“That Old Devil Moon, deep in your eyes, blinds me with love”
Louise Howlett & Albert Combrink
Louise Howlett and Albert Combrink give this Broadway hit a complete make-over on their new CD Night Sessions. The intimacy of voice and piano allows a tender conversation to develop, reflecting the light-headedness of falling head-over heels in love.
Listen to more tracks from the CD Night Sessions HERE
Composed for the 1947 Broadway musical Finian’s Rainbow by Grammy Award winner, Burton Lane (1912-1997), Old Devil Moon has remained popular with audiences for over six decades. The song has also far outlived the stage-show as well as the 1968 film version by a young Francis Ford Coppola. Filled with gold digging rakes and leprechauns the film provides more quality music than story, and this song is the gem of the show’s playlist. Credited with discovering an 11-year-old Frances Gumm – who later metamorphosed into Judy Garland – Lane’s compositions include How are things in Glocca Mora and On a Clear Day.
Edgar Yipsel Harburg (1896-1981) wrote the lyrics that describe so delightfully the thrill of first love. Knows as Yip, he is famous for writing lyrics to some of the most-loved standards, including April in Paris and It’s Only a Paper Moon. The Wizard of Oz – with its famous Somewhere Over the Rainbow brought him lasting financial success as well as an Oscar. Suspected of involvement with the American Communist Party, he was blacklisted by Hollywood bosses, and his film-writing career came to an abrupt end. He then transferred his energies to Broadway until his death in a car accident on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard.
Listen to demo tracks from the album Night Sessions by Louise Howlett and Albert Combrink HERE.
You can watch Petula Clark and Jo Stafford singing this song in its original context in a filmed version of Finian’s Rainbow HERE.
You can read more about the musical Finigan’s Wake and its film version in an article by Al Barger HERE.
Buy the Sheet Music for Old Devil Moon from www.musicnotes.com. or Download Free Sheet Music for Old Devil Moon (
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