"Moody River" is a song written by and originally performed by country rockabilly singer Chase Webster (real name Gary Daniel Bruce, not to be confused with Gary Bruce, the drummer of
The Knack
The Knack was an American power pop band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1978 by Doug Fieger (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Berton Averre (lead guitar, backing vocals), Prescott Niles (bass) and Bruce Gary (drums). Spearheaded by the succes ...
).
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films.
Boone ...
recorded and released his own version in May 1961, where it reached number-one on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart the following month.
[''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990'' - ] This was the title track from one of Boone's better-selling albums. Boone sang this song as if he were in pain.
Plot
The 'story-song' tells the tale of a man who plans to meet his love on the riverbank, by an old oak tree, but finds her glove and a note for him, indicating she has committed suicide via drowning, "river more deadly, than the vainest knife". The note explains that she had cheated on him and cannot lie about it, "No longer can I live with this hurt and this sin. I just couldn't tell you 'that guy was just a friend'."
He then notices his own reflection in the river, "lonely, lonely face just lookin' back at me", and begins to weep "Tears in his eyes, and a prayer on his lips, and the glove of his lost love, at his fingertips".
"Vainest knife" lyric
Gary Bruce's original lyrics were "more deadly than the sharpest knife", but during the recording session the P in "sharpest" kept
popping
Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance), boogaloo cultural movement in Oakland, California. As boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as "robottin'" in Richmond, California; strutting movements in San Francis ...
. Rather than find a different mic or a filter, Chase changed "sharpest" to "vainest" on the spot, with no thought given to the meaning.
When Pat Boone recorded it a couple of months later, Dot Records chief exec, Randy Wood, verified the lyric before Boone's release.
Chart performance
See also
*
List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1961 (U.S.)
References
External links
Pat Boone at Bear Family Records*
"Beachwood Reporter" background and commentary on Moody River
1961 singles
Pat Boone songs
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Number-one singles in Canada
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Songs about suicide
Teenage tragedy songs
1961 songs
Dot Records singles
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