Moonlight Cocktail - Rivieras, The / Glenn Miller Orch. (cover-live by Bill Sharkey)

Moonlight Cocktail (Rivieras, The, 1960; Glenn Miller Orchestra, 1942). Live cover performance by Bill Sharkey, Home Studio, Hawaii Kai, HI. 2024-06-25. "Keeping the Oldies & Classics Alive"

"Moonlight Cocktail," written by Kim Gannon and Lucky Roberts, was the Rivieras' last entry on the Billboard chart stalling at no. 103 the summer of 1960 (Whitburn, 2013). The Rivieras were a doo-wop group from New Jersey, not to be confused with the Rivieras from Indiana who had a hit with "California Sun" in 1964 (Whitburn, 2013). The original instrumental melody was created by Charles "Luckey" Roberts in 1916 (or 1912 there appears to be some dispute about the date) under the title "Ripples of the Nile;" later, he slowed down the song, Kim Gannon added lyrics and they changed the title to "Moonlight Cocktail" (allmusic, 2024; genius, 2024). In December of 1941, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra recorded the song . His version rose to the no. 1 position in on the Billboard chart in 1942 and remained at no. 1 for a full 10 weeks; Ray Eberle and the Modernaires provided the vocals on the recording (wikipedia, 2024; Whitburn, 1986). Interesting that Miller's recording was banned, along with a number of other songs, by the BBC's Dance Music Policy Committee in 1942 for being "sentimental slush" (C. Hitchings, musicradar, Aug. 6, 2008; Ottawa Citizen, Aug. 8, 1942. p. 27).

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Lyrics:

Couple of jiggers of moonlight and add a star
Pour in the blue of a June night and one guitar
Mix in a couple of dreamers and there you are
Lovers hail the Moonlight Cocktail

Now add a couple of flowers, a drop of dew
Stir for a couple of hours 'til dreams come true
Add to the number of kisses, it's up to you
Moonlight Cocktail, need a few

Cool it in the summer breeze
Serve it in the starlight underneath the trees
You'll discover tricks like these
Are sure to make your Moonlight Cocktail please

Follow the simple directions and they will bring
Life of another complexion where you'll be king
You will awake in the morning and start to sing
Moonlight Cocktails are the thing

Follow the simple directions and they will bring
Life of another complexion where you'll be king
You will awake in the morning and start to sing
Moonlight Cocktails are the thing