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“Benny Goodman’s Sextet grabs the honors for the first jazz recording of this tune, and it’s an excellent version...”
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- Chris Tyle
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Originally “If I Had You” was
a British ballad popularized by
Al Bowlly. Within weeks of the
song’s release
Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut
Yankees brought it across the Atlantic.
Both the Bowlly and the Vallee
recordings made it onto the pop
charts.
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Al Bowlly (1929, with Fred
Elizalde and His Orchestra,
#12)
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Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut
Yankees (1929, #7)
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Among other 1929 recordings of
“If I Had You” in the U.S. were,
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The Original Wolverines
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Al Starita and the Piccadilly
Players
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The Colonial Club Orchestra
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Bert Ambrose and his Embassy
Club Orchestra
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Sam Lanin and His Orchestra
(Bing
Crosby, vocal)
And in France,
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Ray Ventura and His Collegians.
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“If I Had You” composers, Brits
James Campbell and Reginald Connelly,
were lyricists who usually worked
with other composers. They are best
known today for Campbell and Connelly
& Co. Ltd., the music-publishing
house they founded in London in
1925. Now part of the international
publishing conglomerate Music Sales,
Campbell and Connelly boasts a catalog
of over 75,000 individual song copyrights
and musical shows. Their sheet music
collection includes, of course,
“If I Had You,” which proudly declares
across its front cover, “The Prince
of Wales’ Favorite Fox Trot.”
In addition to “If Had You,”
the Campbell and Connelly team wrote
“Goodnight, Sweetheart” (1931,
Ray Noble, music) and “Try
a Little Tenderness” (1933,
Harry M. Woods, music).
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Ted Shapiro (1899-1980) is best
known as Sophie Tucker’s accompanist
and musical director from 1921 until
her last performance in 1963.
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“If I Had You” was written with a 32-bar A1-A2-B-A2
form and the Campbell-Connelly lyrics describe all
the things “I” could do “If I had you.” All three
A sections lead off with the phrase, “I could” (e.g.,
“I could show the world how to smile”) and end with
the four-note hook, “If I had you.”
In the B section (bridge) where one would expect
a change in tone, coincident with the change in
key, the lyrics merely mimic the A sections, commencing
with “I could” and ending with the slight variation,
“If I had you by my side.” The repetition combined
with an optimistic message provides a pleasant,
if not routine, driving feeling.
One might wonder how much Campbell and Connelly
borrowed from
Irving Berlin’s “If I Had You” (1914), one of
many songs that share the same name. There are a
few similarities including, “All that I want is
a chance to be glad” compared with the Campbell
/ Connelly “I could be glad all of the while.” But
Berlin’s lyric takes a distinctly different approach,
stating the desire for romance over wealth and providing
emotional counterpoints along the way, including
“I’ve grown so tired of being so sad,” and a series
of negative statements in the verse, such as “I
never envied those rich millionaires.” -JW
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Musical analysis of
“If I Had You”
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| Original
Key |
Bb major;
false key change to D minor in section “B” |
| Form |
A1 – A2 –
B – A2 |
| Tonality |
Major throughout
section “A”; minor throughout section “B” |
| Movement |
“A” consists
of chromatic upward runs, followed by upward
leaps and short chromatic falls. “B” has
neighbor-note movement with downward skips. |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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Initial harmonic progression similar to
“Cherokee”
(I – v7 – I7 – IV – iv), except that this
song does a I – iii – VI7 – ii (substituting
a biii for VI7) turnaround on the first
ending. Section “B” is simply a i – ii7(b5)
– V7 in D minor (the 3rd scale degree of
the initial tonic) repeated three times
before returning to V7 of the tonic via
a circle of fifths. |
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com
Check out K. J. McElrath's book of Jazz Standards Guide Tone Lines at his web site (www.bardicle.com). |
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“If I Had You”
was included in these films:
- The Clock aka Under the Clock
(1945, Judy Garland)
- Thrill of a Romance (1945,
Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra)
- You Were Meant for Me (1948,
Dan Dailey)
- The Silencers (1966, Dean
Martin)
- Hannah and Her Sisters (1986,
Roy Eldridge)
- Everyone Says I Love You (1996,
Tim Roth, Dick Hyman, The New York Studio Players)
- Eyes Wide Shut (1999, Roy
Gerson)
- What Women Want (2000, Nnenna
Freelon)
- Two Weeks Notice (2002, Dick
Hyman)
And on stage:
- Minnelli on Minnelli (1999,
Liza Minnelli) Broadway special
And on television:
- Jeeves and Wooster (1990)
Granada TV comedy series
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
Diana Krall
All For You
1996, Impulse! 182
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| Krall leaves the piano playing to
Benny Green and concentrates on a smoldering
vocal delivery. Her sultry crooning amplifies
the yearning within the lyric. |
Art Blakey Quintet
A Night at Birdland Vol.2
2001, Blue Note
(Original recording, 1954)
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| Alto saxophonist Donaldson lays
down some crisp and shiny tones over the
delicate piano of Horace Silver on this
live, blues-tinged version of the ballad. |
Joe Williams
Here’s to Life
1994 Telarc 83357
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| A 75-year-old Joe Williams boasts
eternal youth on this sentimental interpretation
of the song. Williams’ vocals are as sophisticated
and warm as ever on top of the lush arrangement
by Robert Farnon. |
Charlie Ventura
1949
2002, Melodie Jazz Classic 1215
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| Passionate and adventurous, saxophonist
Ventura’s solo is layer upon layer of rich
tones on this infectious bop reading of
“If I Had You.” |
Lenny Tristano
Lenny Tristano/The New Lenny Tristano
1994, Rhino 71595
Original recording, 1962, Atlantic
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| Pianist Tristano has served as guru
to many musicians. This CD combines two
accessible LP’s featuring him solo, trio,
and in a quartet with Gene Ramey (b), Art
Taylor (d), and altoist Lee Konitz, who
sets the pace with his opening solo on “If
I Had You.” |
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Benny Goodman’s Sextet grabs the honors for
the first jazz recording of this tune, and it’s
an excellent version, featuring clarinetist Goodman,
trombonist Lou McGarity and pianist Mel Powell,
recorded in 1941.
Three years later Cab Calloway’s tenor saxophonist
Ike Quebec brought several of his band mates into
the studio for a date at Blue Note. “If I Had You”
was a feature for his Coleman Hawkins-ish style
of playing, and his version is memorable. Quebec
later become the artist-and-repertoire representative
for Blue Note, and among his finds was another great
tenor player, Dexter Gordon.
Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian
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| This section shows the jazz standards
written by the same writing team. Click on a name
to see all of a writer's jazz standards.
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Additional information on “If I Had You” may be found in:
1 paragraph including the following types of information: history and performers.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: film productions, history, performers and style discussion.
Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.
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