“Key to the Highway”

“Moonglow” appears in jazz fake books and lead sheets in the key of G, though it is also thought to originally be in the key of C.

The melodic riff of the A section is composed of a repeated minor third interval followed by a major third interval and then a repeated note. Harmonic movement is largely in an ascending circle of fourths, or with descending chromatic substitutions, but there is also movement between thirds or between major and minor seventh chords. Minor seventh chords are often played in first inversion in this tune, and may therefore be thought of and notated as six chords of the relative major.

Rhythmically “Moonglow” is in ⁴₄ time. It is a foxtrot, typically played at a slow tempo, although some performers, notably Art Tatum, have played it faster. The rhythm is syncopated. Jazz players usually swing the eighth notes.

Writer George T. Simon, while working on a compilation of music for The Big Band Songbook, contacted composer Will Hudson regarding “Moonglow”, and Hudson explained how the tune came about. “It happened very simply. Back in the early ’30s, I had a band at the Graystone Ballroom in Detroit, and I needed a theme song. So I wrote ‘Moonglow’.”

“When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don’t even notice.” – Sarah Vaughan