Ballad

Georgia on My Mind

The chords and lyrics are below, and the video illustrates some fairly easy fingering for the changes on this lovely Hoagy Carmichael song, made famous by the great Ray Charles. Georgia was written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart Gorrell (lyrics). Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy’s sister, Georgia Carmichael. The lyrics of the song are ambiguous enough to refer either to the state or to a woman named “Georgia”, a fact I only came to realize recently.

Please Enjoy! And if you’re interested in guitar lessons online, give me a shout.

[Intro] C C#dim | Dm7 G (2X)

CM7 | E7 | Am Am7 | D7 Fm
Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through

C Am | Dm G | C C#o | Dm7 G
Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind (on my mind)

CM7 | Bdim E7 | Am Am7 | D7 Fm
I said Georgia, Georgia, a song of you

C A7 | Dm G7 | C6 F Fm | C E7

Comes as sweet and […]

Paul2026-05-27T10:51:49-04:00

Autumn Leaves

autumn leaves chart

“Autumn Leaves” is a popular song and jazz standard composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945 with original lyrics by Jacques Prévert in French (original French title: “Les Feuilles mortes”), and later by Johnny Mercer in English. An instrumental version by pianist Roger Williams was a number one best-seller in the US Billboard charts of 1955.

Kosma was a native of Hungary who was introduced to Prévert in Paris. They collaborated on the song Les Feuilles mortes (“The Dead Leaves”) for the 1946 film Les Portes de la nuit (Gates of the Night) where it was sung by Irène Joachim and Yves Montand. The poem was published, after the death of Jacques Prévert, in the book “Soleil de Nuit” in 1980. Kosma was influenced by a piece of ballet music, “Rendez-vous” written for Roland Petit, performed in Paris at the end of the Second World War, large parts of the melodies are exactly the same, which was itself borrowed partially from “Poème d’octobre” by Jules Massenet. The first commercial recordings of “Les Feuilles mortes” were released in 1950, by Cora Vaucaire and by Yves Montand. Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyric and gave it the title “Autumn Leaves”.

The song is in AABC form. “Autumn Leaves” offers a popular way for beginning jazz musicians to […]

Paul2026-05-08T12:20:40-04:00

Wonderful Tonight

Wonderful tonight

“Wonderful Tonight” is a song written and performed by English singer Eric Clapton. The ballad was included on Clapton’s 1977 album Slowhand. Clapton wrote the song on his 1974 Martin D-28 guitar about Pattie Boyd. The female vocal harmonies on the song are provided by Marcella Detroit (then Marcy Levy) and Yvonne Elliman. It peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 15 July 1978, spending seven weeks in the top 40. In Canada it was in the top 40 for nine weeks.

On 7 September 1976, Eric Clapton wrote “Wonderful Tonight” for then-girlfriend Pattie Boyd while waiting for her to get ready to attend Paul and Linda McCartney’s annual Buddy Holly party. The song is mentioned in her 2007 autobiographical book Wonderful Today.

Billboard described “Wonderful Tonight” as “perhaps Clapton’s prettiest and mellowest love ballad in some time.” Billboard particularly praised Clapton’s guitar playing during the interludes. Cash Box said that “Eric’s singing is superbly understated; the guitar work is simple and evocative” and praised “the gentle beat and organ accompaniment.” Record World called it a “light, pretty ballad from [the album] Slowhand that should also move quickly up the charts” and praised Clapton’s singing.”

Paul2026-05-09T13:25:27-04:00

Beyond The Sea

Beyond the Sea

“Beyond the Sea” has been recorded by many artists, but Bobby Darin‘s version released in late 1959 is the best known, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 15 on the US R&B Chart, No. 7 in Canada (co-charted with “That’s The Way Love Is”), and No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart in early 1960.

Before Bobby Darin’s version, two instrumental recordings reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Benny Goodman‘s version charted in 1948, and was featured in the Cary Grant/Betsy Drake romantic comedy Every Girl Should Be Married. Roger Williams’ recording reached No. 37 in 1955.

The first recording of “Beyond the Sea” was by Harry James and His Orchestra on December 22, 1947, and the first recording of “La Mer” was by French musician Roland Gerbeau in December 1945 (the song’s author, Charles Trenet, did not record it until the following year).

American R&B singer George Benson recorded an R&B version of the song under the title “Beyond the Sea (La Mer)”. It was released on Warner Bros. This version entered the UK Singles Chart on 20 April 1985. It peaked at No. 60 and remained on the chart for three weeks.

“The only love affair I have ever had was with music.” – Maurice Ravel

Paul2026-04-13T11:57:05-04:00

Moon River

Moon river

“Moon River” is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In 1999, Mancini’s recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The song has been recorded by many other artists. It became the theme song for Andy Williams, who first recorded it in 1962 (and performed it at the Academy Awards ceremony that year). He sang the first eight bars of the song at the beginning of each episode of his eponymous television show and named his production company and venue in Branson, Missouri, after it; his autobiography is called “Moon River” and Me. Williams’ version was included in a LP that he recorded for Columbia on a hit album of 1962, Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes. In 2022, Williams’ rendition of the song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress.

