Easy Living (song)

This article is about the 1937 jazz standard. For other songs with the same title, see Easy Living (disambiguation).

"Easy Living"
Song by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin
Published	1937
Genre	Jazz  • swing
Composer	Ralph Rainger
Lyricist	Leo Robin

"Easy Living" is a jazz standard written by Ralph Rainger with lyrics by Leo Robin for the 1937 film Easy Living ^{[1] [2]}

A popular recording of the song was released in 1937 by Teddy Wilson for Brunswick Records, ^[1] featuring Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, and Lester Young. ^[3]

Composition

"Easy Living" was written in ⁴
₄ time in the key of F major. It follows a 32-bar AABA form. ^[4]

Other recordings

As a jazz standard, "Easy Living" has been re-recorded many times. Notable releases include: ^[5]

• Clifford Brown - Memorial Album (1953) ^[6]
• Bill Evans - New Jazz Conceptions (1956) ^[7]
• Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Third Dimension (1956)
• Paul Desmond (with Jim Hall) - Easy Living (1964) ^[8]
• Lou Bennett with René Thomas - Pentacostal Feeling (1966) ^[9]
• Nancy Wilson – But Beautiful (1969) ^[10]
• Sarah Vaughan (with Oscar Peterson) - How Long Has This Been Going On? (1978) ^[11]
• Frank Morgan (with Cedar Walton) - Easy Living (1985) ^[12]
• Ann Hampton Callaway (with Wynton Marsalis) - Easy Living (1999) ^[13]

See also

• List of 1930s jazz standards

References

1. Gioia 2012, p. 94.
2. Wilson 1987.
3. Whitburn 1986, p.  215.
4. Hal Leonard 2006, p. 127.
5. Gioia 2012, p. 95.
6. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
7. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
8. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
9. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
10. "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
11. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
12. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
13. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 28, 2025.

Bibliography

• Gioia, Ted (2012). "Easy Living". The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 94-95. ISBN   978-0-19-993739-4.
• "Easy Living". The Real Book (Lead sheet). Vol. 1 (6th ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard. 2006. p. 127. ISBN   978-0-634-06038-0.
• Wilson, John S. (April 30, 1987). "Cabaret: Rainger Revue". The New York Times. p. C14. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 8, 2017. [...] a couple of movie songs now remembered for Billie Holiday's recordings, 'Easy Living,' and 'I Wished on the Moon'; ...
• Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN   0-89820-083-0. LCCN   86225626.

External links

• Billie Holiday - Easy Living, from The Essential Billie Holiday (The Columbia Years) on YouTube