lake, the moon is rising. The word "Indiana" is written at the top of the poster. Underneath it, there is a text "Words by Ballard MacDonald, music by James F. Hanley".
Hanley and MacDonald's "Indiana" (1917) is one of the most popular pre-1920s standards.

1918–1919[edit]

Blue and white picture of a smiling dark-haired woman, facing the camera and looking to the right. She wears a dark brimmed hat and a fur coat. Her right hand is holding the fur coat and there's a ring in her little finger. The text "Sophie Tucker" is written on the picture with small white letters.
Vaudeville performer Sophie Tucker popularized the jazz standards "Some of These Days", "I Ain't Got Nobody" and "After You've Gone".

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Tyle, Chris. "Jazz History". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
  2. ^ Kernfeld 1995, p. 2
  3. ^ Hardie 2002, p. 27
  4. ^ Tyle, Chris. "Jazz History: The Standards (Early Period)". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  5. ^ Herzhaft et al. 1997, p. 79
  6. ^ Fuld 2000, pp. 162–163
  7. ^ Studwell 1997, pp. 42–43
  8. ^ a b c Burlingame, Sandra. "When the Saints Go Marching In". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  9. ^ a b Evans 2008, p. 301
  10. ^ Hodeir & Pautrot 2006, p. 301
  11. ^ Shuster 2006, p. 26
  12. ^ Jasen 2002, p. 75
  13. ^ Knapp 2005, p. 75
  14. ^ a b Jasen 2003, p. 94
  15. ^ Fuld 2000, p. 234
  16. ^ "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  17. ^ "Chinatown, My Chinatown". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  18. ^ a b c Moon 2005, p. 100
  19. ^ Jasen 2002, p. 36
  20. ^ "Some of These Days". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  21. ^ a b Wilder & Maher 1972, p. 14
  22. ^ Furia & Lasser 2006, pp. 1–2
  23. ^ "Alexander's Ragtime Band". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  24. ^ Hemming 1999, p. 30
  25. ^ a b Furia 1992, pp. 49–50
  26. ^ Berlin 1995, p. 210
  27. ^ "Memphis Blues". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  28. ^ Wilder & Maher 1972, p. 18
  29. ^ Bearden & Phillips 2006, p. 22
  30. ^ Hughes et al. 2001, p. 81
  31. ^ Charters 1975, p. 39
  32. ^ "Ballin' the Jack". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  33. ^ a b Holloway & Cheney 2001, p. 114
  34. ^ Green & Schmidt 1999, p. 116
  35. ^ The Real Book, Volume II, p. 366
  36. ^ Shaw 1989, pp. 67–68
  37. ^ a b c Wilson, Jeremy. "St. Louis Blues". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  38. ^ Furia 1992, p. 35
  39. ^ Wilder & Maher 1972, p. 20
  40. ^ Marshall Cavendish 2003, p. 200
  41. ^ Stanfield 2005, p. 83
  42. ^ Hostetler 2007, pp. 89–90
  43. ^ a b Listed in The Real Jazz Book
  44. ^ "That's a Plenty". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  45. ^ a b Jasen 2007, p. 252
  46. ^ Crawford & Magee 1992, p. 82
  47. ^ "12th Street Rag". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  48. ^ Tyler 2008, p. 41
  49. ^ Oliphant 1996, p. 30
  50. ^ Oliphant 1996, p. 29
  51. ^ Jasen 2007, p. 264
  52. ^ "I Ain't Got Nobody (and Nobody Cares for Me)". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  53. ^ The Real Book, Volume III, p. 151
  54. ^ a b c d Burlingame, Sandra. "Baby Won't You Please Come Home". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  55. ^ Tosches 2003, p. 149
  56. ^ a b Gracyk & Hoffmann 2000, pp. 169–170
  57. ^ a b Jasen 2002, p. 80
  58. ^ Giddins 2000, p. 47
  59. ^ "Weary Blues". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  60. ^ Blesh 2007, p. 263
