Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DXLII--Bobby Darin: Moon River

 At least I have somewhat of a reason for being late this week....

My introduction to this week's tune was watching the incomparable (i.e., I've had a crush on her since I first saw her) Audrey Hepburn in the classic movie Breakfast at Tiffany's.  My re-introduction to it came because my youngest son was fascinated by outer space when he was young (still is to a degree), and liked me to sing him snippets of songs with planets' (including our moon) names in them as I was tucking him in.  I wanted to come up with a couple more lyrics to this week's song to sing to him and came across this version on YouTube.  That the version I found was by an artist I loved was just icing on the cake....

If you're familiar with this week's tune, you'll know the definitive version is by Andy Williams.  I was all set to use his version until I read his Wikipedia bio and found out that although he campaigned for Robert F. Kennedy and was a companion of his wife Ethel after RFK's assassination, he claimed to be a lifelong Republican, reiterated RWNJ talking points about President Obama, and praised Rush Limbaugh.  In short, fuck him.  Besides, Bobby Darin's version blows his away.  Regular readers (all three of you) may recall that I wrote about Darin in Jukebox CCLXXIX, and as Darin has been playing at The Great Rock and Roll Concert in the Sky since 1973, there isn't anything to add.

"Moon River" was written by Henry Mancini (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) for the aforementioned film.  Bobby Darin had recorded it to be used on an album but passed away before it was started.  His version was not released until 1999, on the compilation The Unreleased Capitol Sides.  Darin's rendition was not released as a single, and near as I can tell, the album did not chart.

Fun Fact(s):  "Moon River" won the Academy Award for Best Song in 1961, and Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1962.  It was also ranked #4 on AFI's list of the top one hundred songs in American movies.

If ever there was a song written about hope that captures hope better than "Moon River," I've yet to hear it.  Mercer has said the song is about the waterways near his boyhood home of Savannah, Georgia, and it certainly grasps the dreams of his youth.  The melody is lovely, embodying a lushness that makes the song unforgettable.  Darin sings it with a wistfulness that leaves you in wonder and avoids the schmaltziness that mars Williams' version.  You'll often hear a song referred to as an American standard, and "Moon River" meets that designation in every conceivable way.  Just a beautiful and touching piece of Americana.

[Aside:  Regardless of my feelings for her, I would be remiss if I did not note that Audrey Hepburn's version in the movie is a wonder in and of itself and certainly adds to the song's rich history.]

Lyric Sheet:  "We're after the same rainbow's end/Waiting 'round the bend/My huckleberry friend/Moon River and me..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCCLXXXIX--Tony Bennett: I Wanna Be Around

 During the pandemic, my youngest son and I became enamored with the movie The Freshman, starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick.  In the movie there's a scene where Brando ice skates with a woman and while they're skating, this week's tune provides the background music.  Though I was vaguely familiar with the song (it's older than me), I became enamored of it as well because of the movie...and it's another example of the many different ways that a beloved song can be introduced to us.

I wrote about Tony Bennett's signature tune "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" way back in the fourteenth post for Friday Night Jukebox, but in the early days I didn't write bio recaps, so I'm going to give a brief (or as brief as one can for an artist who's been singing for over 70 years) one for this post, just to highlight what a stellar career Mr. Bennett has had.  He began singing after serving in World War II (Bennett served on the front lines in the European Theater and the horrors he saw led him to become a pacifist, which he still owns to this day) as a singing waiter, was discovered by Pearl Bailey in 1949, and by 1951 had his first hit.  Bennett was a huge success through the mid-sixties before rock and roll slowed his career to a halt.  By the late seventies he was broke and addicted to drugs; his sons helped him turn his life and career around.  Bennett had a massive renaissance in the 1990's (propelled by, of all things, an MTV Unplugged special), and has spent the last thirty years releasing hit album after hit album.  For his career, Bennett has released 61 albums with two #1's and five more that hit the top ten, and 83 singles with three #1's and two more that reached the top ten.  He's also won nineteen Grammy Awards and been inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame.  Bennet released his latest effort (a duets album-their second--with Lady Gaga) just last year, and in doing so became the oldest artist, at the age of 95, to release an album of new material in the history of the Billboard charts.  Due to the effects of Alzheimer's, Bennett has stopped touring but still sings in the studio regularly.

Fun Fact:  In an interview in 1965, no less an authority than Frank Sinatra declared that for him Tony Bennett was the best singer in the business at that time.  High praise indeed.

"I Wanna Be Around" was released by Bennett as a single in 1963 from his ever so craftily entitled LP I Wanna Be Around.  The single hit #14 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200.

At first listen, "I Wanna Be Around" seems to be like any other "My Baby Left Me" song, but by its close it's anything but.  Backed by a piano, a bass (I think), and a lightly tapped drum, Bennett begins by singing about how he wants to pick up the pieces when his love gets her heart broken, and by the end he's joyfully crooning about how sweet revenge will be when she suffers like he did.  The song could easily have turned into a bitter diatribe, but thanks to Bennett's anticipatory gusto (and his vocals--Mr. Bennett can flat out sing) it leaves us with a knowing smile and an understanding heart.  

Lyric Sheet:  "And that's when I'll discover that revenge is sweet/As I sit there applaudin' from a front-row seat/When somebody breaks your heart/Like you, like you broke mine..."

Enjoy:

Republican = Traitor

Peace,

emaycee