“Blue Moon” is a Rodgers and Hart song with a complicated history and a number of iconic versions. The first time it was a hit was when it was recorded by the Velvet Fog himself, Mel Torme:
Gotta love the voice, but the arrangement is a product of its time, and not really my cup of tea. The version I first heard and still love the most is by the Marcels, and it’s both a product of its time and completely different:
A slightly different arrangement, but such a joy to see them perform it live that I don’t care. Elvis had a version before them, and Jan and Dean had one after them, then the next performer to make a mark with this song was the Cowboy Junkies:
Man, I love me some Margo Timmins. What an awesome voice. If you like that version, you’ll almost certainly like The Mavericks’ rendition, too.
I won’t embed the video here, but these days this song is a stadium anthem for the Manchester City Football Club. How many former show tunes do you think end up in a place like that?