  61. ^ Crawford & Magee 1992, p. 92
  62. ^ a b Sisson, Zacher & Cayton 2007, p. 568
  63. ^ Kernfeld 1995, p. 187
  64. ^ "Beale Street Blues". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  65. ^ Norment, Lynn (June 1981). "Memphis". Ebony. 36 (8): 120.
  66. ^ Brooks & Spottswood 2004, p. 436
  67. ^ Brooks & Spottswood 2004, p. 424
  68. ^ Koenig 2002, p. 138
  69. ^ Burlingame, Sandra. "W.C. Handy Biography". JazzBiographies.com. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  70. ^ Charters 2008, p. 357
  71. ^ a b Gracyk & Hoffmann 2000, p. 140
  72. ^ Matteson 2006, p. 147
  73. ^ "Grammy Awards". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
  74. ^ "Darktown Strutters Ball". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  75. ^ Egan 2004, p. 28
  76. ^ a b Hoffmann & Ferstler 2005, p. 536
  77. ^ a b Bogdanov, Woodstra & Erlewine 2002, p. 961
  78. ^ De Stefano 2006, p. 267
  79. ^ Arwulf, Arwulf. "Shelton Brooks biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  80. ^ The Real Book, Volume II, p. 201
  81. ^ Listed in The Real Vocal Book
  82. ^ a b c Wilson, Jeremy. "Back Home Again in Indiana". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  83. ^ The Real Book, Volume III, p. 340
  84. ^ Burlingame, Sandra. "Harry Williams Biography". JazzBiographies.com. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  85. ^ a b Tyle, Chris. "Rose Room". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  86. ^ Waksman 2001, pp. 27–28
  87. ^ a b c d e "Tiger Rag". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  88. ^ Kirchner 2005, p. 26
  89. ^ Shaw 1989, p. 16
  90. ^ The Real Book, Volume III, p. 12.
  91. ^ The New Real Book, Volume II, p. 5.
  92. ^ a b Furia & Lasser 2006, p. 20.
  93. ^ a b c Wilson, Jeremy. "After You've Gone". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  94. ^ Kirchner 2005, p. 207.
  95. ^ a b University, Jeffrey Magee Associate Professor of Musicology Indiana (23 November 2004). The Uncrowned King of Swing : Fletcher Henderson and Big Band Jazz: Fletcher Henderson and Big Band Jazz. Oxford University Press. pp. 156–7. ISBN 978-0-19-535814-8.
  96. ^ Brooks, Tim; Spottswood, Richard Keith (2004). Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919. University of Illinois Press. p. 286. ISBN 978-0-252-02850-2.
  97. ^ Burke, Patrick Lawrence (2003). "Come in and Hear the Truth": Jazz, Race, and Authenticity on Manhattan's 52nd Street, 1930-1950. University of Wisconsin--Madison. pp. 230, 350.
  98. ^ "Ja-Da". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  99. ^ Christensen 1999, p. 274.
  100. ^ Jasen 2002, p. 108.
  101. ^ Axelrod, Roman & Travisano 2005, p. 595.
  102. ^ Giddins 2000, p. 310.
  103. ^ Herder 1998, p. 176.
  104. ^ Wilder & Maher 1972, p. 27.
  105. ^ Jasen 2002, p. 15.
  106. ^ a b c Burlingame, Sandra. "Royal Garden Blues". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  107. ^ Kirchner 2005, p. 769.
  108. ^ Giddins 2000, p. 46.
  109. ^ "Someday Sweetheart". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  110. ^ a b c Jasen 2002, p. 177.
  111. ^ Pastras 2003, p. 125.
  112. ^ Lomax, Gushee & Martin 2001, p. 175
  113. ^ Pastras 2003, p. 127.
  114. ^ The Real Book, Volume I, p. 451.
  115. ^ "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
  116. ^ a b Jasen 2002, p. 218.
  117. ^ a b Jasen 2003, p. 196.
  118. ^ Santoro 1995, p. 151
  119. ^ Aquila 2000, p. 288.

Bibliography[edit]

Reference works[edit]

Fake books[edit]