Moody Blue (song) explained

Moody Blue
Cover:Elvis_Presley_Moody_Blue_Single_Cover.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Elvis Presley
Album:Moody Blue
B-Side:She Thinks I Still Care
Released:
Recorded:February 4, 1976
Studio:Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee
Genre:Country
Length:2:53
Label:RCA Records
Producer:Felton Jarvis
Prev Title:Hurt
Prev Year:1976
Next Title:Way Down
Next Year:1977

"Moody Blue" is a song made famous by Elvis Presley. The song was written by Mark James[1] who recorded the original version of the song, which reached #15 in South Africa during the summer of 1976.[2] James also penned Elvis' "Suspicious Minds".

"Moody Blue" was Presley's last No. 1 hit in his lifetime, topping the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in February 1977.[3] "Moody Blue" also peaked at number 31 on the Hot 100.[4] RCA Records also issued an extremely limited quantity of the "Moody Blue" single in an experimental translucent blue vinyl pressing, with "She Thinks I Still Care" as the B-side. Six months after "Moody Blue" topped the chart, Presley was dead.

The song was recorded in February 1976 in the Jungle Room of Presley's Graceland home.The only time Elvis performed the song in its entirety was on February 21, 1977, at a concert in Charlotte, North Carolina. He had attempted to perform the song February 20 at the same venue but revealed to the crowd that he had completely forgotten the song; he returned on February 21, lead sheet in hand, and performed the song with his eyes glued to the lyrics. Both the February 20 false-start and the February 21 performance were recorded on soundboard in good sound quality and were released officially in 2007 by the Follow That Dream label; still photos of the February 21 performance also exist. The complete version was first released on bootleg by the Fort Baxter label in 1995.[5]

By May 1977 the song had reached 120,000 sales in Germany.[6]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1976–77)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 17
Canadian RPM Top Singles57
Canadian RPM Country Tracks3
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[8] 2
New Zealand (RIANZ)[9] 5
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[10] 9
UK Singles Chart[11] 6
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 31
US Billboard Hot Country Singles1
US Billboard Easy Listening[13] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)Rank
Australia KMR[14] 47
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary [15]
New Zealand [16] 26

Notes and References

  1. News: [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t3347869|pure_url=yes}} Moody Blue]. Allmusic. 2007-06-21.
  2. Web site: SA Charts 1965–March 1989. 1 September 2018.
  3. Book: Whitburn, Joel . The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 273.
  4. Book: Whitburn, Joel . The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition . Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 504.
  5. Web site: February 21, 1977 Concert. Elvis Presley In Concert. 8 January 2012.
  6. From The Music Capitals of the World - Hamburg. Billboard. 73. May 7, 1977. 0006-2510. May 6, 2022.
  7. Book: Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. doc. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W . 1993. 0-646-11917-6. Kent Music Report.
  8. Web site: Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada . Bac-lac.gc.ca . 2013-07-17. 2016-10-11.
  9. Web site: NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart . Nztop40.co.nz . 1977-04-24 . 8 September 2021.
  10. Web site: SA Charts 1965–March 1989. 1 September 2018.
  11. http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/moody-blue/ UK Official Charts, 5 March 1977
  12. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 -
  13. Web site: Adult Contemporary Music Chart . Billboard . 1977-02-19 . 2016-10-11.
  14. http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=40275 Australian-charts.com
  15. MBAJ&printsec=frontcover Billboard, December 24, 1977.
  16. Web site: Top Selling Singles of 1977 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart . Nztop40.co.nz . 1977-12-31 . 2016-10-11.