Left I on the News

6:04 p.m. (Pacific) today is a rare (once every 2.7 years) "Blue Moon" (the second full moon in a month), so in honor of that we'll spin a non-political tune for once. The obvious choice might be "Blue Moon." I searched and searched for the hit version by the Marcels, but all I could come up with was the later version by Sha-Na-Na, which achieved fame in the film "Grease," highlighted by Eve Arden's great line, "We have pictures of you so-called mooners." And really, the Sha-Na-Na version, with Bowzer's great super-bass closing "Bluuuuuuuuuue Moooooooooooon" is a classic.

But...I decided instead to reach into the wayback machine and go for a different song - "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" by Elvis Presley (with able assistance from the Jordanaires), from October, 1956. Interestingly enough, looking for a graphic, I found that the very first song Elvis ever released, in July, 1954, was another Blue Moon song, "Blue Moon of Kentucky." He also recorded "Blue Moon" itself that same month, but it wasn't released until 1956.

Notice the graphic. These were the days when 45s were actually released with cardboard covers with graphics, like miniature LPs. And yes, although I found the picture on the Internet, I've still got my copy sitting in its cover. Although this wasn't Elvis' first RCA record, it's entitled "Elvis Volume I," and the cover informs you that you're listening to "A 'New Orthophonic' High Fidelity Recording," whatever that is. The record is so old the copyright isn't RCA (which itself no longer exists), but "Radio Corporation of America." And here's how it sounds.

And for those who can't appreciate a song without video.

Labels: Music