Moon River - Music
Moon River by Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Artist Biography For Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong August 4 1901 - July 6 1971 Nicknamed Satchmo Or Pops Was An American Jazz Trumpeter And Singer From New Orleans Louisiana.
Coming To Prominence In The 1920s As An Inventive Trumpet And Cornet Player Armstrong Was A Foundational Influence In Jazz Shifting The Focus Of The Music From Collective Improvisation To Solo Performance. With His Instantly-Recognizable Gravelly Voice Armstrong Was Also An Influential Singer Demonstrating Great Dexterity As An Improviser Bending The Lyrics And Melody Of A Song For Expressive Purposes. He Was Also Skilled At Scat Singing Vocalizing Using Sounds And Syllables Instead Of Actual Lyrics .
Renowned For His Charismatic Stage Presence And Voice Almost As Much As For His Trumpet-Playing Armstrong's Influence Extends Well Beyond Jazz Music And By The End Of His Career In The 1960s He Was Widely Regarded As A Profound Influence On Popular Music In General. Armstrong Was One Of The First Truly Popular African-American Entertainers To "cross Over" Whose Skin-Color Was Secondary To His Music In An America That Was Severely Racially Divided. He Rarely Publicly Politicized His Race Often To The Dismay Of Fellow African-Americans But Took A Well-Publicized Stand For Desegregation During The Little Rock Crisis. His Artistry And Personality Allowed Him Socially Acceptable Access To The Upper Echelons Of American Society That Were Highly Restricted For A Black Man. Armstrong Was Born And Brought Up In New Orleans A Culturally Diverse Town With A Unique Musical Mix Of Creole Ragtime Marching Bands And Blues. Although From An Early Age He Was Able To Play Music Professionally He Didn't Travel Far From New Orleans Until 1922 When He Went To Chicago To Join His Mentor King Oliver. Oliver's Band Played Primitive Jazz A Hotter Style Of Ragtime With Looser Rhythms And More Improvisation And Armstrong's Role Was Mostly Backing. Slow To Promote Himself He Was Eventually Persuaded By His Wife Lil Hardin To Leave Oliver And In 1924 He Went To New York To Join The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. At The Time There Were A Few Other Artists Using The Rhythmic Innovations Of The New Orleans Style But None Did It With The Energy And Brilliance Of Armstrong And He Quickly Became A Sensation Among New York Musicians. Back In Chicago In 1925 He Made His First Recordings With His Own Group Louis Armstrong And His Hot Five And These Became Not Only Popular Hits But Also Models For The First Generation Of Jazz Musicians Trumpeters Or Otherwise. Other Hits Followed Through The Twenties And Thirties As Well As Troubles Crooked Managers Lip Injuries Mob Entanglements Failed Big-Band Ventures. As Jazz Styles Changed Though Musical Purists Never Lost Any Respect For Him -- Although They Were Sometimes Irritated By His Hammy Onstage Persona. Around The Late Forties With The Help Of A Good Manager Armstrong's Business Affairs Finally Stablilized And He Began To Be Seen As An Elder Statesman Of American Popular Entertainment Appearing In Hollywood Films Touring Asia And Europe And Dislodging The Beatles From The Number-One Position With Hello Dolly". Today Many People May Know Him As A Singer A Good One But As Miles Davis Said “You Can’t Play Nothing On Modern Trumpet That Doesn’t Come From Him." The 62-Year-Old Armstrong Became The Oldest Act To Top The US Charts When "Hello Dolly" Reached #1 In 1964. Four Years Later Satchmo Also Became The Oldest Artist To Record A UK #1 When "What A Wonderful World" Hit The Top Spot.
