Free Jazz Standard Sheet Music Downloads

"Get Happy" was the first collaboration between composer Harold Arlen and lyricist Ted Koehler, introduced by Ruth Etting in the Broadway revue Nine-Fifteen Revue in 1930. Though the show closed after just seven performances, the song itself became an immediate hit.

Written in the key of E♭ major with a 32-bar structure, "Get Happy" pulses with the syncopated energy of a gospel revival meeting. The driving, uplifting melody practically demands an up-tempo swing treatment, and its straightforward chord progression generates tremendous rhythmic momentum. Arlen's gift for blending blues inflections with Tin Pan Alley sophistication is on full display here—the tune swings hard while maintaining an irresistible melodic hook. For jazz musicians, it offers a perfect vehicle for exuberant, high-energy improvisation.

The song's most legendary performance is Judy Garland's show-stopping rendition in the 1950 MGM film Summer Stock, ranked #61 on the AFI's list of the 100 greatest movie songs. In the jazz world, recordings by Ella Fitzgerald and the early 1930 hit by Nat Shilkret and His Orchestra remain well-known interpretations.