June Moon: When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again

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Gee, this could be the “songs Elvis did” countdown. (Hey, what an idea for a countdown! ) Here’s another song that will close out the alphabetical portion of the “moon” list that the truck driver from Tupelo did…just nowhere NEAR like this. Oh, and Linda? HECK NO!!!! When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold - Wiley and Gene Now you see why Elvis is in the Country Music Hall of Fame? And why they had so much trouble categorizing him when he first started? Could you imagine Led Zeppelin or Nirvana doing an old song??? (Oh, wait… “When the Levee Breaks” and “In the Pines” [“Where Did You Sleep Last Night”]…) This song goes back to 1941 originally. Not a typo. Wiley (Walker) and Gene (Sullivan) were a duo you’ve never heard of unless you live deep in the weeds of country music (you know, like me ). They met as member of the Shelton Brothers’ act (another duo you’ve never heard of), and by 1939 had formed their own duet. As with many of the duets at the time, they focused on tight harmonies. Sullivan primarily wrote this sentimental tune while driving at night under a moon so full that he could turn his headlights off and still see everything clearly. (And many of us have done that under a very bright full moon out in the country…myself included.) It became a country standard, even to the point where songwriting legend Cindy Walker (writer of “In the Misty Moonlight” from earlier in the series) scored her only charted hit as a singer with a cover of it. As for Elvis, his version turned out to be the final song he’d perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. Here it is without the hip-shaking. When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again Written by Gene Sullivan and Wiley Walker Recorded by Wiley and Gene Released as a single, 1941 Someday they’ll live again sweetheart: