Debut albums ( ) < Blue Moon | The Marcels, 1961

0
Blue Moon | The Marcels, 1961
The Marcels, Blue Moon, 1961 (Colpix Records)
Recorded in New York at RCA Studios

Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Blue Moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper, ‘Please adore me’
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold
Blue Moon, now I’m no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
.

Blue Moon” is a classic popular song written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934.

.

Blue Moon is the debut studio album by the doo-wop group The Marcels. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
[ lead Cornelius Harp, bass Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, Ron Mundy, and Richard Knauss ]
The group was named by Fred Johnson’s younger sister Priscilla, after a popular hair style of the day (the Marcell wave).

Marcel2Bwave

Marcell Wave

In 1961, the Marcels had three songs left to record and needed one more. Producer Stu 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. The famous introduction to the song (“bomp-baba-bomp” and “dip-da-dip”) was an excerpt of an original song that the group had in its act.

The2BMarcels
It may be the first instance of the familiar “50s progression” in a popular song.
The song was a hit twice in 1949 with successful recordings in the US by Billy Eckstine and Mel Tormé.
Over the years, “Blue Moon” has been covered by various artists including versions by
Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Elvis Presley, The Mavericks, Dean Martin, The Supremes and
Rod Stewart. Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album On the Happy Side (1962).
It is also the anthem of English Premier League football club Manchester City, who have adapted the song slightly.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *