How High the Moon

"How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue Two for the Show, where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock.[1] In Two for the Show, this was a rare serious moment in an otherwise humorous revue.

"How High the Moon"
Song by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock
Published1940
Composer(s)Morgan Lewis
Lyricist(s)Nancy Hamilton

Recordings
1951 Capitol Records 78 single by Les Paul and Mary Ford, 1451.
1951 sheet music for the Les Paul and Mary Ford recording, Chappell, New York.

The earliest recorded hit version was by Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, featuring vocalist Helen Forrest. It was recorded on February 7, 1940, and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 35391, with the flip side "Fable of the Rose".[2] The Les Paul Trio recorded a version released as V-Disc 540B with a spoken introduction which was issued in November, 1945 by the U.S. War Department. In 1948, bandleader Stan Kenton enjoyed some success with his version of the tune. The recording, with a vocal by June Christy, was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 911 (with the flip side "Willow, Weep for Me")[3] and 15117 (with the flip side "Interlude").[4] It reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on July 9, 1948, its only week on the chart, at #27.[5]

"How High the Moon"
Single by Les Paul and Mary Ford
ReleasedMarch 26, 1951 (original release)
RecordedJanuary 4, 1951[6]
StudioLes Paul and Mary Ford's apartment home studio[6]
Length2:07
LabelCapitol Records[6]
Songwriter(s)Nancy Hamilton, Morgan Lewis
Producer(s)Les Paul[6]

A recording of the song by Les Paul and Mary Ford was made on January 4, 1951.[6] This version featured Paul on all guitars (lead, rhythm, muted strings for guitar percussion, and a bass line played on guitar).[6] Ford's lead vocals took three takes to record; since Paul and Ford recorded (at least Ford's vocals) at night, she placed a blanket over her head so most of the sound would be directed towards the microphone and would not travel through the building and wake up neighbors.[6] Regardless, while recording one of Ford's harmony vocal parts, their neighbors complained about the noise.[6] According to Paul, the final recording featured 12 guitar parts and 12 vocal parts.[6]

The record was released on March 26 by Capitol Records as catalog number 1451, with the flip side "Walkin' and Whistlin' Blues",[7] and spent 25 weeks (beginning on March 23, 1951) on the Billboard chart,[5] 9 weeks at #1. It was subsequently re-released by Capitol as catalog number 1675, with "Josephine" on the B-side.[8] This version crossed over to the Most-Played Juke Box Rhythm & Blues Records chart, where it peaked at #2.[9] This recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1979 and is on the list of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum of the Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.[10] In 2023, this version was included on the soundtrack of the film Asteroid City by Wes Anderson.[11]

The song was sung in various recordings by Ella Fitzgerald, becoming (with the Gershwins' "Oh, Lady Be Good!") Ella's signature tune. She first performed the song at Carnegie Hall on September 29, 1947.[1] Her first recording, backed by the Daydreamers, was recorded December 20, 1947, and released by Decca Records as catalog number 24387, with the flip side "You Turned the Tables on Me".[12] Her most celebrated recording of "How High the Moon" is on her 1960 album Ella in Berlin, and her version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."[13]

The song has become a gypsy jazz standard and has been recorded by several musicians of the genre.

Other versions

Songs based on "How High the Moon"

Another jazz standard, "Ornithology" by Charlie Parker, is based on the chords of "How High the Moon". It was common among jazz musicians (Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton and others) to seamlessly include "Ornithology" in the solo when performing "How High the Moon". Lennie Tristano wrote the contrafact "Lennie-bird" over the chord changes, and Miles Davis/Chuck Wayne's "Solar" is also based on part of the chord structure.[51] Coleman Hawkins' tune "Bean At Met" is also based on the changes of How High The Moon; this tune starts with simple riffs on the measures 1 to 8 and 17 to 24. The rest is filled up with solos.

John Coltrane's composition "Satellite" is also based on the chords of "How High the Moon", which Coltrane embellished with the three-tonic progression he also used on his composition "Giant Steps".

Jimmy Giuffre's composition "Bright Moon" is also based on the chords of "How High the Moon". Quincy Jones recorded it in 1957 on his second album, Go West, Man!

See also

References
  1. "Cover versions of How High the Moon by Frances Comstock & Alfred Drake". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  2. "COLUMBIA 78rpm numerical listing discography: 35200 - 35500". 78discography.com. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  3. "Capitol 500 - 1000, 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  4. "Capitol 15000 series numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research.
  6. Buskin, Richard. "Classic Tracks: Les Paul & Mary Ford 'How High the Moon'". SoundOnSound. Sound On Sound. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  7. "Capitol 1000 - 1500, 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  8. "Capitol 1500 - 2000, 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  9. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 452.
  10. "Exhibits". Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  11. "Wes Anderson's Asteroid City Soundtrack Out from ABKCO Digitally Today". Focus Features. 23 June 2023.
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  13. "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". Archived from the original on 2015-07-07.
  14. "The Frog". 1 January 2000 – via IMDb.
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  21. Productions, Global Dog. "Singles Discography for National Records".
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