Moon River - Music
Moon River by Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson
Artist Biography For Nancy Wilson
There Is More Than One Artist With This Name 1 Nancy Sue Wilson - Jazz Diva Best Known For Her 60s Standards Recordings. 2 Nancy Lamoureaux Wilson - Singer Songwriter And Guitarist And Member Of The Group Heart. -- -- 1 Nancy Sue Wilson Born February 20 1937 In Chillicothe OH United States – December 13 2018 In Pioneertown CA United States Was A Jazz Diva Famous For Recording American Standards In The 60s. She Was Among Contemporary Music's Most Stylish And Sultry Vocalists While Often Crossing Over Into The Pop And R&B Markets -- And Even Hosting Her Own Television Variety Program -- She Remained Best Known As A Jazz Performer Renowned For Her Work Alongside Figures Including Cannonball Adderley And George Shearing. Wilson First Attracted Notice Performing The Club Circuit In Nearby Columbus She Quickly Earned A Growing Reputation Among Jazz Players And Fans And She Was Recording Regularly By The Late '50s Eventually Signing To Capitol And Issuing LPs Including 1959's Like In Love And Nancy Wilson With Billy May's Orchestra. Her Dates With Shearing Including 1960's The Swingin's Mutual Solidified Her Standing As A Talent On The Rise And Her Subsequent Work With Adderley -- Arguably Her Finest Recordings -- Further Cemented Her Growing Fame And Reputation. In The Years To Follow However Wilson Often Moved Away From Jazz Much To The Chagrin Of Purists She Made Numerous Albums Many Of Them Properly Categorized As Pop And R&B Outings And Toured Extensively Appearing With Everyone From Nat King Cole And Sarah Vaughan To Ruth Brown And LaVern Baker. She Even Hosted Her Own Emmy-Winning Variety Series For NBC The Nancy Wilson Show And Was A Frequent Guest Performer On Other Programs Hits Of The Period Included "Tell Me The Truth " "How Glad I Am " "Peace Of Mind " And "Now I'm A Woman." Regardless Of How Far Afield She Traveled Wilson Always Maintained Her Connections To The Jazz World And In The 1980s She Returned To The Music With A Vengeance Working Closely With Performers Including Hank Jones Art Farmer Ramsey Lewis And Benny Golson. By The 1990s She Was A Favorite Among The "new Adult Contemporary" Market Her Style Ideally Suited To The Format's Penchant For Lush Romantic Ballads She Also Hosted The Jazz Profiles Series On National Public Radio. In The Early 2000s Wilson Recorded Two Albums With Ramsey Lewis For Narada 2002's Meant To Be And 2003's Simple Pleasures . Her 2004 Album R.S.V.P. Rare Songs Very Personal Was A Blend Of Straight-Ahead Jazz And Ballads Similar To Her Next Record 2006's Turned To Blue Which Like R.S.V.P. Used A Different Instrumentalist For Each Track. In 2005 Capitol Released A Three-Part Series To Pay Tribute To Wilson's Contributions To Music In The '50s And '60s Guess Who I Saw Today Nancy Wilson Sings Songs Of Lost Love Save Your Love For Me Nancy Wilson Sings The Great Blues Ballads And The Great American Songbook. Wilson Died From A Long-Illness On December 13 2018 At Her Home In Pioneertown California At The Age Of 81. 2 Nancy Lamoureux Wilson Born March 16 1954 San Francisco CA United States More Popularly Known As Nancy Wilson Is An American Singer Guitarist And Songwriter. Along With Her Older Sister Ann Wilson She Is Part Of The Seattle/Vancouver Rock Band Heart. She Is Married To Film Director And Screenwriter Cameron Crowe And Has Composed And Performed Music For Most Of Crowe's Movies Including Jerry Maguire Almost Famous Vanilla Sky And Elizabethtown. While Ann Is The Lead Singer On Most Of The Heart Recordings Nancy Is The Lead Vocalist On Treat Me Well These Dreams Stranded There's The Girl And Will You Be There In The Morning And Frequently Performs Background Vocals. She Is Also The Band's Rhythm And Lead Guitarist. In 1999 She Released A Live Solo Album Live At McCabe's Guitar Shop. Solo Albums
1999 - Live At McCabes Guitar Shop
2005 - Elizabethtown
2009 - Baby Guitars
2016 - Undercover Guitar With Julie Bergman 2021 - You And Me
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Moon River
Nancy-Wilson - Hollywood - My Way
"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 - Nancy Wilson
