In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, some songs about earth’s natural satellite. There are a LOT of songs about the moon. Here’s a list from Ranker.
I decided to just pick the songs I knew and which came to mind, by the artists I most associate with performing them. Many folks covered Moon River and Blue Moon, e.g.
Dancing in the Moonlight – King Harvest, #13 in 1973; couldn’t remember the group’s name
Moondance – Van Morrison, #92 in 1977; this was overplayed in my listening circle, to Stairway to Heaven proportions, but it’s a great song
Moonshadow – Cat Stevens, #30 in 1971. Now going by Yusuf/Cat Stevens
Walking on the Moon – Police
Moon River – Andy Williams. I used to watch his variety show in the 1960s. This track from Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer was his signature song
Fly Me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra; he also recorded Full Moon and Empty Arms (1946); and The Moon Was Yellow (1962)
Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater revival, #2 in 1969. CCR also had #2 hits with Proud Mary, Green River, Travelin’ Band, and Lookin’ Out My Back Door. But the band never had a Billboard #1 hit single.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Judy Collins
Blue Moon of Kentucky – Bill Monroe
C Moon – Paul McCartney and Wings
Old Devil Moon – Frank Sinatra; he also did songs featuring the sun and the stars; what celestial guy
Moonlight in Vermont – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Man on the Moon – REM, #30 in 1993 from the movie about the late comedian Andy Kaufman
Blue Moon – the Marcels, #1 for three weeks pop, and #1 for two weeks soul in 1961
It’s Only a Paper Moon – Nat King Cole
Moonlight Sonata – Piano Sonata No. 14 -Beethoven
Moonlight Mile – Rolling Stones, from Sticky Fingers, my RS album of my college years
Moonlight Seranade – Glenn Miller. I can hear the announcer’s voice, even now.
Moonlight Bay – Doris Day
Kiko And The Lavender Moon – Los Lobos. I had this on a future Saturday list, but opted for it here.
Andy’s take on “Moon River” is a gem, and it deserves enshrinement in the Parthenon of Pop. But it did nothing at Top 40, since Columbia never put it out as a single, and therefore some of us — I didn’t see Breakfast at Tiffany’s until some time after 1970 — learned the song from Jerry Butler.