"Shine On, Harvest Moon" is a popular early-1900s song credited to the married

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

team

Nora Bayes Nora Bayes (born Rachel Eleonora "Dora" Goldberg; October 3, 1880March 19, 1928) was an American singer and vaudeville performer who was popular internationally between the 1900s and 1920s. She is credited with co-writing the song " Shine On, Har ...

and Jack Norworth. It was one of a series of moon-related

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

songs of the era. The song was debuted by Bayes and Norworth in the ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

'' of 1908 to great acclaim. It became a pop standard, and continues to be performed and recorded in the 21st century. During the vaudeville era, songs were often sold outright, and the purchaser would be credited as the songwriter. John Kenrick's ''Who's Who in Musicals'' credits the song's actual writers as Edward Madden and Gus Edwards. However, David Ewen's ''All the Years of American Popular Music'' credits Dave Stamper, who contributed songs to 21 editions of the

and was Bayes' pianist from 1903 to 1908. Vaudeville comic

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

also credited Stamper in his 1934 book ''Ziegfeld: The Great Glorifier''. The earliest commercially successful recordings were made in 1909 by Harry Macdonough and Elise Stevenson ( Victor 16259), Ada Jones and Billy Murray ( Edison 10134), Frank Stanley and

Henry Burr Henry Burr (January 15, 1882 – April 6, 1941) was a Canadian singer, radio performer and producer. He was born Harry Haley McClaskey and used Henry Burr as one of his many pseudonyms, in addition to Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Ale ...

(Indestructible 1075), and Bob Roberts ( Columbia 668).

Lyrics

First verse

Chorus

Note: The months in the chorus have been sung in different orders. The Ada Jones and Billy Murray recording linked on this article has it as April, January, Ju-u-une or July. Flanagan and Allen,

Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with ...

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

and Leon Redbone used January, February, June or July.

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his ...

, in his rendition from '' The Flying Deuces'', used January, April, June or July.

Second verse

Film and television connections

The song has had a long history with Hollywood movies. In 1932,

Dave Fleischer Dave Fleischer (; July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) was an American film director and producer who co-owned Fleischer Studios with his older brother Max Fleischer. He was a native of New York City. Biography Early life and career Fleisch ...

directed an animated short titled ''Shine On Harvest Moon''. A 1938

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

western was named after the song, as was a 1944 biographical film about Bayes and Norworth. The song has been featured in dozens of movies, including ''Along Came Ruth'' (1933) and ''

The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical film, musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Lui ...

'' (1936).

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

performed a song-and-dance routine (Hardy singing and both dancing) to the song in their 1939 RKO film '' The Flying Deuces''. The song was also featured in '' A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'' (1945), ''

The Eddy Duchin Story ''The Eddy Duchin Story'' is a 1956 American biopic film of band leader and pianist Eddy Duchin starring Tyrone Power and Kim Novak. Filmed in CinemaScope, the Technicolor production was directed by George Sidney and written by Samuel A. T ...

'' (1956), and '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978). There was also a popular British 1980s comedy drama called '' Shine on Harvey Moon''. The song was featured in the 2013 video game '' BioShock Infinite''. It was referenced by

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep (film), Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958), ''Enter Laughing ...

in the 1971 Friars Club roast of

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

when he said, "Just hope and pray, Shine on Harvest Moon they know." In the 1952 ''I Love Lucy'' episode "The Benefit", the song is referenced and the chorus is sung. And Gidney and Cloyd the moon creatures performed the first line of the refrain on an episode of '' Rocky and His Friends'' in 1959–60, but sang "Shine on Harvest Earth". The song was also sung in the pilot episode of the Cartoon Network miniseries '' Over the Garden Wall''. ''

The Backyardigans ''The Backyardigans'' ( ) is an animated musical children's television series created by Janice Burgess for Nickelodeon. The series was written and recorded at Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It centers on five anthropomorphic animal neighbors ...

'' episode "The Key to the Nile" featured a song called "Please and Thank You" to the tune of this song.

Other recordings

* 1931: by

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

. * 1931:

Art Gillham Art Gillham (January 1, 1895, St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri – June 6, 1961, Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia) was an American songwriter who was among the first crooners, a pioneer radio artist, and a recording ...

's piano recording of the song for Columbia (No. 2374D) on January 5, 1931 was praised by

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...

* 1931:

Ruth Etting Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American singer and actress during the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. Known as "America's sweetheart of song", her signature tu ...

revived the song in the

* 1931:

The Boswell Sisters The Boswell Sisters were an American close harmony singing trio of the jazz and swing eras, consisting of three sisters: Martha Boswell (June 9, 1905 – July 2, 1958), Connie Boswell (later spelled "Connee", December 3, 1907 – October 11 ...

recorded their own arrangement of the revived hit on August 27, 1931 for Brunswick Records (No. 6173). * 1933:

Kate Smith Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith became well known for her renditions of "God Bless America" and "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain". She began ...

* 1939:

perform it in their film '' The Flying Deuces'' * 1949:

Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter and big band leader who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and another f ...

on Victor 1705 * 1950:

The Chordettes The Chordettes were an American female vocal quartet, specializing in traditional pop music. They are best known for their 1950s hit singles " Mr. Sandman" and " Lollipop", both of which sold over a million copies. Career The group organized i ...

on Columbia LP 6111 ''Harmony Time'' * 1951: Jerry Gray and his orchestra (recorded August 24,

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

catalog number 27868) * 1954: John Serry Sr. and his accordion ensemble for

RCA Thesaurus thumb RCA Thesaurus, a brand owned by RCA Victor, was a supplier of electrical transcriptions. It enjoyed a long history of producing electrical transcriptions of music for radio broadcasting which dated back to NBC's Radio Recording Division. Eff ...

