| Alabama Song | |
|---|---|
| song byF. S. Bruinier,Kurt Weill | |
| Text | Elisabeth Hauptmann |
| Language | English |
| Composed | 1927 (1927) |
The "Alabama Song"—also known as "Moon of Alabama", "Moon over Alabama", and "Whisky Bar"—is an English language song written byElisabeth Hauptmann in 1925 and set to music byFranz Servatius Bruinier andKurt Weill forBertolt Brecht's 1927Mahagonny-Songspiel. Brecht also used it for his 1930 operaRise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. It has been recorded bythe Doors andDavid Bowie.
| "Alabama-Song" | |
|---|---|
| Single byLotte Lenya | |
| B-side | Denn wie man sich bettet |
| Recorded | 24 February 1930 |
| Genre | |
| Label | Homocord |
The "Alabama Song" was written in English on Bertolt Brecht's behalf by his close collaborator Elisabeth Hauptmann before 1925 and published in Brecht's 1927Hauspostille [de] (HomePostil),[1][2] a parody of acollection of sermons byMartin Luther. It was set to music by Bruinier, and Weill adapted it for the 1927 playLittle Mahagonny (Mahagonny-Songspiel) and reused it for Brecht and Weill's 1930 operaRise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny), where it is sung by Jenny and her fellow prostitutes in act 1. Although the majority of all three works is in German, the "Alabama Song" retained Hauptmann's English lyrics throughout.
Brecht and Weill's version of the song was first performed by the Viennese actress and dancerLotte Lenya, Weill's wife,[3] in the role of Jessie at the 1927Baden-Baden Festival's performance ofLittle Mahagonny. The first recording of the song—by Lenya for the Homocord record label—came out in early 1930 under the title "Alabama-Song";[4] it was rerecorded the same year for the Ultraphon record label for release with the 1930 Leipzig premiere ofThe Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, despite Lenya not being a member of that cast.[5] She continued to perform and record the song throughout her life, including for her 1955 albumLotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill (Lotte Lenya singt Kurt Weill), released in the United States under the titleBerlin Theater Songs.[4]
| "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)" | |
|---|---|
| Song bythe Doors | |
| from the albumThe Doors | |
| Released | January 4, 1967[6] |
| Recorded | August 1966 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:20 |
| Label | Elektra |
| Songwriters | Bertolt Brecht,Kurt Weill |
| Producer | Paul A. Rothchild |
The song was recorded in 1966 by the rock groupthe Doors, listed as "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)". According to drummerJohn Densmore and guitaristRobby Krieger, the song was presented by keyboardistRay Manzarek to the group during their early years, and they decided to rearrange it.[7][8] The Doors' cover version combinesavant-garde[7][9] andcarnival music influences[10] withpsychedelic elements.[11] It was a regular one from their set at theWhisky a Go Go, andVan Morrison reported that he was surprised when he heard the Doors playing it at the venue.[12]
Lead singerJim Morrison altered the second verse from "Show us the way to the next pretty boy" to "Show me the way to the next little girl".[13] For the Doors' recording, Ray Manzarek also contributedmarxophone along with organ and keyboard bass.[14] Manzarek recalled that it was producerPaul Rothchild's idea to provide a marxophone on the track, and Manzarek felt that "It worked out perfectly, that jingle-jangly sound."[15]
Per sources:[8][14][15][16][17]
| "Alabama Song" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byDavid Bowie | ||||
| B-side | "Space Oddity (1979 version)" | |||
| Released | 15 February 1980 (1980-02-15) | |||
| Recorded | 2 July 1978 | |||
| Studio | Good Earth, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:51 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
| |||
| David Bowie singles chronology | ||||
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David Bowie, a Brecht fan, performed the song throughout his 1978Isolar II tour. A live version from the tour, recorded in either Philadelphia on 29 April 1978 or in Boston on 6 May,[18] appeared on the 1991, 2005 and 2017 reissues of thelive albumStage.[19][20] On 2 July 1978, a day after the tour's European leg ended, Bowie recorded a studio version atTony Visconti's Good Earth Studios in London with his studio band. Pianist Sean Mayes stated that "it had been such a hit on the tour that David wanted to do it as a single."[18][19] With unconventional key changes, the track "seemed calculated to disrupt any radio programme on which it was lucky enough to get played", in the words ofNME editorsRoy Carr andCharles Shaar Murray.[21]
Bowie's studio cut of "Alabama Song" was released byRCA Records as a single on 15 February 1980, with the catalogue number RCA BOW 5.[18] Reaching number 23 in the UK,[22] the single featured a fold-out sleeve and was backed by Bowie's new acoustic rendition of "Space Oddity", recorded in December 1979 forThe "Will Kenny Everett Make It to 1980?" Show.[19] Discussing the track, biographerNicholas Pegg calls it "one of the most defiantly uncommercial, discordant and aggressive recordings Bowie ever released".[19] In 2016,Ultimate Classic Rock placed the single at number 84 (out of 119) in a list ranking every Bowie single from worst to best.[23]
Bowie later appeared in aBBC version of Brecht'sBaal and released anEP of songs from the play.[24] He subsequently performed "Alabama Song" on his 1990Sound+Vision and 2002Heathen tours.[19] The song also appeared on the 1992Rykodisc reissue ofScary Monsters (and Super Creeps), as well as thecompilation albumsRare (1982),The Singles Collection (1993),The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987 (2007) andRe:Call 3, part of theA New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) box set, in 2017.[19][20][25]
According to Chris O'Leary:[18]
Technical
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