Audrey Hepburn A-Z: M is for...

M is for...Moon River!

via nycmoviescenes

One of the most iconic movie songs of all time, written especially for the star of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Audrey Hepburn. 

With music by Henry Mancini and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, 'Moon River' is Holly Golightly's lone song in the film. It's nostalgic, and its laconic lyrics were inspired by Johnny Mercer's childhood of picking huckleberries in the South, much like Holly Golightly's own childhood. 

In an interview with the BBC, Henry Mancini's widow, Ginny, said that he was inspired after watching Audrey's performance in Funny Face. The scene, where Audrey performs 'How Long Has This Been Going On?' inspired Mancini to write something within her vocal range. 

"It took him about a month and a half before he put down the first three notes. It sounded promising and in half an hour he had written the melody of 'Moon River.'"

via tumblr, source unknown

After a preview of Breakfast at Tiffany's in California, the major players gathered to discuss the audience reactions. In that group was Martin Rackin, the head of Paramount Pictures at the time, and his one critique was simple: the song had to go. 

What happened next is disputed, but some sources say Audrey Hepburn jumped up from her seat and announced that 'Moon River' would be cut over her dead body. Another account has it that producer Richard Shepherd made the threat. At any rate, 'Moon River' was spared the cut and when the 1961 Academy Award nominations were announced, Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer received a nomination for their song. 

On Oscar night, Andy Williams, who would go on to make 'Moon River' his signature song, performed it live for the first time. Later that evening, Mancini and Mercer walked up to the stage to accept their Oscars. Mancini would also later win for Best Score. 

Audrey herself was most pleased with 'Moon River' and Breakfast at Tiffany's score. She wrote Mancini a letter after she'd seen the film scored (still a relatively new concept at the time), saying, "Your music has lifted us all up and sent us soaring. Everything we cannot say with words or show with action you have expressed for us. You have done this with so much imagination, fun and beauty. You are the hippest of cats and the most sensitive of composers!" 

'Moon River' has been recorded over 500 times by various artists, from Frank Sinatra to Frank Ocean, but for Henry Mancini, Audrey's version was always the best. He said in an interview, “No one else has ever understood it so completely."
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What's your favourite movie song? 

Come back soon for the letter N!