There Is More Than One Artist With This Name 1 Nancy Sue Wilson - Jazz Diva Best Known For Her 60s Standards Recordings. 2 Nancy Lamoureaux Wilson - Singer Songwriter And Guitarist And Member Of The Group Heart. -- -- 1 Nancy Sue Wilson Born February 20 1937 In Chillicothe OH United States – December 13 2018 In Pioneertown CA United States Was A Jazz Diva Famous For Recording American Standards In The 60s. She Was Among Contemporary Music's Most Stylish And Sultry Vocalists While Often Crossing Over Into The Pop And R&B Markets -- And Even Hosting Her Own Television Variety Program -- She Remained Best Known As A Jazz Performer Renowned For Her Work Alongside Figures Including Cannonball Adderley And George Shearing. Wilson First Attracted Notice Performing The Club Circuit In Nearby Columbus She Quickly Earned A Growing Reputation Among Jazz Players And Fans And She Was Recording Regularly By The Late '50s Eventually Signing To Capitol And Issuing LPs Including 1959's Like In Love And Nancy Wilson With Billy May's Orchestra. Her Dates With Shearing Including 1960's The Swingin's Mutual Solidified Her Standing As A Talent On The Rise And Her Subsequent Work With Adderley -- Arguably Her Finest Recordings -- Further Cemented Her Growing Fame And Reputation. In The Years To Follow However Wilson Often Moved Away From Jazz Much To The Chagrin Of Purists She Made Numerous Albums Many Of Them Properly Categorized As Pop And R&B Outings And Toured Extensively Appearing With Everyone From Nat King Cole And Sarah Vaughan To Ruth Brown And LaVern Baker. She Even Hosted Her Own Emmy-Winning Variety Series For NBC The Nancy Wilson Show And Was A Frequent Guest Performer On Other Programs Hits Of The Period Included "Tell Me The Truth " "How Glad I Am " "Peace Of Mind " And "Now I'm A Woman." Regardless Of How Far Afield She Traveled Wilson Always Maintained Her Connections To The Jazz World And In The 1980s She Returned To The Music With A Vengeance Working Closely With Performers Including Hank Jones Art Farmer Ramsey Lewis And Benny Golson. By The 1990s She Was A Favorite Among The "new Adult Contemporary" Market Her Style Ideally Suited To The Format's Penchant For Lush Romantic Ballads She Also Hosted The Jazz Profiles Series On National Public Radio. In The Early 2000s Wilson Recorded Two Albums With Ramsey Lewis For Narada 2002's Meant To Be And 2003's Simple Pleasures . Her 2004 Album R.S.V.P. Rare Songs Very Personal Was A Blend Of Straight-Ahead Jazz And Ballads Similar To Her Next Record 2006's Turned To Blue Which Like R.S.V.P. Used A Different Instrumentalist For Each Track. In 2005 Capitol Released A Three-Part Series To Pay Tribute To Wilson's Contributions To Music In The '50s And '60s Guess Who I Saw Today Nancy Wilson Sings Songs Of Lost Love Save Your Love For Me Nancy Wilson Sings The Great Blues Ballads And The Great American Songbook. Wilson Died From A Long-Illness On December 13 2018 At Her Home In Pioneertown California At The Age Of 81. 2 Nancy Lamoureux Wilson Born March 16 1954 San Francisco CA United States More Popularly Known As Nancy Wilson Is An American Singer Guitarist And Songwriter. Along With Her Older Sister Ann Wilson She Is Part Of The Seattle/Vancouver Rock Band Heart. She Is Married To Film Director And Screenwriter Cameron Crowe And Has Composed And Performed Music For Most Of Crowe's Movies Including Jerry Maguire Almost Famous Vanilla Sky And Elizabethtown. While Ann Is The Lead Singer On Most Of The Heart Recordings Nancy Is The Lead Vocalist On Treat Me Well These Dreams Stranded There's The Girl And Will You Be There In The Morning And Frequently Performs Background Vocals. She Is Also The Band's Rhythm And Lead Guitarist. In 1999 She Released A Live Solo Album Live At McCabe's Guitar Shop. Solo Albums
1999 - Live At McCabes Guitar Shop
2005 - Elizabethtown
2009 - Baby Guitars
2016 - Undercover Guitar With Julie Bergman 2021 - You And Me read less
read more
1999 - Live At McCabes Guitar Shop
2005 - Elizabethtown
2009 - Baby Guitars
2016 - Undercover Guitar With Julie Bergman 2021 - You And Me read less
16 Similar Artists To Nancy Wilson - Frogtoon Music
Carmen McRae Anita O'Day Etta Jones Sarah Vaughan Dinah Washington June Christy Lena Horne Mel Tormé Helen Merrill Dakota Staton Betty Carter Blossom Dearie Ernestine Anderson Julie London Karrin Allyson Ella Fitzgerald.
"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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