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Moon River
Louis-Armstrong - The Ultimate Collection
"Moon River" Is A Song Composed By Johnny Mercer Lyrics And Henry Mancini Music In 1961 For Whom It Won That Year's Academy Award For Best Original Song. It Is Most Well-Known For Being Sung In The Movie Breakfast At Tiffany's By Audrey Hepburn Although It Has Been Covered By Many Other Artists. It Became The Theme Song For Andy Williams Who First Recorded The Song In 1961 And Performed It At The Academy Awards Ceremonies In 1962. He Sang The First Eight Bars Of The Song At The Beginning Of His Television Show He Also Named His Production Company And Venue In Branson Missouri After Moon River. Williams' Version Was Vetoed By Cadence President Archie Bleyer Who Believed It Had Little Or No Appeal To Teenagers. Williams' Famous Version Never Charted Except As An LP Track Which He Recorded For Columbia In A Hit Album Of 1962. The Success Of The Song Was Responsible For Relaunching Mercer's Career As A Songwriter Which Had Stalled In The Mid-1950s Because Rock And Roll Replaced Jazz Standards As The Popular Music Of The Time. An Inlet Near Savannah Georgia Johnny Mercer's Hometown Was Named Moon River In Honor Of Him And This Song. The Popularity Of The Song Is Such That It Has Been Used As A Test Sample In A Study On People's Memories Of Popular Songs. The Original Version
Mercer And Mancini Wrote The Song For Audrey Hepburn To Fit Her Vocal Range. Initially The Lyrics Started "I'm Holly Like I Want To Be / Like Holly On A Tree Back Home..." However They Were Later Changed To Fit The Theme To The Movie Breakfast At Tiffany's. Although An Instrumental Version Is Played Over The Film's Opening Titles The Lyrics Are First Heard In A Scene Where Paul 'Fred' Varjak George Peppard Discovers Holly Golightly Hepburn Singing Them Accompanied By Her Guitar On The Fire-Escape Outside Their Apartments. There Was Much Behind-The-Scenes Consternation Which Erupted When A Paramount Pictures Executive Suggested Deleting The Song From The Film Immediately After A Very Successful San Francisco Preview. Hepburn's Reaction Has Been Described By Mancini And Others In Degrees Varying From Her Saying "over My Dead Body" To Her Using Somewhat More Colorful Language To Make The Same Point. Hepburn's Version Was Not Included In The Original Score Album To Breakfast At Tiffany's. Instead An Album Version Recorded By Mancini And His Chorus Was Released As A Single And Became A #11 Hit. In Different Versions Joel Whitburn's "Top Adult Contemporary Songs" Reported The Song As A #3 Or #1 Easy Listening Hit Due To Unpublished Charts In Billboard. Only Months After Hepburn's Death In 1993 Her Version Was Released On An Album Entitled Music From The Films Of Audrey Hepburn. Other Recordings
"Moon River" Was Released By South African Singer Danny Williams And Reached #1 In The UK. Shortly Thereafter Andy Williams Recorded The Song And Made It His Theme Song. It Was A Hit For Jerry Butler In 1961 Reaching #11 In The Billboard Charts. Other Artists That Have Covered The Song Are The Afghan Whigs Benny Anderssons Orkester Paul Anka Blake Louis Armstrong Vince Guaraldi Beru Revue Mary Black Sarah Brightman Liz Callaway Perry Como Ray Conniff Bobby Darin Ania Dąbrowska Dr. John Dump Billy Eckstine The Four Freshmen Connie Francis Bill Frisell Instrumental Emi Fujita Judy Garland Karel Gott Grant Green Instrumental Patty Griffin The Innocence Mission Although This Version Is Sometimes Incorrectly Cited As Being Performed By Milla Jovovich Bradley Joseph Instrumental Kim Yoo-Jin James Last Joey McIntyre Johnny Mathis Brad Mehldau Jane Monheit Morrissey Patsy Ann Noble Jim Reeves John Barrowman R.E.M. Mia Riddle Andrea Ross Frank Sinatra Barbra Streisand Sarah Vaughan Nan Vernon Kid Koala Westlife Victoria Williams The Divine Comedy And Tata Young. Mercer Himself Recorded The Song In 1974 For His Album Appropriately Named My Huckleberry Friend.
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Biography - Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong August 4 1901 - July 6 1971 Nicknamed Satchmo Or Pops Was An American Jazz Trumpeter And Singer From New Orleans Louisiana.
Coming To Prominence In The 1920s As An Inventive Trumpet And Cornet Player Armstrong Was A Foundational Influence In Jazz Shifting The Focus Of The Music From Collective Improvisation To Solo Performance. With His Instantly-Recognizable Gravelly Voice Armstrong Was Also An Influential Singer Demonstrating Great Dexterity As An Improviser Bending The Lyrics And Melody Of A Song For Expressive Purposes. He Was Also Skilled At Scat Singing Vocalizing Using Sounds And Syllables Instead Of Actual Lyrics .
Renowned For His Charismatic Stage Presence And Voice Almost As Much As For His Trumpet-Playing Armstrong's Influence Extends Well Beyond Jazz Music And By The End Of His Career In The 1960s He Was Widely Regarded As A Profound Influence On Popular Music In General. Armstrong Was One Of The First Truly Popular African-American Entertainers To "cross Over" Whose Skin-Color Was Secondary To His Music In An America That Was Severely Racially Divided. He Rarely Publicly Politicized His Race Often To The Dismay Of Fellow African-Americans But Took A Well-Publicized Stand For Desegregation During The Little Rock Crisis. His Artistry And Personality Allowed Him Socially Acceptable Access To The Upper Echelons Of American Society That Were Highly Restricted For A Black Man. Armstrong Was Born And Brought Up In New Orleans A Culturally Diverse Town With A Unique Musical Mix Of Creole Ragtime Marching Bands And Blues. Although From An Early Age He Was Able To Play Music Professionally He Didn't Travel Far From New Orleans Until 1922 When He Went To Chicago To Join His Mentor King Oliver. Oliver's Band Played Primitive Jazz A Hotter Style Of Ragtime With Looser Rhythms And More Improvisation And Armstrong's Role Was Mostly Backing. Slow To Promote Himself He Was Eventually Persuaded By His Wife Lil Hardin To Leave Oliver And In 1924 He Went To New York To Join The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. At The Time There Were A Few Other Artists Using The Rhythmic Innovations Of The New Orleans Style But None Did It With The Energy And Brilliance Of Armstrong And He Quickly Became A Sensation Among New York Musicians. Back In Chicago In 1925 He Made His First Recordings With His Own Group Louis Armstrong And His Hot Five And These Became Not Only Popular Hits But Also Models For The First Generation Of Jazz Musicians Trumpeters Or Otherwise. Other Hits Followed Through The Twenties And Thirties As Well As Troubles Crooked Managers Lip Injuries Mob Entanglements Failed Big-Band Ventures. As Jazz Styles Changed Though Musical Purists Never Lost Any Respect For Him -- Although They Were Sometimes Irritated By His Hammy Onstage Persona. Around The Late Forties With The Help Of A Good Manager Armstrong's Business Affairs Finally Stablilized And He Began To Be Seen As An Elder Statesman Of American Popular Entertainment Appearing In Hollywood Films Touring Asia And Europe And Dislodging The Beatles From The Number-One Position With Hello Dolly". Today Many People May Know Him As A Singer A Good One But As Miles Davis Said “You Can’t Play Nothing On Modern Trumpet That Doesn’t Come From Him." The 62-Year-Old Armstrong Became The Oldest Act To Top The US Charts When "Hello Dolly" Reached #1 In 1964. Four Years Later Satchmo Also Became The Oldest Artist To Record A UK #1 When "What A Wonderful World" Hit The Top Spot. read less
read more
Coming To Prominence In The 1920s As An Inventive Trumpet And Cornet Player Armstrong Was A Foundational Influence In Jazz Shifting The Focus Of The Music From Collective Improvisation To Solo Performance. With His Instantly-Recognizable Gravelly Voice Armstrong Was Also An Influential Singer Demonstrating Great Dexterity As An Improviser Bending The Lyrics And Melody Of A Song For Expressive Purposes. He Was Also Skilled At Scat Singing Vocalizing Using Sounds And Syllables Instead Of Actual Lyrics .
Renowned For His Charismatic Stage Presence And Voice Almost As Much As For His Trumpet-Playing Armstrong's Influence Extends Well Beyond Jazz Music And By The End Of His Career In The 1960s He Was Widely Regarded As A Profound Influence On Popular Music In General. Armstrong Was One Of The First Truly Popular African-American Entertainers To "cross Over" Whose Skin-Color Was Secondary To His Music In An America That Was Severely Racially Divided. He Rarely Publicly Politicized His Race Often To The Dismay Of Fellow African-Americans But Took A Well-Publicized Stand For Desegregation During The Little Rock Crisis. His Artistry And Personality Allowed Him Socially Acceptable Access To The Upper Echelons Of American Society That Were Highly Restricted For A Black Man. Armstrong Was Born And Brought Up In New Orleans A Culturally Diverse Town With A Unique Musical Mix Of Creole Ragtime Marching Bands And Blues. Although From An Early Age He Was Able To Play Music Professionally He Didn't Travel Far From New Orleans Until 1922 When He Went To Chicago To Join His Mentor King Oliver. Oliver's Band Played Primitive Jazz A Hotter Style Of Ragtime With Looser Rhythms And More Improvisation And Armstrong's Role Was Mostly Backing. Slow To Promote Himself He Was Eventually Persuaded By His Wife Lil Hardin To Leave Oliver And In 1924 He Went To New York To Join The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. At The Time There Were A Few Other Artists Using The Rhythmic Innovations Of The New Orleans Style But None Did It With The Energy And Brilliance Of Armstrong And He Quickly Became A Sensation Among New York Musicians. Back In Chicago In 1925 He Made His First Recordings With His Own Group Louis Armstrong And His Hot Five And These Became Not Only Popular Hits But Also Models For The First Generation Of Jazz Musicians Trumpeters Or Otherwise. Other Hits Followed Through The Twenties And Thirties As Well As Troubles Crooked Managers Lip Injuries Mob Entanglements Failed Big-Band Ventures. As Jazz Styles Changed Though Musical Purists Never Lost Any Respect For Him -- Although They Were Sometimes Irritated By His Hammy Onstage Persona. Around The Late Forties With The Help Of A Good Manager Armstrong's Business Affairs Finally Stablilized And He Began To Be Seen As An Elder Statesman Of American Popular Entertainment Appearing In Hollywood Films Touring Asia And Europe And Dislodging The Beatles From The Number-One Position With Hello Dolly". Today Many People May Know Him As A Singer A Good One But As Miles Davis Said “You Can’t Play Nothing On Modern Trumpet That Doesn’t Come From Him." The 62-Year-Old Armstrong Became The Oldest Act To Top The US Charts When "Hello Dolly" Reached #1 In 1964. Four Years Later Satchmo Also Became The Oldest Artist To Record A UK #1 When "What A Wonderful World" Hit The Top Spot. read less
16 Similar Artists To Louis Armstrong - Frogtoon Music
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"Moon River" is a song composed by Johnny Mercer (lyrics) and Henry Mancini (music) in 1961, for whom it won that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. It is most well-known for being sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's by Audrey Hepburn, although it has been covered by many other artists.
It became the theme song for Andy Williams, who first recorded the song in 1961 and performed it at the Academy Awards ceremonies in 1962. He sang the first eight bars of the song at the beginning of his television show; he also named his production company and venue in Branson, Missouri after Moon River. Williams' version was vetoed by Cadence president Archie Bleyer, who believed it had little or no appeal to teenagers. Williams' famous version never charted, except as an LP track, which he recorded for Columbia in a hit album of 1962.
The success of the song was responsible for relaunching Mercer's career as a songwriter, which had stalled in the mid-1950s because rock and roll replaced jazz standards as the popular music of the time. An inlet near Savannah, Georgia, Johnny Mercer's hometown, was named Moon River in honor of him and this song. The popularity of the song is such that it has been used as a test sample in a study on people's memories of popular songs.
The original version
Mercer and Mancini wrote the song for Audrey Hepburn to fit her vocal range. Initially the lyrics started, "I'm Holly, like I want to be / like Holly on a tree back home...", however they were later changed to fit the theme to the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Although an instrumental version is played over the film's opening titles, the lyrics are first heard in a scene where Paul 'Fred' Varjak (George Peppard) discovers Holly Golightly (Hepburn) singing them, accompanied by her guitar, on the fire-escape outside their apartments.
There was much behind-the-scenes consternation which erupted when a Paramount Pictures executive suggested deleting the song from the film immediately after a very successful San Francisco preview. Hepburn's reaction has been described by Mancini and others in degrees varying from her saying "over my dead body" to her using somewhat more colorful language to make the same point.
Hepburn's version was not included in the original score album to Breakfast at Tiffany's. Instead, an album version recorded by Mancini and his chorus was released as a single and became a #11 hit. In different versions, Joel Whitburn's "Top Adult (Contemporary) Songs" reported the song as a #3 or #1 easy listening hit, due to unpublished charts in Billboard. Only months after Hepburn's death in 1993, her version was released on an album entitled Music from the Films of Audrey Hepburn.
Other recordings
"Moon River" was released by South African singer Danny Williams, and reached #1 in the UK. Shortly thereafter, Andy Williams recorded the song and made it his theme song. It was a hit for Jerry Butler in 1961, reaching #11 in the Billboard charts. Other artists that have covered the song are The Afghan Whigs, Benny Anderssons Orkester, Paul Anka, Blake, Louis Armstrong, Vince Guaraldi, Beru Revue, Mary Black, Sarah Brightman, Liz Callaway, Perry Como, Ray Conniff, Bobby Darin, Ania Dąbrowska, Dr. John, Dump, Billy Eckstine, The Four Freshmen, Connie Francis, Bill Frisell (instrumental), Emi Fujita, Judy Garland, Karel Gott, Grant Green (instrumental), Patty Griffin, The Innocence Mission (although this version is sometimes incorrectly cited as being performed by Milla Jovovich), Bradley Joseph (instrumental), Kim Yoo-jin, James Last, Joey McIntyre, Johnny Mathis, Brad Mehldau, Jane Monheit, Morrissey, Patsy Ann Noble, Jim Reeves, John Barrowman, R.E.M., Mia Riddle, Andrea Ross, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Sarah Vaughan, Nan Vernon, Kid Koala, Westlife, Victoria Williams, The Divine Comedy, and Tata Young.
Mercer himself recorded the song in 1974 for his album (appropriately named) My Huckleberry Friend.
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