The Curious History of Blue Moon!

[poormadpeter2]

One of the most curious recordings in Elvis's legacy is Blue Moon, recorded in 1954. Elvis's version is quite unlike any other, as he excises the bridge and third verse (retaining just the first two verses), slows the tempo down and gives the number a haunting feel, in part due to his chilling falsetto vocalising in between the verses.

Blue Moon was one of the very few times that Elvis recorded a song from the Great American Songbook during a regular recording session, but the song has an intriguing and peculiar history.

The melody was originally written for a 1933 film called Hollywood Party, but with different lyrics to be sung by Jean Harlow. Wikipedia gives all kind of misinformation regarding both the film AND the song, but the facts are that the scene was never shot, Harlow didn't appear in the film, and the song not used in the film - a film which WAS released, despite what the wonders of Wikipedia tell us! It's also worth adding that Rodgers and Hart did not contribute the bulk of the songs, with only three of their songs being used. While the song wasn't used in the film, or released on record, that first set of lyrics do exist, and are charmingly sung here by actress and singer Elvy Yost:

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note: there appears to have been no verse written for this version.

The following year, Lorenz Hart wrote new lyrics for the melody, this time calling the song "It's Just That Kind of Play." This was for the Clark Gable movie Manhattan Melodrama. Guess what? The scene was cut from the movie! This time, we don't have a recording/performance, but the Lorenz Hart website does provide us with the alternate lyrics. To avoid confusion the words "act one" "act two," and "act three" are meant to be sung - it took me a while to cotton on to this!

VERSE

All New York's a stage
And all its men and women are very bad actors
How they rant and rage
For food and drink and money,
For those are the factors.
Out of the Bronx and Yonkers
Rushing to earn a wage-
He must be strong who conquers
On the Manhattan stage.

REFRAIN

Act One:
You gulp your coffee and run;
Into the subway you crowd.
Don't breathe-it isn't allowed.

Act Two:
The boss is yelling at you;
You feel so frightened and cowed.
Don't breathe-it isn't allowed.

The rows of skyscrapers are like a canyon,
The sun is hidden 'neath a stony shroud,
Eight million people and not one companion :
Don't speak to anyone-it's not allowed.

Act Three:
You hate the sight of Broadway .
It's just that kind of a play-
Manhattan Melodrama

http://www.Lorenzhart.org states that this version was introduced by Shirley Ross, but that is not correct.

With this scene in the film seemingly not even shot (just as with Hollywood Party), Rodgers and Hart were then asked to provide a song for a different section of the film. So, poor old Lorenz Hart writes a THIRD set of lyrics for the melody that, by this point, he must have been getting tired of (and probably thought was jinxed!). This time, lo and behold, the song was used - sung by Shirley Ross. But the words weren't Blue Moon! Be warned, those who are easily offended, Ms Ross is in blackface.

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This was the only Rodgers and Hart song in the movie. As an aside, the wonderful world of the internet informs me that John Dillinger went to the cinema to see Manhattan Melodrama on July 22, 1934. He was gunned down as he left the theater - just after hearing Blue Moon or, as it was called then, "The Bad in Every Man!"

Finally, yet another set of lyrics were written for the song, with it finally being recorded as Blue Moon in 1934. Wikipedia states the first recording was by Connie Boswell, but David Neale states Glen Gray, and I trust David Neale more than Wikipedia! So, now finally we have Blue Moon as it is generally known today.

To close, here's a more traditional performance of the song than Elvis's. I choose this one by an ageing (and vibrato-heavy!) Ella Fitzgerald in Japan in 1983 only because it's the only recording I know of off-hand that includes the rarely heard verse, thus making the sets of lyrics complete. There may be other recordings of the verse, but I don't know them.

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[drjohncarpenter]

As I've noted before, in the case of "Blue Moon," the only other influence beyond Presley's own stunning creativity is undoubtedly that of Slim Whitman.

The singer's distinctive falsetto, and the cowboy backing, were something he saw first-hand on 7-30-1954 (Fri), when he opened for Whitman at Memphis' Overton Park Shell. "Blue Moon" was cut just a couple of weeks later at Sun Studios.

Listen to this eerie, late 1954 Whitman single.

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Slim Whitman, "Cattle Call" (Imperial 8281, December 11, 1954)
Billboard Country & Western "Best Sellers in Stores" #11, January 15, 1955

Does that falsetto sound ... familiar? Of course it does.

And note that Elvis remembered "Cattle Call" while rehearsing at Culver City in July 1970. He makes light of the falsetto as the cameras roll.

[Juan Luis]

Thanks for the topic!

[mike edwards66]

One of the most curious recordings in Elvis's legacy is Blue Moon, recorded in 1954. Elvis's version is quite unlike any other, as he excises the bridge and third verse (retaining just the first two verses), slows the tempo down and gives the number a haunting feel, in part due to his chilling falsetto vocalising in between the verses.

Haunting is the word. If Elvis was a ghost, this is the song he would be singing.

As I've noted before, in the case of "Blue Moon," the only other influence beyond Presley's own stunning creativity is undoubtedly that of Slim Whitman........Does that falsetto sound ... familiar?

Only in the sense that it is falsetto. Elvis' wailing falsetto comes from a different place emotionally than Slim's somewhat lilting semi-yodel.

[MikeFromHolland]

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Great info poormadpeter2. Thanks!



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[poormadpeter2]

One of the most curious recordings in Elvis's legacy is Blue Moon, recorded in 1954. Elvis's version is quite unlike any other, as he excises the bridge and third verse (retaining just the first two verses), slows the tempo down and gives the number a haunting feel, in part due to his chilling falsetto vocalising in between the verses.

Haunting is the word. If Elvis was a ghost, this is the song he would be singing.

As I've noted before, in the case of "Blue Moon," the only other influence beyond Presley's own stunning creativity is undoubtedly that of Slim Whitman........Does that falsetto sound ... familiar?

Only in the sense that it is falsetto. Elvis' wailing falsetto comes from a different place emotionally than Slim's somewhat lilting semi-yodel.

I have to agree. And, even if we do credit the falsetto with Whitman, that still doesn't explain Elvis's unique rendering of the song. Normally he would follow a previous arrangement when influenced by others (as he does with the Cattle Call in 1970), but he doesn't do that here. This Blue Moon, both in structure and sound, appears to have come out of nowhere and not modelled on a previous rendition.

[Juan Luis]

One of the most curious recordings in Elvis's legacy is Blue Moon, recorded in 1954. Elvis's version is quite unlike any other, as he excises the bridge and third verse (retaining just the first two verses), slows the tempo down and gives the number a haunting feel, in part due to his chilling falsetto vocalising in between the verses.

Haunting is the word. If Elvis was a ghost, this is the song he would be singing.

As I've noted before, in the case of "Blue Moon," the only other influence beyond Presley's own stunning creativity is undoubtedly that of Slim Whitman........Does that falsetto sound ... familiar?

Only in the sense that it is falsetto. Elvis' wailing falsetto comes from a different place emotionally than Slim's somewhat lilting semi-yodel.

I have to agree. And, even if we do credit the falsetto with Whitman, that still doesn't explain Elvis's unique rendering of the song. Normally he would follow a previous arrangement when influenced by others (as he does with the Cattle Call in 1970), but he doesn't do that here. This Blue Moon, both in structure and sound, appears to have come out of nowhere and not modelled on a previous rendition.

Good stuff!

[mike edwards66]

One of the most curious recordings in Elvis's legacy is Blue Moon, recorded in 1954. Elvis's version is quite unlike any other, as he excises the bridge and third verse (retaining just the first two verses), slows the tempo down and gives the number a haunting feel, in part due to his chilling falsetto vocalising in between the verses.

Haunting is the word. If Elvis was a ghost, this is the song he would be singing.

As I've noted before, in the case of "Blue Moon," the only other influence beyond Presley's own stunning creativity is undoubtedly that of Slim Whitman........Does that falsetto sound ... familiar?

Only in the sense that it is falsetto. Elvis' wailing falsetto comes from a different place emotionally than Slim's somewhat lilting semi-yodel.

I have to agree. And, even if we do credit the falsetto with Whitman, that still doesn't explain Elvis's unique rendering of the song. Normally he would follow a previous arrangement when influenced by others (as he does with the Cattle Call in 1970), but he doesn't do that here. This Blue Moon, both in structure and sound, appears to have come out of nowhere and not modelled on a previous rendition.

Elvis at his most creative, deliberately depriving the song and listener of a happy ending. The gentle tapping of the backing perfectly conveying, what we imagine must be, the singer's internal desoltation.

[drjohncarpenter]

I have to agree. And, even if we do credit the falsetto with Whitman, that still doesn't explain Elvis's unique rendering of the song. Normally he would follow a previous arrangement when influenced by others (as he does with the Cattle Call in 1970), but he doesn't do that here. This Blue Moon, both in structure and sound, appears to have come out of nowhere and not modelled on a previous rendition.

