There'll Be Some Changes Made is a 1921 popular song written by Benton Overstreet with lyrics by Billy Higgins and published by Edward B. Marks Music Corp. The original recording by Ethel Waters on Black Swan Records in 1921 helped launch the tune as a Harlem Renaissance staple, notable for a 6-bar instrumental intro and its bold, confident theme of personal change. Since then it has become a jazz standard with hundreds of recordings across the decades.
Key facts:
- Original artist and year: Ethel Waters, 1921 (Black Swan Records)
- Genre and career arc: from popular song to jazz standard, with enduring recordings
- Notable versions: Marion Harris (1924), Fats Waller (1935), Benny Goodman and His Orchestra with Louise Tobin (1939), Billie Holiday (1959) in her last studio session, Bob Wills (1937)
- Album connections: there is a 1972 album titled There’ll Be Some Changes Made by Jaki Byard
- Sheet music and artwork: Benny Goodman appears on early sheet music covers (1923)
- Film and soundtrack uses: Play Girl (1941), Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown (1999) among others
