Word Association Wednesday – Another Cocktail

Following Sunday’s “Cocktails for Two,” this week’s Word Association Wednesday lands us squarely in the glow of the 1942 hit Moonlight Cocktail.

The Big Bluebird Hit

The version that defined the tune for most listeners was the Bluebird recording from December 1941 by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, with Ray Eberle and the Modernaires on vocals:

Classic Miller: the trademark reed blend, the gentle sway, and a tenor sax solo from Tex Beneke to seal the deal.

A Wartime Aircheck Twist

A fascinating comparison is this July 1942 aircheck, featuring the Miller band on radio with Skip Nelson stepping in for Ray Eberle:

Skip always struck me as a natural fit as the new "boy singer" for the band, but between the recording ban and Glenn’s military service, his recorded legacy ended up slimmer than his talent deserved.

Casa Loma Elegance

One of the loveliest non‑Miller takes is this instrumental by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, recorded around the same time:

It’s elegant and unhurried — and I can easily imagine Kenny Sargent stepping up to sing the lyrics.

The Okeh Smoothie

Once the tune caught fire in early 1942, more versions followed. I’m fond of this Tommy Tucker side on Okeh:

The label credits Don Brown and the Voices Three as vocalists, but it plays almost like a duet between Don and Amy Arnell, who’s in fine canary form.

Dolly on Patrol

A full‑on female‑lead version came from Dolly Dawn and her Dawn Patrol Orchestra on the Elite label:

Dolly was a major singing star in her day, and performances like this make it easy to understand why.

Bing Joins the Party

And of course, the most popular singer of the era - Bing Crosby - added his own Decca version to the mix:

Ozzie's Snappy Nightcap

Let’s sneak in one more: a brisk instrumental by Ozzie Nelson, recorded as a radio transcription:

So many cocktails… I feel shaken, but not stirred!

"Stars Over the Campus" (1940)

We dip into 1940 with our college songs to view the stars on a lovely campus evening!

To set the mood, here's Tommy Tucker's band with Don Brown an Amy Arnell singing  "Stars Over the Campus" (co-written by Tommy) on OKeh Records:

Don Brown sounds a bit mannered, but I do like Amy Arnell, although she's in a supporting role here.

Amy Arnell strikes a pose with Tommy Tucker!

I find the "Tommy Tucker Time" sound generally to be a bit over-stylized, but I appreciate that such bands were popular during the big band era and I wouldn't criticize leaders for proving the public with entertainment.

Bob Chester's band was much less stylized, but it didn't really seem to have a recognizable style of its own, sounding more like Glenn Miller's band than anything, but it was a solid group that made some good records.

Helping matters considerably was vocalist Dolores O'Neill, who sings "Stars Over the Campus" on the Bob Chester Bluebird recording:

Nice version and always good to hear bands that aren't as famous as Miller, Goodman, Dorsey, etc.

For my favorite version, we turn to Johnny Long and his Orchestra with Helen Young on Decca:

I like Johnny Long's records a lot. I'm sure I'm biased because Johnny and his band appear in the 1943 Abbott & Costello film "Hit the Ice" as I talked about here!

And Helen Young makes an awfully cute co-ed!