portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Monday, October 08, 2018

I love this song . . . . . I THINK I first heard from Sha Na Na live at the first Reading festival lying tin the mud!
The original is deserved of being in everyone's top twenty at least!



Classic bop songs of all time category . . . . . . .if you're feeling down put this on and I defy you not to smile?!


Behind the Grooves said way back in April (yes I do break the rules! (Shock Horror! - ED)

On this day in music history: April 3, 1961 - “Blue Moon” by The Marcels hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks, also topping the R&B singles chart for 2 weeks on the same date. Written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, it is the biggest hit for the Pittsburgh, PA doo wop vocal group. Originally written in 1934 by songwriting legends Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (“The Lady Is A Tramp”, “My Funny Valentine”, “Mountain Greenery”), the song makes its debut in the MGM film “Manhattan Melodrama”. “Blue Moon” goes on to become a pop vocal standard covered by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Mel Tormé, and Elvis Presley. Signed to Columbia Pictures’ Colpix Records, The Marcels are paired with producer Stu Phillips for their first recording sessions for the label. “Moon” is recorded as an afterthought during the last eight minutes of studio time. A promotion man for Colpix receives a tape copy of The Marcels version from Phillips who immediately passes it on to prominent DJ Murray The K at WINS in New York City. Murray The K loves the track so much that he plays it twenty six times in one show! Public reaction is instantaneous, and Colpix rush releases it as a single. Entering the Hot 100 at #87 on March 6, 1961, it leaps to the top of the chart three weeks later. The Marcels version “Blue Moon” has a long life after its original run on the charts. The song is featured in the John Landis directed horror film “An American Werewolf In London” in 1981. “Blue Moon” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

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