Renditions
Notable artists who have recorded big-band versions of "In The Mood" include the Joe Loss Orchestra, Xavier Cugat, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Lubo D'Orio, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, The Shadows and John Williams with the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Non-big-band renditions were recorded by the Andrews Sisters, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chet Atkins, Bill Haley & His Comets, Bad Manners, and the Puppini Sisters. In addition, in 1959 Ernie Fields and his Orchestra peaked at number 4 on the pop chart and number 7 on the R&B charts. The song charted at number 16 in 1953 in a version by Johnny Maddox. Jonathan King scored a UK Top 50 hit with his version of the song in 1976. Bette Midler recorded the song in 1973 (on the album Bette Midler). The avant-garde synthpop act Art of Noise occasionally performed a rendition of the song on their live shows, in their trademark sampled style. The rock band Chicago added their version in 1995. An unusual version of the song was released on Maynard Ferguson's 'Lost Tapes Volume 2' album. The first 30 seconds are the traditional version, but the band then re-starts with the trumpets taking the lead.
A novelty version of the song was recorded by country/novelty artist Ray Stevens in 1977. Stevens' version consisted of him performing the song in chicken clucks, bar-for-bar. The performance was credited to the "Henhouse Five Plus Too". The single was a Top-40 hit in both America and the UK.
In 1951 a Ferranti Mark 1 computer at the University of Manchester played "In the Mood", one of the first songs to be played by a computer, and the oldest known recording of digitally generated music.
Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers recorded a version of the song as part of a medley entitled "Swing the Mood" which went no. 1 in the UK for 5 weeks. The record reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States where it also went gold. It was the 2nd best-selling single of 1989 in the UK.
Bluesman John Lee Hooker has said that "In the Mood" was the inspiration for "I'm In the Mood" which became a #1 hit on the R&B Singles chart.
Read more about this topic: In The Mood