Destination Moon (album)
Encyclopedia
Destination Moon is the fourth album by Canadian R&B
singer Deborah Cox
, released in June 2007 by Decca Records
. It also pays tribute to legendary jazz
singer Dinah Washington
, and Cox calls it "a concept album
that I've had in mind for years". Many of Washington's songs are reinterpreted on the album including the title track "Destination Moon". Most of the album was recorded live with a forty-piece orchestra
and was produced and arranged by Rob Mounsey
who has worked with the likes of Aaron Neville
, Natalie Cole
, and Rihanna
, to name a few.
The week after its release, it peaked at number one on the iTunes
Top Jazz Albums and number three on the Billboard
Top Jazz Albums.
Circuit City Exclusive Bonus Track
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
singer Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. Her 1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held the record for longest-running number one single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart , a record held for nearly eight years. She has achieved ten number-one hits on...
, released in June 2007 by Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. It also pays tribute to legendary jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"...
, and Cox calls it "a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
that I've had in mind for years". Many of Washington's songs are reinterpreted on the album including the title track "Destination Moon". Most of the album was recorded live with a forty-piece orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
and was produced and arranged by Rob Mounsey
Rob Mounsey
Rob Mounsey is an award-winning composer, music producer, and musician. He was born in Berea, Ohio and grew up in Seattle, Washington and several Ohio towns. At the age of 17, he was awarded a BMI Student Composer's Award in New York. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1971 to 1975...
who has worked with the likes of Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...
, Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, and Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
, to name a few.
The week after its release, it peaked at number one on the iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
Top Jazz Albums and number three on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top Jazz Albums.
Track listing
- "Destination Moon" (Roy Alfred, Marvin Fisher) – 2:41
- "What a Difference a Day MadeWhat a Diff'rence a Day Made"What a Diff'rence a Day Made" is a popular song originally written in Spanish by María Méndez Grever , a Mexican composer, in 1934. Originally, the song was known as Cuando Vuelva A Tu Lado...
" (Stanley AdamsStanley Adams (singer)Stanley Adams was an American lyricist and songwriter. He wrote the English lyrics for the song "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes" and the English lyrics for "La Cucaracha"...
, María Grever) – 4:07 - "Misery" (Dinah WashingtonDinah WashingtonDinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"...
, Louis Howard) – 3:42 - "Baby, You've Got What It Takes" (Clyde OtisClyde OtisClyde Otis, born in Prentiss, Mississippi, , was an American songwriter and producer best known for his collaboration with singer Brook Benton, and for being one of the first African American A&R executive for a major label.According to the music licensing organization Broadcast Music Inc., Otis is...
, Murray Stein) – 3:35 - "This Bitter EarthThis Bitter Earth"This Bitter Earth" is a 1960 song made famous by rhythm and blues singer Dinah Washington. Written and produced by Clyde Otis, it topped the U.S. R&B charts for the week of 25 July 1960 and also reached #24 on the U.S. pop charts...
" (Otis) – 4:06 - "Squeeze MeSqueeze Me"Squeeze Me" is a 1925 jazz standard composed by Fats Waller. It was based on an old blues song called "The Boy in the Boat". The lyrics were credited to publisher Clarence Williams, although Andy Razaf has claimed to have actually written the lyrics....
" (Thomas WallerFats WallerFats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, Clarence Williams) – 2:22 - "New Blowtop Blues" (Leonard FeatherLeonard FeatherLeonard Geoffrey Feather was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.-Biography:...
, Jane Feather) – 3:00 - "Blue Skies" (Irving BerlinIrving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
) – 4:08 - "I Don't Hurt Anymore" (Donald Robertson, Jack Rollins) – 3:27
- "Smoke Gets in Your EyesSmoke Gets in Your Eyes"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for their 1933 operetta Roberta. It was originally recorded by Gertrude Niesen, on 13 October 1933 on the Victor label 24454. It was performed by Irene Dunne for the 1935 film adaptation,...
" (Otto HarbachOtto HarbachOtto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach was an American lyricist and librettist of about 50 musical comedies...
, Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
) – 4:33 - "September in the RainSeptember in the Rain"September in the Rain" is a popular song by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, published in 1937. The song was introduced by James Melton in the film Melody for Two...
" (Al DubinAl DubinAlexander "Al" Dubin was an American lyricist. He became known through his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren.-Life and works:...
, Harry WarrenHarry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
) – 3:23 - "Look to the Rainbow" (E.Y. HarburgYip HarburgEdgar Yipsel Harburg , known as E.Y. Harburg or Yip Harburg, was an American popular song lyricist who worked with many well-known composers...
, Burton LaneBurton LaneBurton Lane was an American composer and lyricist. His most popular and successful work is the musical Finian's Rainbow, "the score for which Lane will always be most remembered."-Biography:...
) – 3:55
Circuit City Exclusive Bonus Track
- "Out of Sight Out of Mind" (Otis, Ivory Joe HunterIvory Joe HunterIvory Joe Hunter was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, and pianist. After a series of hits on the US R&B chart starting in the mid 1940s, he became more widely known for his hit recording, "Since I Met You Baby" . He was billed as The Baron of the Boogie, and also known as The...
) – 4:19
Charts
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
175 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
24 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Jazz Albums | 3 |