How High the Moon

"How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue Two for the Show, where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock. In Two for the Show, this was a rare serious moment in an otherwise humorous revue. Recordings The earliest recorded hit version was by Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, featuring vocalist Helen Forrest. It was recorded on February 7, 1940, and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 35391, with the flip side "Fable of the Rose". The Les Paul Trio recorded a version released as V-Disc 540B with a spoken introduction which was issued in November, 1945 by the U.S. War Department. In 1948, bandleader Stan Kenton enjoyed some success with his version of the tune. The recording, with a vocal by June Christy, was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 911 (with the flip side "Willow, Weep for Me") and 15117 (with the flip side "Interlude"). It reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on July 9, 1948, its only week on the chart, at #27. A recording of the song by Les Paul and Mary Ford was made on January 4, 1951. This version featured Paul on all guitars (lead, rhythm, muted strings for guitar percussion, and a bass line played on guitar). Ford's lead vocals took three takes to record; since Paul and Ford recorded (at least Ford's vocals) at night, she placed a blanket over her head so most of the sound would be directed towards the microphone and would not travel through the building and wake up neighbors. Regardless, while recording one of Ford's harmony vocal parts, their neighbors complained about the noise. According to Paul, the final recording featured 12 guitar parts and 12 vocal parts.