Bacharach’s earlier instrumental compositions written in his teenage years. Tune however is free adaptation of Rubenstein’s melody in F so cannot be really credited to Bacharach. He himself said he thought it was in the public domain.
“I wrote the song with my dad when I was at college. And nat King Cole recorded it. Actually it is Arthur rubenstein’s Melody in F so it was a real cop or a hat’s off. Or maybe it was public domain. I can’t even say. Jerome Kern also had a song with that title but you can’t copyright titles.”
Hot on the heels of his signature hit, “Unforgettable,” came Nat “King” Cole’s first instrumental excursion without the King Cole Trio, released in part to silence the jazz critics who bemoaned his recent commercial strategy of “more singing, less playing.” Even today, few fans realize that Cole’s distinctive swing piano playing heavily influenced Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum and Ray Charles, no slouches at the piano bench themselves. But by the time Cole’s popular television show was first aired in 1956, it’s doubtful the viewing audience knew he could do considerably more with a piano than just lean against it.
It’s not surprising then that the sprightly “Once in a Blue Moon” should remain one of Burt Bacharach’s most obscure compositions, its lack of recognition compounded by the fact that he is rarely given the proper label credit for it. Since the melody is an adaptation, perhaps credit is a moot point. When the tune was originally issued on the Penthouse Serenade 10-inch LP, the label stated that it was “based on Rubenstein’s Melody in F” and arranged by Cole. The expanded 12-inch version issued two years later was Cole’s first ever full-length album release, and press-ings altemated between crediting “Burt F. Bacharach” and “The Maestro.” Now, in its compact disc incamation, it’s mistakenly attributed to “Jerome Kern /Anne Caldwell,” who wrote an altogether different “Once in a Blue Moon” for the 1923 musical Stepping Stones.
Despite his father’s protest of no musical talent, Burt recalls this title instantly as having the senior Bacharach’s participation: “That was a song I wrote with my dad when I was in college. And Nat ‘King’ Cole recorded it. Actually, it’s Rubenstein’s Melody in F, so it was a real cop or a hat’s off. Or maybe it was public domain. I can’t even say. Jerome Kern also had a song with that title. but you can’t copyright titles,” he adds. “If you look it up, you’11 see there are 15 songs with the title ‘I Love You Baby.’”
True! Witness how many lackluster songs have “The Look of Love” for a title.
“Once in a Blue Moon” (Burt F. Bacharach) – Recorded by Nat “King” Cole – Released 1952