Slim Whitman is a clear antecedent.

One of the recent singles Whitman certainly played at Overton Park Shell that long-ago Friday evening was a haunting number:


..

Slim Whitman "Rose-Marie" (Imperial 8236, April 10, 1954)
Billboard Country & Western "Most Played in Jukeboxes" #4, June 19, 1954


And this single, perhaps Whitman's best-known recording, had to have been played as well. It was a big country and pop hit in the fall of 1952, when Presley was in his junior year at Humes in Memphis. No doubt Elvis heard it that Friday night in 1954, too.


..

Slim Whitman "Indian Love Call" (Imperial 8156, May 24, 1952)
Billboard "Best Selling Pop Singles" #10, September 13, 1952, "Best Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records" #2, October 18, 1952

"Blue Moon" did not "come out of nowhere."

[poormadpeter2]

I have to agree. And, even if we do credit the falsetto with Whitman, that still doesn't explain Elvis's unique rendering of the song. Normally he would follow a previous arrangement when influenced by others (as he does with the Cattle Call in 1970), but he doesn't do that here. This Blue Moon, both in structure and sound, appears to have come out of nowhere and not modelled on a previous rendition.

Slim Whitman is a clear antecedent.

One of the recent singles Whitman certainly played at Overton Park Shell that long-ago Friday evening was a haunting number:


..

Slim Whitman "Rose-Marie" (Imperial 8236, April 10, 1954)
Billboard Country & Western "Most Played in Jukeboxes" #4, June 19, 1954


And this single, perhaps Whitman's best-known recording, had to have been played as well. It was a big country and pop hit in the fall of 1952, when Presley was in his junior year at Humes in Memphis. No doubt Elvis heard it that Friday night in 1954, too.


..

Slim Whitman "Indian Love Call" (Imperial 8156, May 24, 1952)
Billboard "Best Selling Pop Singles" #10, September 13, 1952, "Best Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records" #2, October 18, 1952

"Blue Moon" did not "come out of nowhere."

Once again you miss the point...of where Elvis got the idea for transforming Blue Moon itself from a stanza pop number with a happy ending to a two stanza country song without a happy ending and with the falsetto in the first place.

[drjohncarpenter]

I have to agree. And, even if we do credit the falsetto with Whitman, that still doesn't explain Elvis's unique rendering of the song. Normally he would follow a previous arrangement when influenced by others (as he does with the Cattle Call in 1970), but he doesn't do that here. This Blue Moon, both in structure and sound, appears to have come out of nowhere and not modelled on a previous rendition.

Slim Whitman is a clear antecedent.

One of the recent singles Whitman certainly played at Overton Park Shell that long-ago Friday evening was a haunting number:


..

Slim Whitman "Rose-Marie" (Imperial 8236, April 10, 1954)
Billboard Country & Western "Most Played in Jukeboxes" #4, June 19, 1954


And this single, perhaps Whitman's best-known recording, had to have been played as well. It was a big country and pop hit in the fall of 1952, when Presley was in his junior year at Humes in Memphis. No doubt Elvis heard it that Friday night in 1954, too.


..

Slim Whitman "Indian Love Call" (Imperial 8156, May 24, 1952)
Billboard "Best Selling Pop Singles" #10, September 13, 1952, "Best Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records" #2, October 18, 1952

"Blue Moon" did not "come out of nowhere."

Once again you miss the point...of where Elvis got the idea for transforming Blue Moon itself from a stanza pop number with a happy ending to a two stanza country song without a happy ending and with the falsetto in the first place.

You're welcome.

[George Smith]

"Blue Moon" is probably the first Sun track we have that was recorded after the release of his debut single.

"That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky", although both modelled on the original songs to some extent, are also both complete re-inventions, be it lyrically, structurally or with regard to tempo.

Should we therefore be surprised, given the intense and compelling sense of creativity that existed at 706 Union at that time, that Elvis was able to present a "brand new" version of this great American standard.

Elvis clearly draws upon Whitman's vocal styling -- but what we're actually hearing is a young artist who has been given complete licence to roam and to create.

And it's beautiful.

[Rockin_John]

Thanks for the topic!

[poormadpeter2]

"Blue Moon" is probably the first Sun track we have that was recorded after the release of his first single.

"That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky", although both modelled on the original songs to some extent, are also both complete re-inventions, be it lyrically, structurally or with regard to tempo.

Should we therefore be surprised, given the intense and compelling sense of creativity that existed at 706 Union at that time, that Elvis was able to present a "brand new" version of this great American standard.

