“Old Devil Moon”
From the CD “Night Sessions” by Louise Howlet (Vocals) & Albert Combrink (Piano)

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.

Louise Howlett

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.

Albert Combrink

CD Producer: Duncan Mackay – Down South Recording (Cape Town)

To book artists or purchase CD:
E-mail Albert Combrink
E-mail Louise Howlett