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“Blue Moon,” with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, began life as “Prayer,” written while the songwriting team was under contract to MGM, with the intention for actress Jean Harlow to sing the latter song in the movie Hollywood Party. Neither Harlow nor “Prayer” appeared in the film. Hart wrote new lyrics and it was renamed “Manhattan Melodrama,” to appear in the film of the same name, though it was cut before its release. Shirley Ross sang yet another version for the same film titled “The Bad in Every Man.” But it wasn’t until Jack Robbins, the head of MGM’s publishing company, suggested that Hart write a more commercial lyric, that “Blue Moon” finally came to life and immediately eclipsed all of the earlier titles. The final version of the song took off during the big band era, with versions issued by Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, Ray Anthony. Jazz instrumentalists like Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson and Stephane Grappelli recorded several different versions. Vocal interpretations are available by Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, the doo-wop group The Marcels and Dean Martin, among others. But among the general public, Elvis Presley’s record of “Blue Moon” may be the best known.
CONDITION: NEW
TRACK LISTING
SIDE A
1 Blue Moon
SIDE B
2 Just Because
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