Rockin' Chair (1929 song)

"Rockin' Chair" is a 1929 popular song with music composed by Hoagy Carmichael. Musically, it is unconventional as after the B section when most popular songs return to A, this song has an A-B-C-A1 structure. Carmichael recorded the song twice, in 1929 and 1930. Mildred Bailey made it famous by using it as her theme song. Frank Sinatra recorded a definitive version.

The song was first recorded on February 19, 1929 by Hoagy Carmichael as a test for Victor Records, but not released at the time. This recording was later released on the Historical label as HLA-37. This version is sung by only one vocalist. Hoagy Carmichael and his Orchestra recorded a new version on September 15, 1930 featuring Bix Beiderbecke on cornet. This second version is with two vocalists and was released on Victor Records as V-38139B. Louis Armstrong recorded it with Hoagy Carmichael on vocals on December 13, 1929 at Okeh studios after the stock market crashed, giving a badly needed boost to Carmichael's finances. The recording was released as Okeh 8756 in 1930. The song utilises "call and response" to create a dialog between an aged father and his son. Armstrong performed "Rockin' Chair" numerous times in his career with his trombonist Jack Teagarden.

This song was also covered by Eric Clapton in his 2010 homonimous album "Clapton".