"Moon Dreams" is a 1942 jazz and pop song composed by Chummy MacGregor and

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

. The song was first recorded by Martha Tilton on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

recorded the song for V-Disc release in 1944 with the Army Air Force Band.

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

made the song a staple of his repertoire and released it on the 1957 Capitol Records '' Birth of the Cool'' collection, the 1996

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

album '' Ballads and Blues'', and the 1998 ''The Complete Birth of the Cool'' album. The Miles Davis recording appeared in the Ken Burns jazz documentary for PBS entitled ''

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

'' in 2002. "Moon Dreams" was recorded by Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Band on January 21, 1944 and was released as a V-Disc, No. 201A, in October, 1944, featuring Sgt.

Johnny Desmond Johnny Desmond (born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone; November 14, 1919 – September 6, 1985) was an American singer who was popular in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Desmond was born Giovanni de Simone in Detroit, Michigan, ...

and

The Crew Chiefs The Crew Chiefs were a vocal group popular in the 1940s, known for accompanying Tex Beneke, Glenn Miller, and Ray McKinley. Member Artie Malvin co-wrote the song "I'm Headin' For California" with Glenn Miller in 1944. Appearances The name of the ...

on vocals. Glenn Miller also recorded the song on February 26, 1944, for the ''I Sustain the Wings'' radio program and on May 5, 1944, for the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

(OWI). Martha Tilton recorded "Moon Dreams" in 1942 for Capitol Records, which was co-founded by Johnny Mercer, the co-writer of the song. "Moon Dreams" also appeared in the 1988 motion picture ''36 fillette''. "Moon Dreams" was also featured on the soundtrack collection ''Ken Burns Jazz: The Story of America's Music'' (2000), in a performance by Miles Davis, arranged by Gil Evans. Miles Davis first performed the song in 1948 in concert in New York, a performance which appears on The Complete Birth of the Cool sessions collection. In 2008, "Moon Dreams" was featured in the Fox series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' in the episode "Mypods and Boomsticks" in a performance by Miles Davis.The Simpsons: "Mypods and Boomsticks", Season 20, Episode 7
November 30, 2008. IMDB.

Other recordings

"Moon Dreams" has been recorded and performed by Herbie Mann, jazz trombonist and composer Don Sebesky on the 1975 album ''

The Rape of El Morro ''The Rape of El Morro'' is an album by American arranger/conductor and composer Don Sebesky featuring performances recorded in 1975 and released on the CTI label.

'', with Michael Brecker on tenor saxophone,

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

, and

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

together, Hal McIntyre, Joe Lovano, Meredith D'Ambrosio,

Gil Goldstein Gil Goldstein (born November 6, 1950 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American jazz pianist and accordionist. He has won 5 Grammy Awards and he was nominated 8 time Biography He began studying accordion at age 5 after noticing it in The Lawrence We ...

Flavio Ambrosetti Flavio Ambrosetti (October 8, 1919 in Lugano – August 21, 2012 in Ticino) was a Swiss jazz vibraphonist, saxophonist, and engineer. Ambrosetti's primary career was in engineering; his acclaim in jazz circles has come entirely from his activities ...

, Franz Koglmann, The Dutch Jazz Orchestra, Thomas Helton, University of Connecticut Jazz Ensemble, Orquesta la Zebra Azul, Cool Dawn, Gerry Mulligan on the 1992 GRP album ''The Re-Birth of the Cool'', and Charlie Shoemake.

Footnotes

Sources

* Flower, John. ''Moonlight Serenade: A Bio-discography of the Glenn Miller Civilian Band''. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1972. * Simon, George Thomas. ''Glenn Miller and His Orchestra''. New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1974. * Simon, George T. ''Simon Says: The Sights and Sounds of the Swing Era, 1935–1955''. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1971. * Simon, George T. ''The Big Bands''. New York, NY: Macmillan, 1967.
Chummy MacGregor.IMDB.

External links

Online version. Archive.org. "Moon Dreams", V-Disc No. 201A, track 16.
{{Authority control Glenn Miller songs Songs with lyrics by Johnny Mercer 1942 songs 1940s jazz standards Jazz songs Jazz compositions in G major