Song of the Day: Mood Indigo

The song of the day for Sunday, March 24, 2019, is “Mood Indigo.”

About This Song

Originally titled “Dreamy Blues,” Ellington wrote this song, which is based on a theme by Barney Bigard, who is said to have learned it from his New Orleans clarinet teacher, Lorenzo Tio. Ellington wrote the song specifically for “microphone transmission” and it was first played on a 1930 radio broadcast. Audiences loved the song, and so Irving Mills wrote the lyrics, changing the name of the song to “Mood Indigo.” The song has been widely recorded by instrumental and vocal artists, including Tony Bennett, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Mood Indigo” in 1999 for Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool. Jorge Calendrelli arranged and conducted the album.

Mood Indigo

Mood Indigo, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“Mood Indigo,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, is available from iTunes.