Cherokee (Ray Noble song)

"Cherokee"
Song
Published	1938
Genre	Jazz
Writer(s)	Ray Noble

"Cherokee" (also known as "Cherokee (Indian Love Song)") is a jazz standard written by Ray Noble and published in 1938. It was originally intended as the first of five movements for an "Indian Suite" (Cherokee, Comanche War Dance, Iroquois, Seminole, and Sioux).

The composition has a 64-bar AABA construction. The A-section harmony is straightforward by the standards of 1930s songs, but the B-section is more sophisticated. This is because "It cadences (via ii-7–V7–I progressions) into the keys of B Major, A Major and G Major before moving toward the B♭ tonic."

"Cherokee" has been recorded over the years by many jazz musicians and singers. Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra's 1939 version reached No. 15 on the pop charts. It was later recorded by Charlie Parker, the Count Basie Orchestra, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan (1955), Dakota Staton (1958), Art Tatum and Keely Smith. The song has also been covered as an instrumental by Bud Powell (1950),Clifford Brown,Don Byas, Stan Getz, Lionel Hampton, Harry James, Christian McBride, and by Johnny Smith on his album Moonlight in Vermont.

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