How High The Moon

In 1939, the first of a series of three musical revue shows opened on Broadway. It was called One For The Money and on Feb. 8, 1940 the second, Two For The Show, opened at the Booth Theatre and after 124 performances it closed on May 25. The fifth sketch of Two For The Show, reportedly the only non-comic one, was the song How High The Moon sung by 8 actors including Alfred Drake, who went on to a long and successful career. Both Eve Arden and Betty Hutton appeared in Two For The Show but were not in the High How The Moon sketch. Music by Morgan Lewis and lyrics by Nancy Hamilton, the song was recorded the day before the show opened by the Benny Goodman Orchestra with Helen Forrest on vocals.

 

A second recording was made the next day, this one by Mitchell Ayres & His Fashions In Music with the vocal by Mary Ann Mercer.

 

The song didn't see much action on records for the next five years (largely due to the long AFM recording strike) and neither recording gave any indication of the jazz and pop standard it was about to become. That began to change in 1945 when these two permitted live recordings were made. They make me suspect that during the war the song remained a popular performance piece and was evolving away from its original Broadway show tune. The first is by the Delta Rhythm Boys.

 

Around this time the song became as popular as an instrumental as it was a vocal. In November 1945, the Les Paul Trio made this live V-Disc recording for the troops.

 

1947 changed everything for How High The Moon. With a second AFM strike looming, one that would last nearly all of 1948, there was a lot of recording being done in 1947. That summer a popular instrumental recording of the song was done by the Nat King Cole Trio.

 

Three vocals were also recorded that included scat singing and completed the transition of the song to a jazz standard. The first was by Anita O'Day.

 

 On October 22, 1947 the Stan Kenton Orchestra recorded it with June Christy.

 

and on December 20, Ella Fitzgerald cut it. It would become one of her signature songs.

 

With the strike over in late 1948, Charles Brown showed what could be done with the song in a more intimate setting and slowed down considerably.

 

In 1950, the song remaining a popular instrumental number, Pupi Campo gave it a rhumba workout.

 

In 1951 Les Paul and Mary Ford recorded what may be the most well known version of the song ever.

 

The mid-1950's saw two very different releases of How High The Moon. One extremely slowed down by Pat Suzuki

 

and one done in 4th gear by Sarah Vaughn.

 

In 1964 it received the pop vocal group treatment from the Royal Robins.

 

Gloria Gaynor gave us a disco Moon in 1975. You can hear it on youtube. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsT5AbxFZ3k

Emmylou Harris did it countryfied on her 1981 Evangeline LP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2cgpNr-dpo 
and here's a 1989 live performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtibPrLOzQY
I believe the guitarist/singer in the pink shirt is Barry Tashian who back in 1965-1966 had a smoking band in Boston called The Remains.

On what would have been Les Paul's 95th birthday, Jeff Beck and Imelda May honored him with this performance in New York City.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAUAAn46ji0

and, of course, it's been recorded and performed by hundreds of jazz artists and singers for over 70 years.