Elvis clearly draws upon Whitman's vocal styling -- but what we're actually hearing is a young artist who has been given complete licence to roam and to create.

And it's beautiful.

I think the suggestion of the remodelling of That's All Right has always been overplayed. Sure, Elvis has changed the melody slightly, and altered some of the lyrics, but the overall feel of the song isn't actually that different. Crudup's version has many elements that would be used in rock 'n' roll, and even the "dee dee dee dee" chorus is in both versions. Blue Moon of Kentucky is more of a transformation, most notably changing the song from 3/4 into 4/4.

But neither have anything on what he does to Blue Moon. He changes the mood of the piece with the excising of two verses, he created the country-style version that (to my knowledge) hadn't been done to the song before before, he incorporates the falsetto (no matter where he got it from), and then drowns the whole thing in reverb to create the ghostly sound. He didn't get all that from hearing the Cattle Call. I'm convinced that somewhere there was a version of the song he heard which sent him on that journey. But I have no idea where or when (to use the words of another Rodgers and Hart song).

[George Smith]

Thanks for the response, Peter.

So, apart from:

a) changing the tune and the lyrics on "That's All Right", and

b) changing the tempo, time signature and lyrics and "Blue Moon of Kentucky"

the songs are pretty much the same as the originals?

Elvis had a vast range of tunes and influences dancing in his head throughout his career. Maybe he cast his version "Blue Moon" with this in mind from a group he knew and loved:

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[poormadpeter2]

Thanks for the response, Peter.

So, apart from:

a) changing the tune and the lyrics on "That's All Right", and

b) changing the tempo, time signature and lyrics and "Blue Moon of Kentucky"

the songs are pretty much the same as the originals?

Elvis had a vast range of tunes and influences dancing in his head throughout his career. Maybe he cast his version "Blue Moon" with this in mind from a group he knew and loved:

..

Sorry if my response was a little blunt, but been a long and difficult day, the response to you wasn't intended to be that way.

That's an interesting recording indeed. I always thought that clip-clopping sound on Blue Moon might be from one of the singing cowboys, but that Sons of the Pioneers recording certainly fits the bill.

As for the other two, on Thats all Right in particular the changes are significant, but not as great as in Blue Moon. It's clear that Elvis has taken the Crudup version and is still using it as the basis for his own. Yes, he slightly alters the melody, but the changes aren't huge. With Blue Moon, though, there's no obvious starting point for the version he has created - unless, as we have in this thread, we suggest that it came from a myriad of different influences and merged them together. But there's no ready-made template of the song for him to follow as there is with That's all Right. As I noted earlier, Blue Moon of Kentucky is far more of a transformation than That's all Right.

But Elvis's Blue Moon certainly has little to do with more traditional renderings of the song such as Billie Holiday's in 1952.

..

Unlike That's all Right and Blue Moon of Kentucky, he didn't just change the tempo, lyrics, and add in the falsetto wailing, he changed the entire genre of the song - something he also did (though less notably) with I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine, of course, and possibly I'm Sitting on Top of the World (if it was the Jolson song he was singing in concert at the time).

[drjohncarpenter]

"Blue Moon" is probably the first Sun track we have that was recorded after the release of his debut single.

"That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky", although both modelled on the original songs to some extent, are also both complete re-inventions, be it lyrically, structurally or with regard to tempo.

Should we therefore be surprised, given the intense and compelling sense of creativity that existed at 706 Union at that time, that Elvis was able to present a "brand new" version of this great American standard.

Elvis clearly draws upon Whitman's vocal styling -- but what we're actually hearing is a young artist who has been given complete licence to roam and to create.

And it's beautiful.

Lovely, intelligent and graceful, as always, George Smith. Thank you.

And for those who have not seen your game-changing, original research on how Elvis came to present "That's All Right" at Sun on a hot summer evening 60+ years ago, please see this astounding FECC topic:

The Crudup Connection: 5 July 1954 Revisited
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=72871

[Mister Moon]

Unlike That's all Right and Blue Moon of Kentucky, he didn't just change the tempo, lyrics, and add in the falsetto wailing, he changed the entire genre of the song - something he also did (though less notably) with I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine, of course, and possibly I'm Sitting on Top of the World (if it was the Jolson song he was singing in concert at the time).

Thee are two songs with almost identical titles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitting_on_Top_of_the_World

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Sitting_on_Top_of_the_World

I would say Elvis sang "Sitting On Top Of The World".

