"Moonlight Cocktail"is a 1941big bandsong recorded byGlenn MillerduringWorld War II.[1]The music was composed byLuckey Robertsand the lyrics byKim Gannon.
| "Moonlight Cocktail" | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music for Moonlight Cocktail | |
| SongbyGlenn Miller | |
| Released | 1941 |
| Recorded | 1941 |
| Genre | Jazz, Big Band |
| Label | RCA Victor |
| Composer(s) | Luckey Roberts |
| Lyricist(s) | Kim Gannon |
Background
editThe song was originally recorded by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra on December 8, 1941,[2]the day after theattack on Pearl Harbor.The78 rpm discwas released byBluebird Recordsas #11401. Vocals were byRay EberleandThe Modernaires."Happy in Love" was on theB-side.The song had its first public performance in January 1942 onWABCradio inNew York City.[3]It was the best-selling record in the United States for ten weeks, from February 28, 1942 to May 2, 1942, and was the number two record for that year after Bing Crosby's "White Christmas".
Music
editThe music originated three decades earlier as a 1912ragtimecomposition by Charles Luckeyeth Roberts called "Ripples of the Nile", described as "a syncopated tune that baffled the arrangers of the day".[3]Roberts, known by his nickname of "Luckey" or "Lucky", was a composer with a career that lasted many decades. "Ripples of the Nile" was a musical challenge: "a fast number with right hand figuration of the greatest technical difficulty, and none of Luckey's pupils, including the greatJames P. Johnson,could execute it perfectly. Subsequently, he found it necessary to score it as a slow number, and publish it as 'Moonlight Cocktail' ".[4]
Lyrics
editThe lyrics were written by New York attorneyJames Kimball "Kim" Gannon,who had dabbled with songwriting and poetry for years, before becoming a full-time songwriter when about 40 years old.[5]Gannon, who wrote under the nickname "Kim", compared the development of a romantic relationship to the mixing of an alcoholic beverage in "Moonlight Cocktail". The following year, he wrote the lyrics to an even more enduring hit song, "I'll Be Home for Christmas".
Critical reception
editBillboardcalled "Moonlight Cocktail" a "smash hit" and wrote "It's one of the smoothest, danceable discs we've reviewed in many a moon. A rippling piano and tenor sax feature the orchestral arrangement and Ray Eberle and the Modernaires take care of the vocal".[6]In a later issue, Billboard wrote that the song was "imaginative and colorful" and featured a "sweet harmony with a dish of romance".[7]
During World War II, theBBCinitiated a program called "Victory Through Harmony" that sought to use musical radio broadcasts to maintain wartime morale and increase weapons production.[8]Some types of music were seen as a hindrance to such goals. Along with many other popular songs of the era, "Moonlight Cocktail" was banned by theBBCas "sentimental slush" in August 1942.[9][10]
Cover versions
editMary Martinsang the song on the radio for the troops.[3]Within six months, cover versions were recorded byBing Crosby(on January 27, 1942),[11][3]Horace Heidt,[3]Tommy Tucker,[3]Dolly Dawn and her Dawn Patrol,[3]Glen Gray,[12]and Joe Reichman and his Orchestra.[13]
Chico Marxperformed the music on piano in theMarx Brothers1946 film,A Night in Casablanca.[14]
The song was later covered byMel Torméfor his 1960 albumSwingin' on the Moon,[15]Michael Hollidayfor his albumTo Bing - from Mike(1962)[16]andStanley Black.[17]
Danish guitaristJorgen Ingmannrecorded the song on his 1957MercuryalbumSwinging Guitar,MG 20200, as an instrumental for electric guitar.[18]
Nearly sixty years later,Andrea Marcovicciperformed the song in her cabaret show "Double Old Fashioned", described as "piercing nostalgia leavened with humor".[19]
References
edit- ^"Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #6".1972.
- ^Flower, John (1972).Moonlight serenade: a bio-discography of the Glenn Miller civilian band.Arlington House Publishers.ISBN9780870001611.
- ^abcdefgSchuyler, George S.(June 1942)."America Caught Up With Him".The Crisis.49(6).NAACP.Retrieved5 May2011.
- ^Wheeldin, Herbert L. (January 1963)."Jazz Elder Statesman".Negro Digest.Chicago:33–35.
- ^Hinckley, David (19 December 2005)."In Dreams. Wartime Christmas Weeper, 1943".New York Daily News.New York City.Archived fromthe originalon 3 May 2012.
- ^"ON THE RECORDS: Reviewing the New Discs".St. Petersburg Times.St. Petersburg, Florida.22 February 1942.Retrieved4 May2011.
- ^Orodenker, M. H. (10 January 1942)."On The Records".Billboard.Vol. 54, no. 2. p. 14.Retrieved5 May2011.
- ^Baade, Christina L. (2011).Victory Through Harmony: The BBC and Popular Music in World War II.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-537201-4.
- ^"Popular Songs Banned As 'Sentimental Slush'".Ottawa Citizen.Ottawa.8 August 1942. p. 27.Retrieved6 May2011.
- ^Baade, Christina L. (1 September 2013).Victory through Harmony: The BBC and Popular Music in World War II.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-970732-4.
- ^"A Bing Crosby Discography".BING magazine.International Club Crosby.Retrieved5 September2017.
- ^Orodenker, M. H. (24 January 1942)."On The Records".Billboard.Vol. 54, no. 4. p. 12.Retrieved6 May2011.
- ^Orodenker, M. H. (28 March 1942)."On The Records".Billboard.Vol. 54, no. 13. p. 112.Retrieved6 May2011.
- ^Grudens, Richard (2004).Chattanooga Choo Choo: The Life and Times of the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra.Celebrity Profiles Publishing. p.201.ISBN978-1-57579-277-4.
Moonlight Cocktail.
- ^"Moonlight Cocktail by Mel Tormé".Yahoo! Music.Retrieved7 May2011.
- ^"Discogs.com".Discogs.com.1962.Retrieved5 September2017.
- ^"Moonlight Cocktail/Sophisticat in Cuba by Stanley Black".Yahoo! Music.Retrieved7 May2011.
- ^Mercury Album Discography, Part 5.
- ^Holden, Stephen (1 June 2001)."CABARET GUIDE: ANDREA MARCOVICCI".New York Times.New York City.Retrieved6 May2011.