Friday Fun: Third Mood

For our final “mood” song in this series, we jump to 1942 for the lovely ballad Can’t Get Out of This Mood, written by Frank Loesser and Jimmy McHugh for the RKO picture Seven Days’ Leave. It’s one of those wartime songs that manages to be both dreamy and grounded - a little escapism wrapped in a melody that lingers longer than you expect.

The Hit: Kay Kyser and His Orchestra (1942)

Let’s spin Kay Kyser's hit version on Columbia. The vocalists are only credited by their first names on the label -a homey touch - but the lineup is Harry Babbitt supported by Julie Conway, Trudy Erwin, Jack Martin, and Max Williams.

The song was introduced in the film by former Kyser vocalist Ginny Simms, though she never made a commercial recording of it. 

Fun Fact: Trudy Erwin’s real first name was actually Virginia, but after Ginny Simms left the band, Kay didn’t want another "Virginia" on the roster - so Trudy she became!

The Flipside: Moonlight Mood

If we flip that 78 over, we find out exactly what kind of mood they were talking about: Moonlight Mood:

The label just lists the Glee Club as the vocalists, but that’s definitely Harry singing lead again, probably with the same four backup singers - more or less! And a nice solo from tenor sax star Herbie Haymer to boot!

By this point, the Kyser band was far less formulaic than it had been in the late 1930s, when every song came with a singing song title. They still turned out plenty of fun material, but they could also deliver beautiful ballads like these two.

And it certainly didn’t hurt to have the wonderful Harry Babbitt still around. (Did I mention that he’s my favorite male band vocalist of the entire big band era?)

You know, I originally thought that I would do a quick little post here, sharing the two sides of the Kay Kyser record with “mood” in the title and calling it a day. But, that’s not the way I work, though, is it?

In the Moonlight Mood

Let’s hear another version of Moonlight Mood. It was probably inevitable that a song with both "moonlight" and "mood" in the title would get Glenn Miller's attention and, indeed, he recorded the song for Victor in 1942:

That’s Skip Nelson singing with The Modernaires, although he’s oddly not credited on the label. Skip was Ray Eberle’s replacement with the Miller band and I think he fits right in, but he only got to record a few songs with the band, as the recording band kicked in, then Glenn broke up the band to join the Army Air Force.

It’s a fleeting little chapter in the Miller story, but a lovely one.

The Mood Gets Long-er

Now we’ll swing back to Can’t Get Out of this Mood with another 1942 recording. Here’s Johnny Long on Decca:

I know I’m partial to Johnny Long due to his first name and his appearance with his band in the 1943 Abbott & Costello movie Hit the Ice (coincidentally also co-starring Ginny Simms), but I think he had a solid band!

The Divine Take

Moving to 1950, we find Sarah Vaughan -“The Divine One” - taking the song to a whole new level of cool on Columbia:

This is one of those performances where you can practically hear the air change temperature. She stretches the melody, reshapes the phrasing, and turns the tune into something sleek, modern, and unmistakably hers!

The Modern Touch: Samara Joy (2022)

Now to show that the spirit of Sarah Vaughan is in capable hands and to prove that I’m not totally stuck in the 1940s, here’s a gorgeous contemporary take on Can’t Get Out of This Mood by the phenomenal Samara Joy. This was the lead-off track from her 2022 Verve album Linger Awhile, which swept the Grammys and helped her take home Best New Artist.

She’s certainly keeping us in that mood!

---

So… who wins the Mood Crown?

Does Harry Babbitt’s mid‑century charm still hold the crown for you,
or has Samara Joy’s modern classicism - by way of Sarah Vaughan - won you over?

Either way, it’s been a joy wandering through these moods with you this week!