Jazz Standards Songs and Instrumentals (Poor Butterfly)

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Poor Butterfly (1916)

Origin and Chart Information

Rank	196

Music	Raymond Hubbell

Lyrics	John L Golden

JazzStandards.com documents the standards that jazz musicians play and record. Click on Songs to see the full list.

Music and Lyrics Analysis

Musical analysis of “Poor Butterfly”
Original Key	Ab major
Form	A - B - A - C
Tonality	Primarily major
Movement	A great deal of chromatic and whole-step, scale-wise motion, punctuated by dramatic leaps of a sixth and more in both directions. The third degree of the scale is often preceded by a chromatic lower neighbor.
Comments (assumed background)
This song is typical of the sub-genre of sentimental, “pseudo-Oriental” ballads popular between 1910 and ca. 1925. Wide interval leaps over augmented fifth chords add emotion and melodrama, perfectly complimenting the dated lyrics (which would probably be offensive to people of Asian descent today). The melodic line is, however, quite lyrical and lends itself readily to extended harmonies and chord substitutions (several are already “built-in” to the melody, such as the ninth in measure 3 of “A” and the augmented fifth of a V7/VI chord, enabling the insertion of an embellishing IV chord prior to the V7⁽⁺⁵⁾.
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).

Musician's Comments

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CD Recommendations for This Tune

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Sonny Rollins

Vol. 2
(1999 Blue Note 97809) Original recording 1957

Rollins is at his most sentimental on this robust, blues-tinged interpretation of the song. An all-star squad joins the saxophonist with trombonist J.J. Johnson almost stealing the show from the leader on this one.

Tito Puente

Mucho Puente
(2004 Sony BMG Music Norte 13616) Original recording 1957

A light, airy version of the song is populated by plucked strings and gentle percussion. 50’s lounge music at its coolest.

Ray Brown

Jazz Cello
(2003 Verve 440065295) Original recording 1960

Bass player Ray Brown picks up the cello for this outing, proving his virtuosity on an instrument too seldom heard in jazz. He swings “Poor Butterfly” with style in an arrangement punctuated by razor sharp horns.

Sarah Vaughan

Soft & Sassy
(1994 Hindsight Records 601) Original Recording 1961

The “Divine One” sings the verse for this song which lends special charm to the lyrics. Sarah shines in this trio setting throughout the disc.

Jazz History Notes

William Grant Still, who now is getting a great deal of well-deserved recognition as a pioneering African-American orchestral composer, arranged Red Nichols’ 1928 version of this tune, which includes some nice solos by Nichols (cornet), Dudley Fosdick (mellophone), and Fud Livingston (clarinet).

Ten years later, another cornetist, Bobby Hackett, recorded a lyrical version of the tune with a small band that included Pee Wee Russell on clarinet and Brad Gowans on valve trombone.

Benny Goodman seems to have had a fondness for the number, recording in 1935 with his first big band, then again in 1940 with his sextet (which included Lionel Hampton on vibes and Charlie Christian on electric guitar), and almost a dozen times more.

Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian

Red Nichols. 1928-1929

Classics 1270

Bobby Hackett

At the Jazz Band Ball 1938-1940
Jasmine Music 2579

Benny Goodman

Good to Go
Buddha/BMG 99624

Benny Goodman

Sextet Featuring Charlie Christian 1939-1941
Sony 45144

Written by the Same Composer or Team...

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.

John L Golden and Raymond Hubbell
Year	Rank	Title
1916	196	“Poor Butterfly”

Reading and Research

Additional information on “Poor Butterfly” may be found in:

American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 by Alec Wilder

3 paragraphs including the following types of information: music analysis.

The American Musical Theatre Song Encyclopedia by Thomas S. Hischak

1 paragraph including the following types of information: summary and performers.

The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia by Thomas S. Hischak

1 paragraph including the following types of information: film productions, history and performers.