"Dark Moon" is a song written by

Ned Miller Henry Ned Miller (April 12, 1925 – March 18, 2016) was an American country music singer-songwriter. Active as a recording artist from 1956 to 1970, he is known primarily for his hit single " From a Jack to a King", a crossover hit in 1962 whi ...

, which was popularized in several different musical formats after its composition. The more popular versions of the song were recorded by

Bonnie Guitar Bonnie Buckingham (March 25, 1923 – January 13, 2019), better known as Bonnie Guitar, was an American singer, musician, producer, and businesswoman. She was best known for her 1957 country-pop crossover hit " Dark Moon". She became one of t ...

and

Gale Storm Josephine Owaissa Cottle (April 5, 1922 – June 27, 2009), known professionally as Gale Storm, was an American actress and singer. After a film career from 1940 to 1952, she starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, '' My Litt ...

Bonnie Guitar version

The original version of "Dark Moon" was recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

in 1957. Guitar's producer, Fabor Robison, originally intended for

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

singer

Dorsey Burnette Dorsey William Burnett Jr. (December 28, 1932 – August 19, 1979) was an American early rockabilly singer. With his younger brother Johnny Burnette and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founder member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He is als ...

to record the song, but was dissatisfied with the finished product. Instead, Guitar offered to record "Dark Moon", giving up her royalties to record the song, stating "I told him I’d give up my royalties to be able to record that song. I knew in my mind, as little as I knew, that that was a hit song. I just knew it. So, we went right in the studio and started working on it, and I played the lead guitar and everything." Ned Miller himself played the guitar in this recording. The single version was leased on

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

and issued in March 1957. "Dark Moon" peaked at #14 on the '' Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart and became a top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching #6. The single was Guitar's first major hit as a musical artist. This version of the song was used in the credits to Season 1 Episode 3 of the Disney+ show Loki.

Chart performance

Gale Storm version

The second version of "Dark Moon" was recorded by American pop artist

, with orchestra and chorus directed by Billy Vaughn. At the release of Bonnie Guitar's original version of "Dark Moon", Storm was recording for

as well. Storm's manager insisted that she record the song. Gale Storm's version was released shortly after the original version's release in 1957. The single peaked at #4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in late 1957. The song became Storm's last chart record in ''Billboard Magazine''. Shortly after Storm's success, British pop artist

Tony Brent Tony Brent (born Reginald Hogan Bretagne, 26 August 1927 – 19 June 1993) was a British traditional pop music singer, most active in the 1950s. He scored seven Top 20 chart hits in the UK over an almost six-year period, starting in December 1 ...

covered the song. An official single version was released in 1957 and reached #17 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in June 1957.

Chart performance

Other recordings

* Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1957 for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the album ''Shall We Dance?''(2012) *

Frank Ifield Francis Edward Ifield OAM (born 30 November 1937) is a British-Australian country music singer and guitarist who often incorporated yodelling into his music. After living in Australia, Ifield returned to the United Kingdom in November 1959 wher ...

- included in his album '' Blue Skies'' (1964) * Patti Page - included in her album ''Patti Page Sings Country and Western Golden Hits'' (1961) *

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song " Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", " Baby ...

- from the soundtrack of the film ''

A Perfect World ''A Perfect World'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy ( T. J. Lowther) hostage and attempts to escape on the road with the child. Eastwood co-stars ...

'' (1993) *

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

- included in the (compilation) album ''The Home Recordings'' (1999). The song, a home recording, was recorded in 1966. *Anna Wilson - included on her album ''Just For You'' (2007) *

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman ...

- Included on his 1959 album “The Intimate Jim Reeves”

References

{{authority control 1957 songs Ned Miller songs Elvis Presley songs Bonnie Guitar songs Gale Storm songs Songs written by Ned Miller Dot Records singles