Moody's Mood for Love

"Moody's Mood for Love" is a 1952 song by Eddie Jefferson, whose melody is derived from an improvised solo by jazz saxophonist James Moody (and a brief solo in the middle by pianist Thore Swanerud) on a 1949 recording of the 1935 song "I'm in the Mood for Love".[1] The song is structured as a duet, with a man proclaiming his love for a woman, and the woman (in the part of the melody corresponding to the piano solo) responding in kind.

For the James Moody album, see Moody's Mood for Love (album).

"Moody's Mood for Love"
Song by James Moody
Composer(s)James Moody
Lyricist(s)Eddie Jefferson

The song gained widespread popularity after being recorded by singer King Pleasure, with the woman's part sung by Blossom Dearie. The song helped to popularize the vocalese jazz singing style. It has since been covered by many artists. Moody himself adopted the song as his own, recording it with Jefferson on the 1956 album Moody's Mood for Love and often singing the song himself in concert.

History

James Moody created his improvised solo in 1949 on a visit to Sweden. Moody's playing clearly shows the influence of Charlie Parker.[2] The recording includes, in the middle, an eight-bar improvisation by Swedish pianist Thore Swanerud, who was part of the backing band.

At some point in the next few years, jazz singer Eddie Jefferson wrote lyrics to this improvised melody, a practice known as vocalese,[3] and added the song to his repertoire. Jefferson's lyrics include the piano solo, which is sung from the point of view of a woman ("What is all this talk about loving me, my sweet?"). It also references Moody himself at the end of the song ("James Moody, you can come on in and you can blow now if you want to"). King Pleasure heard Jefferson perform it in a jazz club and asked permission to reproduce it. Pleasure's recording, released in 1952, gave the song its now-common title of "Moody's Mood for Love". It included Blossom Dearie singing the female part, and a band headed by Teacho Wiltshire.[4] The recording, King Pleasure's first, was a hit for the Prestige label.

Following King Pleasure's successful recording, Jimmy McHugh, who wrote the music for "I'm in the Mood for Love", sued for copyright infringement and won a partial victory in court. He and Moody eventually agreed to share the proceeds on sales of any versions of the tune.[5]

Moody embraced the song, and later hired Jefferson to come on the road with him. Jefferson also appeared on a number of Moody's subsequent albums: Moody (1954), James Moody's Moods, Hi Fi Party, Flute 'n the Blues (all 1956), Moody's Mood for Love (1957), Hey! It's James Moody (1959), and Cookin' the Blues (1964).

Influence

Although "Moody's Mood for Love" was not the first vocalese song, it helped bring that music form to a much wider audience. Most notably, it helped start the career of vocalese pioneer Jon Hendricks. Hendricks was sitting in a café when the King Pleasure recording of "Moody's Mood" came on the jukebox. According to Hendricks, he had been writing "unpopular" songs for some time, but when he heard the recording and realized that it was a saxophone solo with words he decided to change his approach to songwriting. "I didn't have to stop at 32 bars. Now I could write lyrics for all the parts in the orchestra." He went on to collaborate with the singer and arranger Dave Lambert and the singer Annie Ross to form the vocalese group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.

In the 1970s, New York City urban contemporary radio DJ Frankie Crocker played the King Pleasure recording of the song every night at the end of his show on WBLS-FM.

Cover versions

Artists who have recorded the song include:

In 2006, American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin performed the song. His version appears on the album American Idol Season 5: Encores. This version just missed the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number one on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. Other artists who have released renditions of the song include Tito Puente, Kermit Ruffins and The Guess Who. The song has also been featured on an episode of The Cosby Show, as well as in an early 1990s Gap television commercial, and in the Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys.

Samples and interpolations

The song's first line is interpolated on Australian singer-songwriter Grace's 2016 song "Boys Boys Boys," from her album FMA.[12]

Notes
  1. Luebbert, David. "I'm in the Mood For Love". SongTrellis. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  2. Tyle, Chris. "I'm in the Mood for Love (1935)". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  3. Kurtz, Alan. "King Pleasure: Moody's Mood For Love (aka I'm In The Mood For Love)". Jazz.com. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  4. Billboard magazine, May 24 1952, page 36
  5. Milkowski, Bill (March 2004). "James Moody: Playing with the Changes". JazzTimes. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  6. "Moody's Mood For Love – Take Six, Brian McKnight and Patti Austin". Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2010 – via YouTube.
  7. "Disclosure: Moog for Love".
  8. Smith, Dinitia (April 12, 1999). Guiding Hip-Hop Toward Operatic Leaps; Prince Paul Imagines a Movie as He Makes Rap Relevant for the Suburbs. The New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
  9. "Rising Sun overview". AllMusic.
  10. "E-Card Najee". Heads Up International.
  11. "Holiday Stuff - EP by Alessia Cara". Apple Music. December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  12. "FMA" album booklet

References
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