Moon River

This article refers to the song "Moon River". For other references, see Moon River (disambiguation).

"Moon River" is a song composed by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini in 1961. It was sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's by Audrey Hepburn, the movie's star, while the song itself won that year's Academy Award for Best Song for Mercer and Mancini. The success of the song was responsible for re-launching Mercer's career as a songwriter, which had stalled in the mid-1950s as rock and roll replaced jazz standards as the popular music of the time.

Mercer and Mancini originally wrote the song for Hepburn to fit the actress' limited vocal range (Hepburn was not an accomplished nor an established singer). "Moon River" is introduced by Hepburn during the sequence where George Peppard's character, Paul 'Fred' Varjak, discovers Holly Golightly (Hepburn) singing (with guitar in hand) on the fire escape outside their apartments.

Although an original score album to Breakfast at Tiffany's was released, it did not contain Hepburn's original version. Instead, an album version recorded by Mancini and his chorus was released as a single and became a Top 40 hit.

Subsequently, it was released by South African singer Danny Williams, who got a UK #1 with it. Shortly thereafter, Andy Williams (no relation) would make the song an even bigger hit (even going as far as making it his theme song). Many other artists, including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Sarah Brightman, The Afghan Whigs, Morrissey, R.E.M., Judy Garland, Patsy Ann Noble, Victoria Williams and The Innocence Mission have also covered the song. South Australian band The Audreys frequently feature the song in their set-list, presumeably as a tribute to their namesake. It was only months after Hepburn's death in 1993 that the original version was finally released on an album. Despite the two Williams' success with the song, for many, Hepburn's simple recording is considered the definitive performance.

An inlet near Savannah, Georgia, Johnny Mercer's hometown, was named "Moon River" in honor of this song. Andy Williams later named his production company and venue in Branson, Missouri after this song.

Trivia

*In the film, Holly and Paul perform some petty shoplifting at a five and dime store, stealing a pair of plastic Halloween masks. Appropriately, Paul's mask is that of cartoon character Huckleberry Hound, a reference to the "huckleberry friend" of the song.
*Mancini often told of the behind-the-scenes drama that erupted when studio bosses suggested deleting the song from the film. Hepburn's reaction has been described by Mancini and others in degrees varying from her saying "over my dead body" to her using somewhat more colorful language to make the same point.
*Jennifer Love Hewitt performs the song in the biopic The Audrey Hepburn Story in which Hewitt portrays the actress. Hewitt is also a professional singer.
*The song is humorously used in the 1985 film Fletch when the lead character, portrayed by Chevy Chase, starts singing the song as he is given a rectal examination.
*The song makes a similar appearance in an episode of Family Matters; Steve Urkel sings it to Carl Winslow while the latter is in the hospital after being shot in the derriere.
*Sarah Brightman sings Moon River as a hidden track on her La Luna album.
*Canadian turntablist Kid Koala has performed a live remix of "Moon River" as part of his sets for the past couple years, playing two copies of the record slightly out of sync. A video of such a performance is available courtesy of BBC's Collective website.
*The Andy Williams version is featured twice in the final episode of season four, "I Heart NY", of the series Sex in the City. Carrie and Big slow dance to the song in his apartment, and the song plays again to close the episode. It is also available on the Sex and the City Official Soundtrack album.
*In The Simpsons episode "Bart on the Road," it is revealed that Nelson Muntz is an Andy Williams fan. Nelson forces the gang to make a detour to Branson so he can see his idol. The tough kid is reduced to tears as Williams performs an encore of "Moon River."
*An elevator music version is featured in the 2002 film Minority Report.
*The song is sung with a guitar accompaniment by the main character in a pivotal scene of the 2004 film La Mala educación (Bad Education) directed by Pedro Almodóvar. It is a film with many great scenes involving drag queens and transvestites. Although the film is Spanish, the song lyrics are sung in English.
*The song makes an appearance in the Japanese anime, Honey and Clover. It is Mayama's cell ringtone for when Rika calls. Morita also parodies the tune in a couple cases.
*Liz Callaway Performs the song on her 1960's-based album "The Beat Goes On"