# Who sang "Moon River" in Breakfast at Tiffany's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2006, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053 "2006-08-17T05:21:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/21 "2006-08-17T17:54:36Z")
But when they dolled her up, wasn’t it a surprise to discover that Audrey Hepburn was (gasp) beautiful? Same thing in Funny Face where she took off her glasses and wow, she was actually lovely! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/22 "2006-08-17T18:15:00Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Several years ago Entertainment Tonight or some similar program unearthed the original test recordings AH made for My Fair Lady. IMHO she sounded, from those samples, up to the task of singing. [/QUOTE] Those recordings were more musique concrete, the best notes of many takes spliced together, than a realistic representation of her singing while, because she is a total professional, I assume Marni Nixon went into the studio, recorder her tracks, and left. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/23 "2006-08-17T18:55:16Z")
[QUOTE=Walter Windchill] I would like a recording of Audrey singing “Moon River,” but it’s not on the soundtrack. AFAIK, you can only hear it by watching the movie. I like her whispery acoustic version better than any other version I’ve heard. [/QUOTE] [This CD](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000002L1E/sr=1-1/qid=1155840869/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-6730277-1542309?ie=UTF8&s=music) has Audrey singing “Moon River” (as well as some other terrific, oddly-assorted tracks). ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/24 "2006-08-17T18:58:06Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] She was dubbed in _My Fair Lady._ [/QUOTE] But not the beginning and end of “Just You Wait, Henry Higgins”. Dubbing starts at “One day, I’ll be famous, I’ll be proper and prim”. Her real voice begins again at “Then they’ll march you, Henry Higgins, to the wall”. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/25 "2006-08-17T19:40:27Z")
There is one re-edit of My Fair Lady where they had Audrey’s version of one song put back in. I think it was “wouldn’t it be lovely”. Does this ring a bell with anyone? BTW: I love her voice, Moon River is just so plaintive and moving. What a great job Mercer and Mancini did write a song to fit a voice. Jim ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/26 "2006-08-17T23:07:02Z")
Wasn’t it the Andy Williams’ version that became the mega-hit after the film was released? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/27 "2006-08-17T23:51:19Z")
[QUOTE=dropzone] Those recordings were more musique concrete, the best notes of many takes spliced together, than a realistic representation of her singing while, because she is a total professional, I assume Marni Nixon went into the studio, recorder her tracks, and left. [/QUOTE] I doubt Marni Nixon recorded all of her songs in one take, so it’s likely that her numbers were as much “musique concrete” as Hepburn’s. As I understand it, it’s pretty standard to splice together bis from various takes to make a finished recording. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/28 "2006-08-18T01:04:12Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] Wasn’t it the Andy Williams’ version that became the mega-hit after the film was released? [/QUOTE] I don’t recall which had the bigger hit, but Jerry Butler had the version that sticks in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/29 "2006-08-18T01:25:16Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] Wasn’t it the Andy Williams’ version that became the mega-hit after the film was released? [/QUOTE] Yes. It was popular when I was in high school and I think it was our class theme. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/30 "2006-08-18T01:43:28Z")
I think that “Moon River” may have become Andy Williams theme song for his television show. He had a very popular recording. In a recent Johnny Mercer biography, the author says that a section of the Savannah River that flows past Bonaventure Cemetery has been renamed Moon River. I have been unable to find it so designated on a map of Savannah. This cemetery is the one referred to in the title of _Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil_. A couple of hundred feet from the waters edge rests the remains of Johnny Mercer. ---
**Author:** ![Zahava424](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/76d3ee/32.png) [@Zahava424](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zahava424)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/31 "2006-08-18T02:40:24Z")
Why is the youtube clip in black-and-white (or, I guess, sepia)? The movie was in color. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053/32 "2006-08-18T02:58:55Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Several years ago Entertainment Tonight or some similar program unearthed the original test recordings AH made for My Fair Lady. IMHO she sounded, from those samples, up to the task of singing. Which still doesn’t excuse casting her instead of Julie Andrews, but still… [/QUOTE] They recently added her version of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” to the end credits, IIRC. I personally preferred her’s to Marnie Nixon’s, as Marnie’s sounded far too polished and posh for a poor guttersnipe in that song. Reportedly, Audrey was determined to at least sing that song on her own, and was working extensively with vocal coaches and what not. When she found out they weren’t going to use her voice after all, she stormed off the set. The next day she returned, very meekly, and appologized. She also sang “La Vie En Rose” in _Sabrina_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-sang-moon-river-in-breakfast-at-tiffanys/369053.md?page=1)