The Moon Shines on the Moonshine explained
The Moon Shines on the Moonshine is a song by Francis De Witt (lyrics) and Robert Hood Bowers (music).[1] It was performed by Bert Williams in Ziegfeld Follies and recorded on an album.[2] Shapiro Bernstein and Co. published sheet music for the song in 1920 in New York City.[3] [4]
Williams appears on the songsheet cover in blackface.[5] The Library of Congress and New York Public Library have copies of it.[6] [7] Columbia Graphaphone Company released it on the B side of an album with the song "Somebody" by Williams.[8] Paramount / New York Recording Laboratories also released it.[9] Sidney Phillips recorded it on Victor Records.[10]
In 1919, Williams also performed Irving Berlin's "You Cannot Make Your Shimmy Shake on Tea", and the Follies that year included other prohibition and alcohol imbibing related songs.[11]
Legacy
The song has been included in several compilations over the years.[12] [13] [14] Robert Meijer curated a 2007 art exhibition using the song title as a theme.[15]
Notes and References
- Web site: Collection: "The Moon Shines on the Moonshine" Sheet Music | SCOUT. scout.lib.utk.edu.
- Web site: "The Moon Shines on the Moonshine". National Museum of American History.
- Web site: "The Moon Shines on the Moonshine / music by Robert Hood Bowers; words " by Robert Hood Bowers, Francis De Witt et al..
- Web site: 098.151 - The Moon Shines on the Moonshine. Song. | Levy Music Collection. levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu.
- Book: Maslon, Laurence. Broadway to Main Street: How Show Tunes Enchanted America. Laurence Maslon. August 3, 2018. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-983254-5 . Google Books.
- Web site: The moon shines on the moonshine. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
- Web site: The moon shines on the moonshine. NYPL Digital Collections.
- Web site: Bert Williams - Somebody / The Moon Shines On The Moonshine. July 6, 1920. www.discogs.com.
- Web site: The moon shines on the moonshine - UWDC - UW-Madison Libraries. search.library.wisc.edu.
- via https://www.ebay.com/itm/323828275101
- Book: Hurwitz, Nathan. A History of the American Musical Theatre: No Business Like It. June 27, 2014. Routledge. 9781317912057 . Google Books.
- News: 1993-03-18 . Collection captures Robinson's special knack for spotting the acts . 61 . Richmond Times-Dispatch . 2023-10-12.
- News: 2004-10-31 . A historical trek down the street of dreams . 100 . The Los Angeles Times . 2023-10-12.
- News: 1999-11-21 . In just a century, music has come a long way . 49 . Standard-Speaker . 2023-10-12.
- Web site: When the Moon Shines on the Moonshine. Marina. Fokidis. March 3, 2007. 105. www.frieze.com.