"Moon River" is a song composed by

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, ...

with lyrics by

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 Wallichs Music Cit ...

. It was originally performed by

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

. The song also won the 1962

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

and Song of the Year. In 1999, Mancini's recording was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

."Grammy Hall of Fame Award"
Recording Academy. Retrieved October 30, 2022 The song has been recorded by many other artists. It became the theme song for

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, who first recorded it in 1962 (and performed it at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

ceremony that year). He sang the first eight bars of the song at the beginning of each episode of his eponymous television show and named his production company and venue in

Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, Missouri, Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County, Missouri, Stone County. Branson is in the Ozarks, Ozark Mountain ...

, after it; his autobiography is called ''"Moon River" and Me''. Williams' version was never released as a single, but it charted as an LP track that he recorded for Columbia on a hit album of 1962, ''

Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes ''Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes'' is the ninth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams. It was released on March 26, 1962, by Columbia Records and covered film songs that were mostly from the previous decade. The album debute ...

''. In 2022, Williams' rendition of the song was selected for preservation in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. The song's success was responsible for relaunching Mercer's career as a songwriter, which had stalled in the mid-1950s because

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

had replaced

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

s as the

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

of the time. The song's popularity is such that it has been used as a test sample in a study on people's memories of popular songs. Comments about the lyrics have noted that they are particularly reminiscent of Mercer's youth in the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

and his longing to expand his horizons. Robert Wright wrote in ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'', "This is a love sung /nowiki>''sic''">sic.html" ;"title="/nowiki>''sic">/nowiki>''sic''/nowiki> to wanderlust. Or a romantic song in which the romantic partner is the idea of romance." An inlet near

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, Johnny Mercer's hometown, was named Moon River in honor of him and this song.

Versions

Original

Mercer and Mancini wrote the song for

to sing in the film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's''. The lyrics, written by Mercer, are reminiscent of his childhood in

, including its waterways. As a child, he had picked

huckleberries Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and ''Gaylussacia''. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a North American variation of the English dialectal ...

in summer, and he connected them with a carefree childhood and Mark Twain's ''

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...

''. Cryer, Max
"The story behind the song: Moon River"
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'', October 7, 2008, accessed January 6, 2016 Mercer's original title for the song was "Blue River", reflecting the color of huckleberries. Although an instrumental version is played over the film's opening titles, the lyrics are first heard in a scene where Paul "Fred" Varjak (

George Peppard George Peppard (October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He secured a major role as struggling writer Paul Varjak when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' (1961), and later portrayed a character ...

) discovers Holly Golightly (Hepburn) singing the song, accompanying herself on the guitar while sitting on the fire escape outside their apartments. There was an eruption of behind-the-scenes consternation when a

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

executive, Martin Rackin, suggested removing the song from the film after a tepid Los Angeles preview. Hepburn's reaction was described by Mancini and others in degrees varying from her saying, "Over my dead body!" to her using more colorful language to make the same point. An album version was recorded by Mancini and his orchestra and chorus (without Hepburn's vocal) on December 8, 1960. It was released as a single in 1961 and became a number 11 hit in December of that year. Due to unpublished charts in ''Billboard'', Joel Whitburn's ''Top Adult (Contemporary) Songs'' variously reported the song as a number 3 or number 1

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

hit. Mancini's original version was also featured in the film ''

Born on the Fourth of July ''Born on the Fourth of July'', published in 1976, is the best-selling autobiography by Ron Kovic, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran who became an anti-war activist. Kovic was born on July 4, 1946, and his book's ironic title echoed a famous line ...

'' (1989). In 1993, following Hepburn's death, her version was released on an album titled ''Music from the Films of Audrey Hepburn''. In 2004, Hepburn's version finished at number 4 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.

