| "Blue Moon" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Published | 1934 byRobbins Music |
| Composer | Richard Rodgers |
| Lyricist | Lorenz Hart |
"Blue Moon" is apopular song written byRichard Rodgers andLorenz Hart in1934 that has become astandardballad. The song was first recorded byTed Fio Rito withMuzzy Marcellino on vocals. Other early recordings included those byConnee Boswell and byAl Bowlly in 1935. The song was a hit twice in 1949, with successful recordings in the U.S. byBilly Eckstine andMel Tormé.
In 1961, "Blue Moon" became an international number-one hit for thedoo-wop groupthe Marcels, on theBillboard 100 chart and in theUK Singles Chart, and later that same year, an instrumental version bythe Ventures charted at No. 54. Over the years, "Blue Moon" has been covered by many artists, includingFrankie Avalon,The Beatles (as studio jam[1]),Frank Sinatra,Jo Stafford,Ella Fitzgerald,Ray Stevens,Billie Holiday,Al Bowlly,Elvis Presley,Bobby Vinton,Sam Cooke,the Platters,the Mavericks,Dean Martin,The Supremes,Cyndi Lauper,Bob Dylan, andRod Stewart.Bing Crosby featured the song in a medley on his 1962 albumOn the Happy Side.Cowboy Junkies interpolated a version of the standard in "Blue Moon Revisited (Song for Elvis)", on their sophomore albumThe Trinity Session.[2]Cybill Shepherd sang the song on an episode of the TV seriesMoonlighting,[3] which is featured on the show'ssoundtrack album.[4] The song also serves as the anthem for thePremier League football clubManchester City.[5] The final version of the song lyrics contributed to the folklore interpretation of the phrase "blue moon" as a symbol of sadness and loneliness,[6] a meaning which sharply contrasts with those of the astronomical phenomenonBlue moon.
Rodgers and Hart were contracted toMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer in May 1933. They were soon commissioned to write the songs forHollywood Party, a film that was to star many of the studio's top artists. Rodgers recalled,
One of our ideas was to include a scene in whichJean Harlow is shown as an innocent young girl saying — or rather singing — her prayers. How the sequence fitted into the movie I haven't the foggiest notion, but the purpose was to express Harlow's overwhelming ambition to become a movie star ('Oh Lord, if you're not busy up there,/I ask for help with a prayer/So please don't give me the air ...').[7][better source needed]
The song was not recorded (the movie was released without Harlow in 1934[8]) and MGM Song No. 225 "Prayer (Oh Lord, make me a movie star)" dated June 14, 1933, was registered for copyright as an unpublished work on July 10, 1933.[9][better source needed]
Hart wrote new lyrics for the tune, as the title song for the 1934 filmManhattan Melodrama: "Act One:/You gulp your coffee and run;/Into the subway you crowd./Don't breathe, it isn't allowed".[10] The song, also titled "It's Just That Kind of Play", was cut from the film before release, and registered for copyright as an unpublished work on March 30, 1934. The studio then asked for a nightclub number for the film. Rodgers still liked the melody, so Hart wrote a third lyric: "The Bad in Every Man" ("Oh, Lord ... /I could be good to a lover,/But then I always discover/The bad in ev'ry man"[10]), which was sung byShirley Ross.
After the film was released by MGM, Jack Robbins — the head of the studio's publishing company[11] — decided that the tune was suited to commercial release but needed more romantic lyrics and a punchier title. Hart was initially reluctant to write yet another lyric but he was persuaded.[9] Robbins licensed the final version of the song toHollywood Hotel, a radio program that used it as the theme. The cover of Robbins' 1934 sheet music edition creditsTed Fio Rito (vocal byMuzzy Marcellino) as introducing the song, recorded on Brunswick 7315, on October 19, 1934.[12]
The song charted in theVariety Top Ten for 18 weeks, reaching No. 1 on January 26, 1935.[13] The song was also recorded byGlen Gray and theCasa Loma Orchestra forDecca Records in November 1934[14] andConnee Boswell forBrunswick Records in 1935. It subsequently was featured in at least seven MGM films, including the Marx Brothers'At the Circus (1939) and (as sung byElvis Presley)Viva Las Vegas (1964).[9] While most versions of the song begin with the familiar "blue moon," there are two introductory verses in the original Robbins sheet music edition.Eric Clapton andRod Stewart sang the first verse in their 2004 version of the song (Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III). The last line of the first verse is: "Life was a bitter cup for the saddest of all men."[15]
On September 16, 2018, an article inThe New York Times reported that documentary filmmaker Liz Roman Gallese claimed on her website a 1936 lawsuit alleging "Blue Moon" was written by her late father, Edward W. Roman. The family story was "that her father had sold the song for $900 to buy a car, or maybe that he had 'settled' with the rich and famous Rodgers and Hart for that amount." Ted Chapin, the chief creative officer of theRodgers & Hammerstein Organization, said that he had not heard of Gallese's story and that it seemed "a little far-fetched."[16][17]
| "Blue Moon" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Elvis Presley | |
| from the albumElvis Presley | |
| A-side | "Just Because" |
| Released | August 31, 1956 |
| Recorded | August 19, 1954 |
| Length | 2:31 |
| Label | RCA Victor/RCA Camden/RCA |
| Songwriters | Richard Rodgers,Lorenz Hart[18] |
"Blue Moon"'s first crossover recording torock and roll came fromElvis Presley in 1954, produced bySam Phillips. His cover version of the song was included on his 1956 debut albumElvis Presley, issued onRCA Records.[19] Presley's remake of "Blue Moon" was coupled with "Just Because" as a single in August 1956. "Blue Moon" spent seventeen weeks on theBillboard Top 100, although it reached only No. 55.
