Blue Moon – The Ventures | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#54); 1961
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In 1958, Bob Bogle and Don Wilson wanted out of their construction-by-day/musicians-by-night work schedule so they settled on a record as a way to make enough money to quit their day jobs.
Booking time at a local basement studio, the two recorded some tracks and put them out – as the Ventures – on their own label, Blue Horizon. Their second release was a rocked up version of a jazzy tune they’d found on Chet Atkins’ Hi-Fi In Focus LP.
The club crowd loved Walk – Don’t Run, but Bob Reisdorff, head of Seattle’s Dolton Records, didn’t. KJR deejay Pat O’Day rode to the rescue; playing Walk as a gap-filler before the news. The phones lit up with fans, among them Reisdorff.
Walk-Don’t Run dominated the nation’s airwaves during the summer of 1960; peaking at #2. Subsequent singles featured a mix of originals and instrumental covers of hits, including the Marcels’ 1961 group harmony smash, Blue Moon.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Josie Wilson
- Bob Reisdorff
Lyrics Written by:
- Richard Rodgers
- Lorenz Hart
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).