* 1955: Four Aces "B" side to their #1 hit " Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" * 1955:

performed the song live * 1957:

Bonnie Guitar Bonnie Buckingham (March 25, 1923 – January 12, 2019), better known as Bonnie Guitar, was an American singer, musician, producer, and businesswoman. She was best known for her 1957 song, " Dark Moon", which was a country-pop crossover hit. Sh ...

on Dot LP 25069 ''Moonlight and Shadows'' * 1957:

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

and

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

both perform sax in a nearly five-minute jazz version on the album ''Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster'' * 1958:

recorded it in a medley with " For Me and My Gal" on the album ''More Sing Along with Mitch'' * 1958:

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best known for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the sitcom ''I Love Lucy.'' Frawley also played "Bub" O'Casey during the first five seasons of t ...

, who portrayed Fred Mertz on ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'', recorded the song as part of his LP homage to Vaudeville, ''Bill Frawley Sings the Old Ones'' * 1958:

Billy Vaughn William Vaughn, popularly known as Billy Vaughn (born Richard Smith Vaughn, April 12, 1919 – September 26, 1991) was an American musician, singer, multi-instrumentalist, orchestra leader, and A&R man for Dot Records. Biography Vaughn was bor ...

on Dot LP 25156 ''Billy Vaughn Plays'' * 1959:

The Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American vocal pop group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style predated the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely ...

* 1960: Jaye P. Morgan on MGM 12924 * 1960:

Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...

on Coral LP 57329 ''Naughty Naughty Naughty'' * 1960:

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ...

included in her album '' Rosie Solves the Swingin' Riddle!''. * 1960:

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

and

. They recorded the song in 1960 for use on their

radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...

and it was subsequently included in the CD ''Bing & Rosie - The Crosby-Clooney Radio Sessions'' (2010). * 1961:

included the song in a medley on his album ''

101 Gang Songs ''101 Gang Songs'' is an LP recorded in December 1960 by Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the ...

'' (1961) *1961:

Isley Brothers Isley is an English surname. The name can also be used as an anglicized variant for the German surnames Eisele and Eisler. Notable people with the surname include: *The Isley Brothers, American musical group ** Ernie Isley (born 1952), American ...

with Ray Ellis & Orchestra * 1962: Platters for their album ''Sing of Your Moonlight Memories''. * 1963: Nino Tempo and April Stevens on Atco LP 156 ''Deep Purple'' * 1964: Allan Sherman parodied the song as "Shine On, Harvey Bloom" on his album '' For Swingin' Livers Only!'' * 1965: Mance Lipscomb recorded the song live for

Arhoolie Records Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label that was run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States (it is actually located in Richmond Annex but has an El Cerrito postal address.) The label was ...

on ''Texas Songster in a Live Performance'' * 1976: Leon Redbone recorded the song for his album '' Double Time'' * 1989: Eight-year-old

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

sang a rendition of the song in her video audition for the '' Mickey Mouse Club''. * 1992: Kirsten Cooke and

Arthur Bostrom Arthur Bostrom FRGS (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, best known for his role as Officer Crabtree in the long-running BBC TV sitcom Allo 'Allo!''. Biography Early life Bostrom was born in Rugby, Warwickshire and attended Lawrence ...

perform it as the characters Michelle Dubois and

Officer Crabtree An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the sitcom ''

'Allo 'Allo! ''Allo 'Allo!'' is a British sitcom television series, created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner and Richard Gibson. Originally broadcast on BBC1, the series focuses on the life of a Frenc ...

'' (Season 8 Episode 7).

Carmen Silvera Carmen Blanche Silvera (2 June 1922 – 3 August 2002) was a British actress. Born in Canada of Spanish descent, she moved to Coventry, England, with her family when she was a child. She appeared on television regularly in the 1960s, and achie ...

as Madame Edith also sings the number during the closing credits of the same episode. * 2005: Bobby Bare recorded the song as part of his album ''The Moon was Blue'' * 2007: Marah recorded the song for their EP, '' Can't Take It with You'' * 2012:

Lon Milo DuQuette Lon Milo DuQuette (born July 11, 1948), also known as Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford and by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Tau Lamed, is an American writer, lecturer, musician, and occultist, best known as an author who applies humor in the field of ...

recorded it along with 11 originals on ''Baba Lon II'' * 2017:

Mree Marie Hsiao (born November 1, 1993), better known as Mree, is an American indie folk singer-songwriter. She is of Taiwanese and Bulgarian descent. Mree began writing her own songs at the age of 14 and released her debut studio album, ''Grow'', i ...

recorded her own rendition of the song as "Harvest Moon" *

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

also performed the song many times as part of her repertoire, and it appears on several of her recordings. *

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

had sung the song a few times on some radio shows, though the most notable version is when he was on an NBC Kraft Music Hall Radio Broadcast with actor, comedian, and pianist

Oscar Levant Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor (music), conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian, and actor. He had roles in the films ''Rhapsody in Bl ...

. * Norman Brooks also recorded the song a few times on his various "Sings Al Jolson" albums.

References

{{Authority control 1908 songs Kate Smith songs Male–female vocal duets Nora Bayes songs Songs about the Moon Songs written by Jack Norworth