"Detour Ahead" is a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

with words and music credited to

Herb Ellis Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson. Biography Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raised ...

Johnny Frigo Johnny Frigo (December 27, 1916 – July 4, 2007) was an American jazz violinist, bassist and songwriter. He appeared in the 1940s as a violinist before working as a bassist. He returned to the violin in the 1980s and enjoyed a comeback, recordin ...

, and Lou Carter. The song was written in 1948 while Carter, Ellis and Frigo were part of The Soft Winds, a group they created after leaving

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People ...

's orchestra. The lyrics compare love's progress to a motor trip. Credit for music and lyrics is to Carter, Frigo, and Ellis, based on their mutual agreement when the Soft Winds trio was formed that the three would share credit for any music composed by any of them during the existence of the band. Later in life, Frigo would state at public performances that he had written by himself the music and lyrics for "Detour Ahead".

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See also