''Moonlight Sinatra'' is a
studio album by
Frank Sinatra,
released in March 1966. All of the tracks on the album are centered on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...
, and were arranged and conducted by
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Reco ...
and his orchestra.
The title of the album is a reference to
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
's ''
Moonlight Sonata
The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, marked ''Quasi una fantasia'', Op. 27, No. 2, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. The popular name ''Mo ...
''.
Track listing
#"
Moonlight Becomes You" (
Johnny Burke,
Jimmy Van Heusen
James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song.
Life and car ...
) – 2:46
#"
Moon Song" (
Sam Coslow
Sam Coslow (December 27, 1902 – April 2, 1982) was an American songwriter, singer, film producer, publisher and market analyst. Coslow was born in New York City. He began writing songs as a teenager. He contributed songs to Broadway revues, ...
,
Arthur Johnston) – 3:03
#"
Moonlight Serenade
"Moonlight Serenade" is an American swing ballad composed by Glenn Miller with subsequent lyrics by Mitchell Parish. It was an immediate phenomenon when released in May 1939 as an instrumental arrangement, though it had been adopted and perf ...
" (
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 ...
,
Mitchell Parish
Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen.
Biography
Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 19 ...
) – 3:26
#"
Reaching for the Moon" (
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
) – 3:05
#"
I Wished on the Moon
"I Wished on the Moon" is a song composed by Ralph Rainger, with lyrics by Dorothy Parker. Bing Crosby sang the song in ''The Big Broadcast of 1936''.
Crosby recorded the song on August 14, 1935 with The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra and it reached ...
" (
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
,
Ralph Rainger
Ralph Rainger ( Reichenthal; October 7, 1901 – October 23, 1942) was an American composer of popular music principally for films.
Biography
Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, United States, Rainger initially embarked on a legal career, ...
) – 2:53
#"
Oh, You Crazy Moon ''Oh, You Crazy Moon'' or ''Oh! You Crazy Moon'' is a traditional pop song by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was recorded by Tommy Dorsey in 1939, with at least six other recorded versions following Dorsey's in 1939. It was recor ...
" (Burke, Van Heusen) – 3:12
#"The Moon Got in My Eyes" (Burke, Johnston) – 2:52
#"Moonlight Mood" (
Harold Adamson
Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980) was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.
Early life
Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, was born and raised i ...
,
Peter DeRose
Peter DeRose (or De Rose) (March 10, 1896 – April 23, 1953) was an American composer of jazz and pop music during the era of Tin Pan Alley.
Biography
A native of New York City, he showed a gift for all things musical at an early age. He le ...
) – 3:08
#"Moon Love" (
Mack David
Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...
,
André Kostelanetz
Andre Kostelanetz (russian: Абрам Наумович Костелянец; December 22, 1901 – January 13, 1980) was a Russian-born American popular orchestral music conductor and arranger who was one of the major exponents of popular orches ...
) (adapted from Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony) – 4:14
#"The Moon Was Yellow (And the Night Was Young)" (
Fred E. Ahlert
Frederick Emil Ahlert (September 19, 1892 – October 20, 1953) was an American composer and songwriter.
Early life
He received a degree from Fordham Law School, but instead of pursuing a legal career he began work as an arranger, initially ...
,
Edgar Leslie
Edgar Leslie (December 31, 1885 – January 22, 1976) was an American songwriter.
Biography
Edgar Leslie was born in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1885. He studied at the Cooper Union in New York. He published his first song in 1909, starting a lo ...
) – 3:04
Personnel
*
Frank Sinatra –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...
*
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Reco ...
–
arranger
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...
,
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Music
* Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra.
* ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas
* Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...
*The Nelson Riddle
Orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
References
{{Authority control
Frank Sinatra albums
Reprise Records albums
1966 albums
Albums produced by Sonny Burke
Albums arranged by Nelson Riddle
Albums conducted by Nelson Riddle
Albums about the Moon