The song of the day for Friday, December 19, 2014 is “Mood Indigo.”

About This Song

Originally titled “Dreamy Blues,” Ellington wrote this song in 1930. It 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 lyric, changing the name of the song to “Mood Indigo.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Mood Indigo” in 1999 for his tribute album to Duke Ellington, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, which was released in the centennial year of Ellington’s birth.

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