Elvis Presley
The search for another song to release along with "That's All Right" at Sun Records in July 1954 led to "Blue Moon of Kentucky" via Bill Black. "We all of us knew we needed something," according to Scotty Moore, and things seemed hopeless after a while. "Bill is the one who came up with "Blue Moon of Kentucky."...We're taking a little break and he starts beating on the bass and singing "Blue Moon of Kentucky," mocking Bill Monroe, singing the high falsetto voice. Elvis joins in with him, starts playing and singing along with him," as did Moore himself. Presley, Moore, and Black, with the encouragement of Sam Phillips, transformed Monroe's slow waltz (3/4 time) into an upbeat, blues-flavored tune in 4/4 time.
After an early rendition of the song, Sun Records owner Sam Phillips exclaimed, "BOY, that's fine, that's fine. That's a POP song now!." As with all of the Presley records issued by Sun, the artists were listed as "ELVIS PRESLEY SCOTTY and BILL".
The same night that Dewey Phillips first played the flip side of this first release of Presley's music on WHBQ ("That's All Right"), Sleepy Eye John at WHHM loosed "Blue Moon of Kentucky". Bob Neal of WMPS played the record too. The pop jockeys, entranced by something new, began slipping "That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" in among the more "easy listening" pop of Teresa Brewer, Nat Cole and Tony Bennett.
With Presley's version of Monroe's song consistently rated higher, both sides began to chart across the South. Billboard has the song listed only in Memphis, and as #6 with That's All Right at #7 on October 9 in the C&W Territorial Best Sellers. By October 23, "Blue Moon" was in the top 10 in Memphis, Nashville, and New Orleans, with "That's All Right" absent from the listings.
Fellow Sun Records artist Charlie Feathers has often claimed that he came up with the arrangement of the song used by Presley.
The song was later used for the 2005 TV miniseries Elvis in a scene.
Read more about this topic: Blue Moon Of Kentucky
Famous quotes containing the words elvis and/or presley:
“Commercial to the core, Elvis was the kind of singer dear to the heart of the music business. For him to sing a song was to sell a song. His G clef was a dollar sign.”
—Albert Goldman (b. 1927)
“I wish not to be given a title or an appointed position. I can and will do more good if I were made a Federal Agent at Large, and I will help best by doing it my way through my communications with people of all ages. First and Foremost I am an entertainer but all I need is the Federal Credentials.”
—Elvis Presley (1935–1977)