Curtis Gordon cut a rockabilly version of the latter for Mercury in March 1956, and I bet Elvis, Scotty & Bill would have done a very similar job with it. Maybe even Gordon heard them play it !


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[poormadpeter2]

Unlike That's all Right and Blue Moon of Kentucky, he didn't just change the tempo, lyrics, and add in the falsetto wailing, he changed the entire genre of the song - something he also did (though less notably) with I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine, of course, and possibly I'm Sitting on Top of the World (if it was the Jolson song he was singing in concert at the time).

Thee are two songs with almost identical titles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitting_on_Top_of_the_World

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Sitting_on_Top_of_the_World

I would say Elvis sang "Sitting On Top Of The World".

Curtis Gordon cut a rockabilly version of the latter for Mercury in March 1956, and I bet Elvis, Scotty & Bill would have done a very similar job with it. Maybe even Gordon heard them play it !


..

I agree that this song seems the most likely option, but with Elvis you never can tell!

[George Smith]

Sorry if my response was a little blunt, but been a long and difficult day, the response to you wasn't intended to be that way.

That's an interesting recording indeed. I always thought that clip-clopping sound on Blue Moon might be from one of the singing cowboys, but that Sons of the Pioneers recording certainly fits the bill.

As for the other two, on Thats all Right in particular the changes are significant, but not as great as in Blue Moon. It's clear that Elvis has taken the Crudup version and is still using it as the basis for his own. Yes, he slightly alters the melody, but the changes aren't huge. With Blue Moon, though, there's no obvious starting point for the version he has created - unless, as we have in this thread, we suggest that it came from a myriad of different influences and merged them together. But there's no ready-made template of the song for him to follow as there is with That's all Right. As I noted earlier, Blue Moon of Kentucky is far more of a transformation than That's all Right.

Apology not necessary but gratefully received (I have read your other post regarding today's events in the real world).

Like you (and John, and many others) I love to try and track down what Elvis was hearing in his head ... but maybe sometimes ... he was just genuinely being original and creatively brilliant.

And that's a thought and an answer with which I can be very happy.

[George Smith]

Lovely, intelligent and graceful, as always, George Smith. Thank you.

You are very kind, John, thank you.

Whitman's influence should not be underestimated simply because he is no longer fashionable or considered a "cool" artist.

As my forthcoming book hopefully makes clear, Whitman was HUGELY popular in 1953/1954 and, having shared his first major stage with him, Elvis would have been in awe of the yodelling superstar.

[mike edwards66]

But neither have anything on what he does to Blue Moon. He changes the mood of the piece with the excising of two verses.....

That's the key. The singer deliberately, with no previous blueprint to follow, denies a happy ending to himself, the song itself and the listener. To compare the falsetto to Slim Whitman's somewhat lilting semi-yodel is too easy, too route-one.

Elvis' falsetto is a mournful wail not a yodel. To suggest otherwise is to deny the genius of the young singer. The so-called 'clip-clop' backing is anything but. More a hazy, hypnotic accompaniment, that augments without intrusion on the singer's haunted mantra.

[drjohncarpenter]

Lovely, intelligent and graceful, as always, George Smith. Thank you.

You are very kind, John, thank you.

Whitman's influence should not be underestimated simply because he is no longer fashionable or considered a "cool" artist.

As my forthcoming book hopefully makes clear, Whitman was HUGELY popular in 1953/1954 and, having shared his first major stage with him, Elvis would have been in awe of the yodelling superstar.

There is no doubt about that, and that memory would still be fresh less than two weeks later at 706 Union Avenue.

Your expertise on this topic is a breath of fresh air. I eagerly await the publication of your work.

[poormadpeter2]

That's the key. The singer deliberately, with no previous blueprint to follow, denies a happy ending to himself, the song itself and the listener.

There is a rather obvious "but" here, which is not one we necessarily want or like to consider. It could be that, as with When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold, The Wonder of You, Hey Jude, Stand by Me, and others, he simply didn't know the whole song. It's a very unromantic option, but one which shouldn't be discarded to be fair.

[mike edwards66]

That's the key. The singer deliberately, with no previous blueprint to follow, denies a happy ending to himself, the song itself and the listener.

There is a rather obvious "but" here, which is not one we necessarily want or like to consider. It could be that, as with When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold, The Wonder of You, Hey Jude, Stand by Me, and others, he simply didn't know the whole song. It's a very unromantic option, but one which shouldn't be discarded to be fair.

Well. That IS what Elvis himself said on the matter in some interview in the 50's. I'm sure someone will have it.

I'm just as sure he was being modest.