Early recordings

"Moon River" was a hit single for

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...

in late 1961. Released simultaneously with Mancini's, it reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 3

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

in December, two weeks before Mancini's recording reached the same chart ranking. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

the song reached number 14, co-charting with the Mancini version. British singer Danny Williams had a hit version of the song that reached number one in the UK in the final week of 1961. Although

never released the song as a single, his LP ''

'' (1962), was

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in 1963 for selling one million units. The album reached number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Top 200, eventually selling more than two million copies by 1967. In 2002, a 74-year-old Andy Williams sang the song at the conclusion of the live

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

special telecast celebrating the network's 75th anniversary. In 2018, Andy Williams' version on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2022, Andy Williams' recording of the song was selected by the

for preservation in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

Chart history

;Henry Mancini & Orchestra ;Jerry Butler ;Danny Williams

Later versions

Hundreds of versions of the song have been recorded and it has been featured in many media. Mercer recorded the song in 1974 for his album ''

My Huckleberry Friend ''"...My Huckleberry Friend": Johnny Mercer Sings the Songs of Johnny Mercer'' is an album by singer/composer Johnny Mercer, released in 1974. Recorded just two years before his death, ''...My Huckleberry Friend'' features, by and large, updated ...

''. In 2007, saxophonist

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...

recorded a version from his standards music album, ''At the Movies'', sung by

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

. In 2013,

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known for being a principal member of Split Enz and for being the lead singer of Crowded House. He was also a member of Fleetwood Mac from 2018 ...

and Paul Kelly performed the song on their Goin' Your Way Tour, during which their performance at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall was recorded for the live album, ''

Goin' Your Way ''Goin' Your Way'' is a live album collaboration recorded by Neil Finn and Paul Kelly during a performance at the Sydney Opera House on 10 March 2013. It was released on 8 November as a stand-alone 2× CD, Blu-ray or DVD; or in a Limited Editio ...

'', released the same year. The title of the album comes from a phrase in the song's chorus: "Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way".

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

's 1961 instrumental version was featured in ''Mad Men'' season 6, episode 13, "In Care Of" (2013). A version of the song was featured in

Asif Kapadia Asif Kapadia (born 1972) is a British filmmaker. Kapadia is best known for his trilogy of narratively driven, archive-constructed documentaries '' Senna'', '' Amy'' and ''Diego Maradona''. ''Amy'' (2015), based on singer Amy Winehouse, had its ...

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, '' Amy'' (2015), about

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

. Winehouse's version, sung at age 16 with the

National Youth Jazz Orchestra The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO), established as the London Schools' Jazz Orchestra in 1965, is a British jazz orchestra. History The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) was founded in 1965 by Bill Ashton. Based in the Royal Arsenal ...

in 2000, is the opening song in the film. ''

'' listed, among prominent covers of the song, those by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer and actress. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, she made ...

and

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

(in the comedy film '' Fletch''). Other stars who have covered the song include

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

in '' Fly Me to the Moon... The Great American Songbook Volume V'' (2010), which charted at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200,

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

in '' The Movie Album'' (2003), a Grammy-nominated gold album, and

Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...

, who released a cover on Valentine's Day 2018 that debuted in the Top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B chart. Diffuser.fm named these the "Top 5 Alt-Rock" versions of the song:

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

Glasvegas Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan (musician), James Allan (vocals), Rab Allan (lead guitar) and Paul Donoghue (bass guitar), with Swedish drummer Jonna Löfgren joining the group in 2010 unt ...

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

The Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

and

Josh Ritter Joshua B. Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author who performs and records with the Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana (music), Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2 ...

Jacob Collier Jacob Collier (born 2 August 1994) is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reharmo ...

's ''a capella'' cover won the 2020

Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement (and its subsequent name changes) has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger(s) of the music. Only songs or tracks are eligible, no longer works (e.g. albums). The perfo ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1961 songs 1961 singles 1960s ballads 1960s jazz standards Andy Williams songs Aretha Franklin songs Barbra Streisand songs Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songs Christmas number-one singles in the United Kingdom Danny Williams (singer) songs Film theme songs Frank Sinatra songs Songs written for films Grammy Award for Record of the Year Grammy Award for Song of the Year Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Jerry Butler songs Judy Garland songs Louis Armstrong songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Perry Como songs Pop ballads RCA Victor singles R.E.M. songs Rod Stewart songs Songs about rivers Songs about Georgia (U.S. state) Songs with lyrics by Johnny Mercer Songs with music by Henry Mancini The Killers songs UK singles chart number-one singles United States National Recording Registry recordings Vee-Jay Records singles Westlife songs