Will Hudson and Irving Mills, music · Eddie DeLange, lyrics · First recorded by Joe Venuti, 1933
Moonglow
Will Hudson wrote it as the theme song for his own dance band in Detroit. Early versions left room for soloists, from Jack Teagarden's trombone to Lionel Hampton's vibraphone. Benny Goodman's 1934 record spent 15 weeks at number one, and the 1955 film Picnic used the tune.
Listen in this order
Eight versions in teaching order, from a 1934 Duke Ellington record to a 1994 duet by Tony Bennett and k.d. lang. In between come a swing quartet, Billie Holiday, a piano trio, a tenor saxophone quintet, Sarah Vaughan with an orchestra and a trio with no drummer. Each step gives one thing to listen for and one thing to try.
Duke Ellington and His Orchestra · 1934 · Big band
“Moon Glow”, Solitude / Moon-Glow
Duke Ellington's orchestra recorded it on September 12, 1934, and Brunswick issued it on a record with Solitude on the other side. According to JazzStandards.com, it reached number two on the 1934 charts, behind Benny Goodman's version.
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Listen for
A full dance orchestra plays, and the whole record lasts only 3:06. Listen for the middle part, which sounds different from the sections around it.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first A: , , , , then , , G6 with in the same , and Am7, E♭7 and G6 in the last bar. Smaller version: play only G6, Am7 and D7, one per bar.
“Moonglow (Take 2)”, The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings
The Benny Goodman Quartet recorded it in August 1936, and the record introduced vibraphonist Lionel Hampton as a member of Goodman's group. According to JazzStandards.com, the tune charted for three weeks that year.
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Listen for
Clarinet, piano, vibraphone and drums play as a quartet, and the vibraphone was the newest voice in Goodman's group on this record. The take lasts 3:11.
Try it on your instrument
Play the : , then a slide down through and to , then , then with and D7 with G7. Smaller version: play only G7, E7, A7 and D7, two each.
Billie Holiday recorded it in Los Angeles in April 1952 with a group that included Charlie Shavers, Flip Phillips and Oscar Peterson. Clef first issued it in 1954 on the LP Billie Holiday.
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Listen for
Holiday's voice leads, with trumpet, tenor saxophone, piano, guitar, bass and drums behind her. The track lasts about three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first A at a slow tempo and let each ring for its full : , , , , , , G6 with , then Am7, E♭7 and G6. Sing or hum the tune over it if you know it. Smaller version: play only G6, Am7 and D7.
Erroll Garner recorded it in New York on June 7, 1956, with Al Hall on bass and Specs Powell on drums. Columbia issued it in 1958 on Encores in Hi-Fi.
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Listen for
Piano, bass and drums play for 5:29, much longer than the dance-band and quartet records before it. Listen for how three players keep one tune going for that long.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole (A, A, B, A) once from the iReal chart at a medium-slow tempo and count how many each part lasts. Smaller version: play only the , two bars each of , , and .
Coleman Hawkins recorded it with Ronnell Bright, Kenny Burrell, Ron Carter and Andrew Cyrille at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey on February 28, 1961. Moodsville issued it that year on The Hawk Relaxes.
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Listen for
A tenor saxophone stays out front for almost six minutes, with piano, guitar, bass and drums behind it. This is the longest record on the path so far.
Try it on your instrument
Play the last A of the : , , , , , , G6 with , then Am7, E♭7 and G6. Smaller version: play only the last two , Am7, E♭7 and G6.
Sarah Vaughan sings it with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones. Roulette issued it in 1962 on the album You're Mine You.
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Listen for
Vaughan's voice carries the song over a big orchestra, and the track is the shortest on the path, at about two and a half minutes. Notice how the orchestra stays behind her.
Try it on your instrument
Sing or hum the tune while you play the for each of the first A: , , , , , , then G6 with , and Am7, E♭7 and G6. Smaller version: play one chord per bar and hum only the first four bars.
Milt Jackson, Joe Pass and Ray Brown recorded it at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles on August 25, 1975. Pablo issued it in 1976 on The Big 3.
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Listen for
Vibraphone, guitar and bass are the only instruments, and the track lasts 4:53. Listen for how three instruments fill the sound by themselves.
Try it on your instrument
Play the tune with only a bass note and a per : one low note on the first beat, then the chord. Use the first A: , , , , , , G6 with , then Am7, E♭7 and G6. Smaller version: play only the low note of each chord, one per bar.
Tony Bennett sang it with k.d. lang on MTV Unplugged, recorded live on April 12, 1994 at Sony Studios in New York. Columbia released the album that June.
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Listen for
Two voices share the song over piano, bass and drums, and the track lasts 4:32. This is the newest record on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Play the and the last A back to back: , a slide down through and to , , with , D7 with G7, then , , , A7, , D7, G6 with E♭7, and Am7, E♭7 and G6. Smaller version: play only the last A.
Will Hudson writes it as a theme for his own band, and Joe Venuti records it in 1933. Benny Goodman's 1934 record spends 15 weeks at number one, and Duke Ellington's version follows at number two.
1940s
Erroll Garner's trio records it for Savoy in Los Angeles in the summer of 1949.
1950s
Billie Holiday sings it in Los Angeles in 1952 with a small group. Erroll Garner's trio records a longer version in 1956, and Columbia issues it in 1958.
1960s
Coleman Hawkins plays it with a quintet in 1961 for Moodsville. Gene Ammons records it that October, and Sarah Vaughan sings it with Quincy Jones's orchestra in 1962.
1970s
Milt Jackson, Joe Pass and Ray Brown record it in Los Angeles in 1975 for Pablo, with no drummer.
1990s
Tony Bennett and k.d. lang sing it on MTV Unplugged in 1994, with Ralph Sharon's trio behind them.
For players
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
G majorusual key
32 barsA · A · B · A form
Gkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars · bridge
A8 bars
G
The is 32 in , in . Each A runs , , and , then , , G6 with in the same bar, and Am7, E♭7 and G6 in the last bar. The (B) starts on and slides down through and to , then spends two bars on A7. D7 with E♭7 and D7 with G7 close it and lead back to the last A, which repeats the first.