Rockin' Chair is a 1929 jazz standard written by Hoagy Carmichael. Carmichael first recorded it on February 19, 1929 as a test for Victor Records, a take that was not released at the time but later issued on the Historical label as HLA-37. A 1930 version for Victor with Bix Beiderbecke followed (V-38139B), and Louis Armstrong joined Carmichael on vocals for a December 1929 session at Okeh Studios that was released as Okeh 8756 in 1930 and helped the tune gain popularity by 1932. Mildred Bailey helped to popularize the song as her theme and recorded it in 1932 for Bluebird (6945) and later for Vocalion (3553); she became known as The Rockin' Chair Lady. The tune is known for its call-and-response dialogue between an aged father and his son and for its unusual A-B-C-A structure, which sets it apart from many pop songs of the era. It later appeared on numerous albums and has been covered by artists such as Paul Robeson, Jo Stafford, Frankie Laine, Patti Page, Kay Starr, and Eric Clapton, securing its status as an enduring 1920s jazz standard.
