If I Should Lose You was composed by Ralph Rainger with lyrics by Leo Robin in 1935 for the Paramount film Rose of the Rancho, a romantic comedy about early Spanish settlers in California starring John Boles and Gladys Swarthout. Rainger and Robin, who had been collaborating since 1931 under contract with Paramount Studios, contributed the score as part of a prolific partnership that produced numerous film songs. The first recording, by Richard Himber and His Orchestra with vocalist Stuart Allen in 1936, reached number 15 on the charts, but the tune did not immediately establish itself as a standard. Its prominence in the jazz repertoire grew significantly after Charlie Parker recorded it in 1949 with a string ensemble, a version that drew widespread attention from jazz instrumentalists and vocalists. The composition is a romantic minor ballad with a deeply emotive melody and what has been described as an atmosphere of poignant loss. Alec Wilder characterized its harmonic direction as interesting, and its sophisticated chord progression builds emotional urgency while remaining accessible enough for both vocal and instrumental interpretation. The tune has attracted a wide range of performers across decades, from Nina Simone and Frank Sinatra to George Shearing and Mulgrew Miller. On AllSolos, Hank Mobley's rendition from Soul Station (1960) is featured, a swinging tenor saxophone performance with Wynton Kelly on piano that exemplifies the tune's adaptability to hard bop treatment.
