Another fantastic requested song by mammybeth1 from my previous account "monsterlyinlove"..i miss my Papa :) one of his favorite song :)
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"Moon River" is a song composed by Johnny Mercer (lyrics) and Henry Mancini (music) in 1961, for whom it won that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was originally sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's by Audrey Hepburn, although it has been covered by many other artists. The song also won the 1962 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
It became the theme song for Andy Williams, who first recorded it in 1961 and performed it at the Academy Awards ceremonies in 1962. He sang the first eight bars at the beginning of his television show and also named his production company and venue in Branson, Missouri after it. Williams' version was disliked by Cadence Records president Archie Bleyer, who believed it had little or no appeal to teenagers. Andy Williams' version never charted, except as an LP track, which he recorded for Columbia in a hit album of 1962.
The success of the song was responsible for re-launching Mercer's career as a songwriter, which had stalled in the mid-1950s because rock and roll replaced jazz standards as the popular music of the time. An inlet near Savannah, Georgia, Johnny Mercer's hometown, was named Moon River in honor of him and this song. The popularity of the song is such that it has been used as a test sample in a study on people's memories of popular songs.
Comments about the song have noted that it is particularly reminiscent of Mercer's youth in the Southern United States.
"Moon River" was a hit single for Jerry Butler in late 1961, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December, two weeks before Mancini's recording reached the same spot. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, South African singer Danny Williams had a hit version of the song that reached number one in the UK in the final week of 1961. Although Andy Williams never released the song as a single, his LP Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes, released in the spring of 1962, was certified Gold in October 1963 for sales of over a million copies. Other artists that have covered the song are Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers (instrumental), Aretha Franklin, Ann Margret in 1962, Jonny Fair (Live), Lena Horne, Nico Fidenco in Italian (1962), Joni James (1963), Jay and the Americans (1962), Bobby Solo in Italian (1966), The Afghan Whigs,[8] Paul Anka, Blake, Louis Armstrong, Vic Damone, Billy Stewart in 1965, Bobby Vinton in 1965, Vince Guaraldi, Beru Revue, Mary Black, Sarah Brightman, Liz Callaway, Perry Como, Ben E. King, Ray Conniff, Bobby Darin, Ania DÄ…browska, Dr. John, Dump, Billy Eckstine, The Four Freshmen, Connie Francis, Bill Frisell (instrumental), Emi Fujita, Judy Garland, Duane Eddy (instrumental in 1962), Karel Gott, Grant Green (instrumental), Patty Griffin, The Innocence Mission (this version is sometimes incorrectly attributed to actress Milla Jovovich), Josh Ritter in his acoustic session for the website Daytrotter, Bradley Joseph (instrumental), Kim Yoo-jin, James Last, Trini Lopez, Lisa Ono, Joey McIntyre, Johnny Mathis, Brad Mehldau, Jane Monheit, Morrissey, Willie Nelson, Patsy Ann Noble, Eddi Reader, Jim Reeves, John Barrowman, R.E.M., Katie Melua, Andrea Ross, Eartha Kitt, Shirley Bassey, Frank Sinatra, The Killers, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand for The Movie Album (2003), Sarah Vaughan, Nan Vernon, Kid Koala, Westlife, Victoria Williams, The Divine Comedy, Tata Young, Tommy Emmanuel (2010), Helmut Lotti, Chiara Civello, Christine Collister, Oscar Peterson (solo piano), Hirai Ken, Rumer, Kazumasa Oda from his 1988 album "Between the Word and the Heart", and Khalil Fong.
Mercer himself recorded the song in 1974 for his album My Huckleberry Friend.
In 2007, saxophonist Dave Koz recorded a version from his standards music album, At the Movies. The song featured Barry Manilow on vocals.
Clay Aiken recorded the song on his 2010 album Tried and True. Aiken's version features a guitar solo by country artist Vince Gill.
