BYE BYE BLACKBIRD - Free Jazz Leadsheet

“bye bye blackbird,” occasionally printed with hyphen and spacing variations, was written in 1926 by composer Ray Henderson with lyrics by Mort Dixon. The tune’s first major recording was by Gene Austin in the same year, recorded in New York, and it quickly became a hit among early popular-song performers.

The song later achieved lasting prominence through recordings by artists such as Rudy Vallée, Peggy Lee, and a famous 1950s version by Miles Davis. Its lyrics centre on leaving behind a troubled situation in search of comfort, expressed through simple, memorable phrases. Musically, the song follows a classic 32-bar pattern with a melody that sits comfortably for both vocalists and instrumental improvisers.