"HOW HIGH THE MOON" came from a Broadway revue called "Two For the Show" (1940) and quickly became a standard.
One of the greatest versions was by LES PAUL and MARY FORD. The sonic wizards multi-tracked their angel chorals and electronic tones in a way that sounded otherworldy to 1950's radio audiences.
Paul's quicksilver and fierce leads influenced all the Jazz and Rock'n'Roll that would follow.
LES PAUL and MARY FORD -"How High the Moon" (1951)
Ella Fitzgerald did the song many times, and here SARAH VAUGHAN does a fun homage to Ella's adventurous scatting.
SARAH VAUGHAN -"How High the Moon" (live, 1957)
Bebop pioneers often played the standards straight at dancehalls, and free-associated radically off of their chord structures in bebop nightclubs.
New songs rose out of "How High the Moon" like these varied classics.
CHARLIE PARKER -"Ornithology" (1946)
MILES DAVIS -"Solar" (1954)
JOHN COLTRANE -"Satellite" (1960)