The song’s success was responsible for relaunching Mercer’s career as a songwriter, which had stalled in the mid-1950s because rock and roll had replaced jazz standards as the popular music of the time. The […]

Paul2026-04-20T15:36:56-04:00

Dream Dream Dream

Download the PDF: Dream Dream Dream

The best-known version was recorded by the Everly Brothers at RCA Studios Nashville and released as a single in April 1958. It was recorded by them in only two live takes on March 6, 1958, and features Chet Atkins on guitar. It was the only single ever to be at number one on all of the Billboard singles charts simultaneously. On May 12, 1958, it became number one on the “Best Sellers in Stores” chart, then it reached number one on the “Most played by Jockeys” and “Top 100” charts on May 19, 1958, and remained at the top on each chart for four, five, and three weeks, respectively. With the August 1958 introduction of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the song ended the year at number two. “All I Have to Do Is Dream” also hit number one on the rhythm and blues chart, and became the Everly Brothers’ third chart topper on the country chart. The Everly Brothers briefly returned to the Hot 100 in 1961 with this song.

Outside the United States, “All I Have to Do Is Dream” had massive success in various countries, most notably the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK’s New Musical Express chart in June 1958 and remained there for seven weeks (including one week […]

Paul2026-04-25T19:25:50-04:00

Turn The Page

Download the PDF

“Turn the Page” is a song by American singer Bob Seger written in 1972 and included on his Back in ’72 album in 1973. It was not released as a single until Seger’s live version of the song on the 1976 Live Bullet album got released in Germany and the UK. The song became a mainstay of album-oriented rock radio stations, and still gets significant airplay on classic rock stations.

“Turn the Page” is about the emotional and social ups and downs of a rock musician’s life on the road. Seger wrote it in 1972 while touring with Teegarden & Van Winkle. Drummer David Teegarden (of Teegarden & Van Winkle and later the Silver Bullet Band) recalls:

We had been playing somewhere in the Midwest, or the northern reaches, on our way to North or South Dakota. [Guitarist] Mike Bruce was with us. We’d been traveling all night from the Detroit area to make this gig, driving in this blinding snowstorm. It was probably 3 in the morning. Mike decided it was time to get gas. He was slowing down to exit the interstate and spied a truck stop. We all had very long hair back then – it was the hippie era – but Skip, Mike […]

Paul2026-04-13T14:15:34-04:00

Mr. Bojangles

“Mr. Bojangles” is a song written and originally recorded by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1968 album of the same title. It has since been recorded by other artists, including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1969 whose version hit number 9 on the Hot 100 in November 1970.

Walker said he was inspired to write the song after an encounter with a street performer in a New Orleans jail. While in jail for public intoxication in 1965, he met a homeless man who called himself “Mr. Bojangles” to conceal his true identity from the police. Mr. Bojangles had been arrested as part of a police sweep of indigent people that was carried out following a high-profile murder. The two men and others in the cell chatted about all manner of things, but when Mr. Bojangles told a story about his performing dog who was killed by a car, the mood in the room turned heavy. Someone else in the cell asked for something to lighten the mood, and Mr. Bojangles obliged with a tap dance. The homeless “Mr. Bojangles”, who was white, had taken his pseudonym from Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (1878–1949), a black entertainer.

“Music is powerful. As people listen to it, they can be affected. They respond.” – […]

Paul2026-04-08T18:29:50-04:00

Blue Moon

Download the Blue Moon leadsheet

“Blue Moon” is a popular song written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934 that has become a standard ballad. The song was first recorded by Ted Fio Rito with Muzzy Marcellino on vocals. Other early recordings included those by Connee Boswell and by Al Bowlly in 1935. The song was a hit twice in 1949, with successful recordings in the U.S. by Billy Eckstine and Mel Tormé.

In 1961, “Blue Moon” became an international number-one hit for the doo-wop group the Marcels, on the Billboard 100 chart and in the UK Singles Chart, and later that same year, an instrumental version by the Ventures charted at No. 54. Over the years, “Blue Moon” has been covered by many artists, including Frankie Avalon, the Beatles (as studio jam), Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Ray Stevens, Billie Holiday, Al Bowlly, Elvis Presley, Bobby Vinton, Sam Cooke, the Platters, Julie London, the Mavericks, Dean Martin, the Supremes, Showaddywaddy, Cyndi Lauper, Bob Dylan, and Rod Stewart. Bing Crosby featured […]

Paul2026-04-14T08:20:20-04:00

Way Down in the Hole

Way_Down_In_The_Hole

“Way Down in the Hole” is a song written by the singer-songwriter Tom Waits. It was included on his 1987 album Franks Wild Years, which was first presented as a stage production put on by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois.

The song was used as the theme for HBO’s The Wire. A different recording was used each season. Versions, in series order, were recorded by The Blind Boys of Alabama, Tom Waits, The Neville Brothers, DoMaJe, and Steve Earle. Season four’s version, performed by the Baltimore teenagers Ivan Ashford, Markel Steele, Cameron Brown, Tariq Al-Sabir and Avery Bargasse, was arranged and recorded specifically for the show. An extended version of the Blind Boys of Alabama recording was played over a montage in the series finale.

In 2004, music historian Kim Beissel said that the 1994 song “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was loosely based on “Way Down in the Hole”.

“Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music […]

Paul2026-04-30T12:17:26-04:00