Thanks everyone for the positive response to Moon June Spoon! It makes me realize I’d waited a while to do one of these series—Songs 4 Foodies also was quite popular—so I’ll try to make sure the next song list series isn’t so long in coming.
When I started the series I mentioned that I was going to confine the lists to music I currently listen to. There was one song, however, that I debated including even tho I haven’t listened to it in ages. Interestingly, our very own SoCal Correspondent, Audrey Bilger, wrote me an email yesterday making a case for including that very song. So…..
Blue Moon: “But wait,” you say, “you did include that.” But no, I don’t mean the Rogers-Hart tune, which turned up in the very first Moon June Spoon installment; I mean Alex Chilton’s song “Blue Moon” from the Big Star album sometimes referred to as Big Star’s Third & sometimes referred to as Sister Lovers (& occasionally called Beale Street Green). Talk about a soundtrack to my life. I was completely obsessed with this album in the mid 80s, & particularly with such haunting tunes as “Blue Moon,” “Nightime” “Take Care” “Kangaroo” & “Holocaust.” These songs seeped into my poetry & into the way I saw the world. Please check out the video of “Blue Moon” below—in my opinion the animation doesn’t fit the song, but just close your eyes & listen. This is a fantastic song from a truly great album, & one that I recommend highly. I have it on vinyl & also on a cassette—the two versions vary (there’s more material on the cassette, including Chilton singing “Nature Boy”). The “cassette” version is the one available on CD from Rykodisc. Big Star: Third/Sister Lovers (Rykodisc)
Audrey’s suggestion made me consider further that there have been other suggestions of Moon Songs—so here we have other readers’ choices, communicated either thru comments or email. I’ve included a couple of other videos, too.
Alleghany Moon – Patti Page (et al.)
Moon of Manakoora – Dorothy Lamour (et al.)
Moon Over Miami-The Platters (ditto)
When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain (Kate Smith)
Pink Moon (Nick Drake)
Special thanks to Jacqueline T. Lynch, as well as Audrey, for making suggestions. I also remembered that I meant to link to a site suggested by Dominic Rivron—the link is here, & while this doesn’t have to do with music, it has a lot to do with the moon. Check out the atlas section!
What’s your favorite moon song? Don’t be shy!