Presley's version of "Blue Moon" features prominently inJim Jarmusch's 1989 filmMystery Train.[20]
In the movieThe Outsiders:The Complete Novel, Presley's version of "Blue Moon" was used throughout this version of the film.
| "Blue Moon" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byThe Marcels | ||||
| from the albumBlue Moon | ||||
| B-side | "Goodbye to Love" | |||
| Released | February 1961 | |||
| Recorded | 1961 | |||
| Genre | Doo wop,R&B | |||
| Length | 2:15 | |||
| Label | Colpix | |||
| Songwriters | Richard Rodgers,Lorenz Hart[18] | |||
| Producers | Stu Phillips,Danny Winchell[21][22] | |||
| The Marcels singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Marcels, adoo-wop group, recorded the track for their albumBlue Moon. In 1961, the Marcels had three songs left to record and needed one more. ProducerStu Phillips did not like any of the other songs except one that had the same chord changes as "Heart and Soul" and "Blue Moon". He asked them if they knew either, and one knew "Blue Moon" and taught it to the others, though with the bridge or release (middle section – "I heard somebody whisper ...") wrong.[23] The introduction to the song ("bomp-baba-bomp" and "dip-da-dip-da-dip") was an excerpt of an original song that the group had in its act.
The record reached number one on theBillboard Pop chart for three weeks and number one on the R&B chart.[24] It also peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. The Marcels' version of "Blue Moon" sold a million copies, and was awarded agold disc.[25] It is featured in theRock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
The Marcels'doo-wop version is one of three different versions used in the1981 filmAn American Werewolf in London with this version appearing at the end credits of the film. A version byBobby Vinton plays during the film's opening titles while a version bySam Cooke plays during the film's famous werewolf transformation scene. The Marcels' version of the song is referenced in the1962Academy Award-nominatedanimated shortDisneymusical film,A Symposium on Popular Songs during the song, "Puppy Love Is Here to Stay" written byRobert & Richard Sherman.[citation needed]
| Chart (1961) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[26] | 4 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[27] | 5 |
| Canada[28] | 1 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] | 6 |
| New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[30] | 1 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[31] | 4 |
| UK Singles Chart[32] | 1 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[33] | 1 |
| USR&B Singles[24] | 1 |
| West Germany (GfK)[34] | 13 |
Americanswing era singerBilly Eckstine did a cover version of "Blue Moon" that reached theBillboard charts in 1949. It was released byMGM Records as catalog number 10311. It first reached the Juke Box chart on March 5, 1949, and lasted three weeks on the chart, peaking at number 21.[35][36]
Americanjazz singerMel Tormé did a cover version of "Blue Moon" that reached theBillboard charts in 1949. It was released byCapitol Records as catalog number 15428. It first reached the Best Seller chart on April 8, 1949, and lasted five weeks on the chart, peaking at number 20. The record was a two-sided hit, as the flip side, "Again", also charted.[35][37]
Ray Conniff recorded the song in early 1964, it "bubbled under" theHot 100, reaching No. 19.[38]
Americancountry music groupthe Mavericks covered the song for the soundtrack of the 1995 filmApollo 13. Their version peaked at number 57 on theRPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.[39] It also charted on theRPM Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, peaking at number 15.[40] A music video was produced, directed by Todd Hallowell.
British singerRod Stewart recorded the song withEric Clapton for Stewart's 2004 albumStardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III. Their version was released as a single in early 2005 and peaked at number 23 on theBillboardAdult Contemporary chart in the US.[41]
TheFrank Sinatra version was featured in the 2010Obsidian Entertainment video gameFallout: New Vegas on the in-game radio "Radio New Vegas" and in the opening cinematic.
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