Moon River

Moon River was written by Henry Mancini (see below) with lyrics by Johnny Mercer in 1961. This arrangement by Michael Brown (see also below) was written in 2013.

“Moon River” was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In 1999, Mancini's recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The song has been recorded by many other artists. It became the theme song for Andy Williams, who first recorded it in 1962 (and performed it at the Academy Awards ceremony that year). He sang the first eight bars of the song at the beginning of each episode of his eponymous television show (1962 – 1969) and named his production company and venue in Branson, Missouri, after it; his autobiography is called “Moon River” and Me. Williams’ version was never released as a single, but it charted as an LP track that he recorded for Columbia on a hit album of 1962, Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes. In 2022, Williams' rendition of the song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress.

The song's success was responsible for relaunching Johnny Mercer's career as a songwriter, which had stalled in the mid-1950s because rock and roll had replaced jazz standards as the popular music of the time. The song’s popularity is such that it has been used as a test sample in a study on people's memories of popular songs. Comments about the lyrics have noted that they are particularly reminiscent of Mercer’s youth in the southern United States and his longing to expand his horizons. Robert Wright wrote in The Atlantic Monthly, “This is a love song to wanderlust. Or a romantic song in which the romantic partner is the idea of romance.” An inlet near Savannah, Georgia, Johnny Mercer's hometown, was named Moon River in honor of him and this song.

Henry Nicola Mancini (born Enrico Nicola Mancini; 1924 - 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist who is best remembered for his many film and television scores. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. His best known works include the theme and soundtrack for the Peter Gunn television series as well as the music for The Pink Panther film series (“The Pink Panther Theme”) and “Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Music from Peter Gunn won the first Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Arranger Michael Brown is currently staff arranger for the United States Army Band in Washington, D.C., having served previously as staff arranger for the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, New York. His arrangements have been heard on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and with the National Symphony Orchestra and Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. He has over 200 arrangements published by Hal Leonard Corporation and the FJH Music Company. Prior to enlisting in the Army, he worked as a freelance arranger and trumpeter, having performed with Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight, Robert Goulet, Lou Rawls, Sam & Dave, the Temptations, and others. He earned a Bachelor’s in Music degree from Furman University and a Master’s in Music degree from The University of Texas at Austin. Brown draws upon his former experience as a high school band director, church orchestra director, and freelance trumpeter in his writing.

The music for Moon River was provided for the band by

The French Horn Section of 2025.