It Could Happen To You — Form, Changes & How to Play It

About It Could Happen To You

Van Heusen & Burke’s 1944 Hollywood Hit That Became A Jazz Standard

It Could Happen To You was written in 1943 by composer Jimmy Van Heusen and lyricist Johnny Burke — the songwriting team behind dozens of hits for Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, including “Swinging on a Star,” “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” “Here’s That Rainy Day” and “But Beautiful.” The song was composed for the 1944 Paramount musical comedy And the Angels Sing, where it was introduced on screen by Dorothy Lamour. The film, starring Lamour with Betty Hutton, Diana Lynn and Fred MacMurray, was a wartime hit, and the song quickly outgrew the picture.

The first commercial recording came soon after. Jo Stafford’s version for Capitol Records (recorded 13 December 1943, with Paul Weston’s Orchestra) reached number 10 on the Billboard chart in September 1944, and Bing Crosby’s Decca recording (made later that month with John Scott Trotter’s Orchestra) followed it into the charts at number 18. Dinah Shore also recorded a popular version for Victor that same year. By the late 1940s the song had crossed from the pop charts into the jazz repertoire, where it has remained ever since.

The most influential jazz recording is Chet Baker’s, made on the West Coast in August 1958 and released later that year on the Riverside album Chet Baker Sings: It Could Happen To You (RLP 12-278) with pianist Kenny Drew, bassist George Morrow and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Baker’s vocal version on that album became the definitive reading of the song, and his trumpet solo on the same track is essential study material for any jazz improviser. The tune has since been recorded by Miles Davis (on Relaxin’, 1956), Bill Evans (most famously at the Village Vanguard in 1961) and Sonny Rollins. Dexter Gordon’s composition “Fried Bananas” is a contrafact built on the same chord progression.

The Form & Harmony

32-Bar ABAC in E♭ Major with Diminished Passing Chords

It Could Happen To You is in 32-bar ABAC form rather than the more common AABA. Each section is eight bars long: an A section (bars 1–8) introduces the harmonic material, a B section (bars 9–16) provides contrast, the A section returns identically (bars 17–24), and a C section (bars 25–32) provides a varied ending that resolves the tune. The tune is normally played in the concert key of E♭ major — F major for tenor saxophone, C major for alto saxophone — and stays in that key throughout, with all the harmonic colour coming from the chord choices within the key rather than from modulation.

The most distinctive feature of the A section harmony is the use of diminished passing chords. Bar 1 is E♭6, bar 2 brings in E°7 (an E diminished 7 chord rising chromatically from the E♭ root) as a substitution for the implied Gm7♭5 → C7♭9, bar 3 moves to Fm7, and bar 4 returns with another diminished passing chord F♯°7, which is sometimes also played as Am7♭5 → D7♭9. This pattern of diminished passing chords resolving by half step is one of the most idiomatic sounds in the standard repertoire and gives the tune its instantly-recognisable harmonic colour.

How to Learn It Could Happen To You

A Practical Approach for Saxophonists

1. Learn the melody by ear. The melody is highly singable but sits beautifully against rich harmony, with characteristic dotted-quarter rhythms that don’t fully come across on the page. Listen to a definitive recording — Chet Baker’s vocal version on Chet Baker Sings: It Could Happen To You (1958) is ideal — and copy his phrasing before playing from the page. Knowing Johnny Burke’s lyric will help you shape the line naturally and bring out the breathing points.

2. Navigate the diminished passing chords. The A sections use characteristic diminished passing chords (E°7 in bar 2, F♯°7 in bar 4) that give the tune its distinctive sound. Practise the diminished scale and arpeggios over these chords until they feel natural. The voice-leading pattern — each diminished chord resolving smoothly to the next chord by a half step — is one of the great teaching examples in the standard repertoire and a sound you’ll find in dozens of other standards once you know what to listen for. Also practise the alternate chords here - Gm7♭5-C7♭9 instead of E°7 and Am7♭5-D7♭9, all of which are possible alternatives.

3. Map the ABAC form. Unlike the common AABA standards, It Could Happen To You is in 32-bar ABAC form: A (bars 1–8) → B (9–16) → A (17–24) → C (25–32). The two A sections are identical, but the B and C sections take different paths. Knowing where you are in the form is essential — the C section in particular has different harmony to the B section and resolves the tune rather than setting up another A. Practise each section separately, then drill the transition points: bar 8 into bar 9, bar 16 into bar 17, and bar 24 into bar 25.

4. Have a look at Fried Bananas. Dexter Gordon’s composition “Fried Bananas” is a contrafact built on the It Could Happen To You chord progression — same harmony, new melody. Studying both tunes together helps you internalise the changes from two different melodic perspectives, and Gordon’s lines on Fried Bananas offer a wealth of vocabulary for blowing over these changes. Sonny Rollins also recorded an iconic version of the tune itself.

If you would like one-to-one guidance working through It Could Happen To You or any standard, saxophone lessons in person in South East London or online are available, with a focus on jazz repertoire, transcription study and technique. You may also find our free saxophone transcriptions useful — studying how Chet Baker, Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon approached these changes is one of the most direct ways to build your jazz vocabulary.

Essential It Could Happen To You Recordings

Five Versions Worth Knowing

The unmissable recording is Chet Baker (1958) on Chet Baker Sings: It Could Happen To You (Riverside RLP 12-278). Recorded in August 1958 with Kenny Drew on piano, George Morrow on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums, this is the definitive vocal version of the song — Baker’s laid-back delivery and the trumpet solo that follows it have set the standard for every musician approaching this tune since.

From there, work through Miles Davis Quintet (1956) on Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet for a definitive instrumental reading featuring John Coltrane, Bill Evans Trio on Sunday at the Village Vanguard (1961) with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian for an essential piano-trio perspective, Sonny Rollins on The Sound of Sonny (1957) for a tenor masterclass, and the original Dorothy Lamour recording from And the Angels Sing (1944) for the historical context — the first recorded version of the song.

If you enjoy this style of classic American songbook standard, browse the online real book index for the standards we can offer as free PDFs in Concert, B♭ and E♭.