MY FUNNY VALENTINE
"My Funny Valentine" is one of the most recorded jazz standards in history, appearing on over 1,300 albums by more than 600 artists. One of them was Chet Baker, for whom it became a signature song.
Origin & Context
Composers: Written by the legendary duo Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Hart (lyrics) in 1937.
Original Production: It was introduced by Mitzi Green in the Broadway musical Babes in Arms, where her character sings to a boy named Valentine "Val" LaMar.
Musical Characteristics
Structure: Typically follows an AABA or AABC form, often featuring a 36-bar structure with a 4-bar extension in the final section.
Harmony: It is known for its "minor cliché" (a descending chromatic line over a C minor chord) and its transition from a haunting minor key to a warm relative major (Eb).
Vibe: A bittersweet ballad characterized by fragility and longing, with lyrics that celebrate the subject's perceived physical "flaws" as endearing.
Essential Recordings
Chet Baker: His 1954 vocal version became his signature song, defining his "cool jazz" persona with its fragile, breathy delivery.
Miles Davis: He recorded two canonical versions—a lyrical 1956 take on Cookin' and a more abstract, modern 1964 live performance.
Frank Sinatra: Featured on his Songs for Young Lovers album, helping cement its status in the Great American Songbook.
Ella Fitzgerald: A definitive interpretation found on her Rodgers & Hart Songbook.
Sarah Vaughan: From The Rodgers and Hart Songbook , New York, February 10, 1954
Gerry Mulligan (with Chet Baker): From Gerry Mulligan Quartet , live at the Black Hawk, San Francisco, September 2, 1952
Photo by Al Aumuller via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
