The Divine One!
Sarah Vaughan started releasing albums in her mid-20s after having spent the ‘40s singing in New York nightclubs and getting to know the American Jazz elite.
Her first singles came as early as 1946 and included one of her most recognized tunes, Black Coffee (1949).
Her most productive decades would be the ‘50s and ‘60s when she released 35 studio albums.
On the self-titled debut, Sarah Vaughan (1950), we find Nice Work If You Can Get It and Ain’t Misbehavin’, both well-established jazz standards even back then.
The ‘50s would see Sarah record more classics like Over The Rainbow, Lullaby of Birdland, and April in Paris (1955).
The album Swingin’ Easy (1957) had several standards: All Of Me, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Pennies From Heaven, and the tune that she sang to win her first talent show, leading to opening for Ella Fitzgerald at the Apollo in 1942; Body and Soul.
Other highlights can be found in The Man I Love, Summertime, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, and Cheek to Cheek (1958).
To finish off the ‘50s, she also released Misty, which was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis and later Ella Fitzgerald.
As we enter the ‘60s, Sarah continued her jazz standard hit parade as she sang Have You Met Miss Jones? and Stormy Weather (1960), My Favorite Things, and In a Sentimental Mood (1961).
In 1962 she recorded Maria (from West Side Story), Stella By Starlight, Baby Won’t You Please Come Home, and Fly Me To The Moon.
The following year she released Honeysuckle Rose, My Funny Valentine, and I Got Rhythm. In 1964 we get The Man I Love (again!) as well as Days of Wine and Roses.
By now, Vaughan had a great catalogue to pick from whenever she performed live, something she did worldwide and captured on 10 live albums during her long career.
The second half of the ‘60s was more of the same; she released albums with jazz standards, with the addition of some Beatles tunes.
In 1965 we hear Moon River, and in 1966 her many Beatles interpretations began with Michelle and Yesterday.
During 1967 she released more standards in Alfie, Danny Boy, and Take The “A” Train.
During the ‘70s, we get many more Beatles tunes in Imagine, Blackbird, Come Together, and Get Back. However, many of these didn’t see the light of day until 1981 even though they were recorded in 1977.
Sarah Vaughan also recorded Bob Dylan’s If Not For You (1971) and Alone Again Naturally by Gilbert O’Sullivan (1972).
Surprisingly, she didn’t do one of the most common jazz standards around, Autumn Leaves until 1982 on the album Crazy and Mixed Up.
The rest of the ‘80s, ‘90s, and on this side of the millennium, we mainly see her release live albums, compilations, and greatest hits.
Sarah Vaughan Tunes | Related Pages
All Of Me
You can learn how to play All Of Me by Frank Sinatra (and Billie Holiday) using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| Bbmaj7 | Bbmaj7 | D7 | D7 |
All of me, why not take all of me…
Autumn Leaves
You can learn how to play Autumn Leaves by Chet Baker using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| Am7 | D7 | Gmaj7 | Cmaj7 |
The falling leaves drift by my window…
Baby Won’t You Please Come Home
Learn how to play Baby Won’t You Please Come Home by Clarence Williams using chords, lyrics, and a Spytunes video guitar lesson.
| D7 | B7 | Em7 | A7 |
Baby won’t you please come home, ’cause your mama’s all alone…
Blackbird
You can learn how to play Blackbird by The Beatles using chords, lyrics, TAB, chord analysis, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| 3/4 G Am7 G/B | 4/4 G |
Blackbird singing in the dead of night…
Come Together
You can learn how to play Come Together by The Beatles using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| Dm | Dm |
Here come old flat top, he come grooving up slowly…
Fly Me To The Moon
You can learn how to play Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| Am7 | Dm7 | G7 | Cmaj7 |
Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars…
Get Back
You can learn how to play Get Back by The Beatles using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| A5 (A6) | A5 (A6 A7) | D7 (D6) | A5 (A6 A7) |
Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner, but he knew it couldn’t last…
Misty
You can learn how to play Misty by Ella Fitzgerald using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, TAB, and the original recording.
| Bbmaj7 | Fm7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 |
Look at me, I’m as helpless as a kitten up a tree…
My Funny Valentine
You can learn how to play My Funny Valentine by Chet Baker using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, the original recording, and cover versions.
| Cm | Cmmaj7 | Cm7 | Cm6 |
My funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine…
Over The Rainbow
You can learn how to play Over The Rainbow by Eva Cassidy using chords, lyrics, TAB, chord analysis, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Gsus2 /F# | Em /D | Bm7b13 | G7 Amadd4 /B |
Somewhere over the rainbow…
Summertime
You can learn how to play Summertime by Billie Holiday using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C | Bbm7 F7b9/C | Db6 F7b9/C |
Summertime and the living is easy…
Sarah Vaughan on the web
Artists & Bands
Behind every single tune you learn, there’s an artist or band with an entire catalogue of music, waiting to be discovered.
Find out more about these great Artists & Bands, and let their tunes guide you to success.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about Sarah Vaughan tunes, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
