Page "Ballad" Paragraph 28

As new genres of music, such as ragtime, blues and jazz, began to emerge in the early 20th century the popularity of the genre faded, but the association with sentimentality led to the term ballad being used for a slow love song from the 1950s onwards.

Most pop standard and jazz ballads are built from a single, introductory verse ; usually around 16 bars in length, and ending on the dominant ; the chorus or refrain, usually it is 16 or 32 bars long, and in AABA form ( though other forms such as ABAC are not uncommon ).

In AABA forms, the B section is usually referred to as the bridge ; often a brief coda, sometimes based on material from the bridge, was added as in " Over the Rainbow ".

Other key traditional pop and jazz ballads include: " Body and Soul " by Johnny Green ; " Misty " by Erroll Garner ; " The Man I Love " by George Gershwin ; " My Funny Valentine " by Rodgers and Hart, " God Bless the Child " by Billie Holiday, " Ev ' ry Time We Say Goodbye " by Cole Porter, the instrumental ballad " Naima " by John Coltrane, " In a Sentimental Mood " by Duke Ellington and " Always " by Irving Berlin.