He was born in New York City (but grew up in New Haven, Connecticut) and began learning the saxophone when he was 15 and by age 16, had begun to tour with a band. He reached Hollywood the first time, as a sideman with Irving Aaronson's band in 1931, performing at the famous Orange Blossom Room (site of the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929). Returning to New York City in1932, he became a highly in-demand session musician, working for example as one of just a handful of accompanists to Bing Crosby's first signature radio show for William S. Paley's already powerful and influential CBS radio network. Ultimately, Artie (who was known strictly as "Art" Shaw until his fortuitous Summer, 1938 contract with RCA Victor records' Bluebird label commenced) organized and led five, full-time touring orchestras that were all extremely popular -save the last, from 1949, with its be-bop oriented book. Ironically, that final Shaw-led big band (populated with players like Al Cohn), is considered by most jazz critics to have been Artie's best. With time out to lead a Navy service band (in the Pacific combat theater) during WWII, Shaw's actual big band- leading career lasted less than a decade overall -yet, it was a remarkably productive one, populated with some fourteen "Gold" records. These included such mega-hits as "Begin the Beguine", "Stardust", "Frenesi", "Moonglow", "Temptation", "Dancing In The Dark" and "Summit Ridge Drive" -the latter by his famous quintet billed as the Gramercy 5.
Shaw was known for being an innovator in the big band idiom, pioneering strings with jazz and using unusual instrumentations. His Summer, 1935 piece "Interlude in B-flat" was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed "third stream". In 1938 he convinced Billie Holiday to be his band's vocalist, becoming the first white bandleader to hire a full-time black female singer. This 1938-1939 orchestra became phenomenonally successful and appeared in the movie "Dancing Co-ed" which also featured one of his future wives, Lana Turner, in the cast. Artie's clarinet playing, had by now reached a level that was arguably the greatest in jazz, easily rivaling that of Benny Goodman. Longtime Duke Ellington clarinetist Barney Bigard, himself a highly talented musician -cited Shaw (in 1940) as his "favorite" clarinet player. Literally abandoning his famous 1938-1939 band at the absolute peak of its' fame and earning power (Artie, just himself alone pulling down more than $10K per week) in late November, 1939, Shaw "abdicated" to Acapulco, Mexico. Returning to the U.S. he organized an entirely new orchestra, with full string section in the Summer of 1940. A truly stellar aggregation, it lasted until mid-1941, featuring stars Billy Butterfield, Johnny Guarneiri, Nick Fatool and Ray Conniff as principal arranger. This outfit can be prominently seen in the RKO film "Second Chorus" starring Fred Astaire and Paulette Goddard. The final pre-war Shaw band, started in late, 1941, had Davey Tough and Hot Lips Page and big hits on St. James Infirmary Blues and Blues In The NIght. Artie broke this outstanding unit up shortly after Pearl Harbor so he could "enlist" in the Navy -refusing an offered commission. Back from the Navy, Shaw put together a new band that featured Roy Eldridge and an ambitious library stocked with arrangements by Eddie Sauter, Buster Harding, Ray Conniff and others. Hit records for this band included "Little Jazz" and "S'Wonderful" and by now Artie was married to Ava Gardner. His final public performances (as a clarinetist) took place in 1954, including with a sublime quartet in an extended Las Vegas booking. Apparently, he last picked up and played his fabled clarinet in about 1960 at his beach house in Spain (as recounted in final wife actress Evelyn Keyes' autobiography) and resisted all lucrative offers to return to the stage until finally fielding a "ghost" band under the highly capable aegis of outstanding clarinetist Dick Johnson in 1985. For about the first year, Artie often appeared on stage with this very fine orchestra at certain, prestigious bookings, but soon tired of the "grind" -and not to Dick Johnson's dismay. This now true "ghost" band is still appearing during Summer seasons (with much of the original Shaw "books"), principally in the New England area (Johnson lives in Boston) and is well worth seeing. Although he had more wives (8) than bands, Artie fell one wife short of Charlie Barnet's record (for a famous bandleadrer) of nine.
A Message From The Man In The Moon
Artie Shaw Lyrics
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And found me alone and blue
The man in the moon told me something and told me to tell it to you.
I've got a message from The Man In The Moon for you
Just you
He said to tell you there's a bench in the park for two,
Just two
I know you should be sleeping and I'm keeping you awake
But I'm just delivering a message he told me to take
I've got a message saying love will be 'round to call and then
If we don't meet him he may never be 'round to call again;
The evening found me lonely and I thought you might be lonely too
So I brought a message from The Man In The Moon for you.
Artie Shaw's song "The Man From Mars" opens with the image of the man in the moon looking into the window of the singer, finding him alone and blue. The meaning behind this could be that the singer is feeling lonely and isolated, which is a common theme across many types of music. Then, the man in the moon tells the singer to deliver a message to their loved one. The message is that there is a bench in the park for two, implying that the singer should meet their loved one there.
The song progresses with the singer being apologetic for disturbing their loved one's sleep by delivering the message. The message is that love will be around soon, and if they don't meet with it, it might never come again. The feeling of loneliness and the search for love is again a common theme in many types of music. The singer then shares that they are lonely and thought that their loved one might be too, hence they have brought a message from The Man In The Moon.
Overall, the meaning behind the lyrics of "The Man From Mars" can be interpreted in different ways by different listeners. However, the common theme is that of loneliness and the search for love.
Line by Line Meaning
The man in the moon looked into my window
I was feeling low and gazing at the moon, when suddenly I felt like the moon was looking back at me.
And found me alone and blue
In that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness and sadness.
The man in the moon told me something and told me to tell it to you.
Suddenly, the moon spoke to me and asked me to share a message with someone important to me.
I've got a message from The Man In The Moon for you
This message comes directly from the moon, and it's meant specifically for you.
Just you
This message is for you and no one else.
He said to tell you there's a bench in the park for two,
Just two
The moon wants you to know that there's a special place for you and someone else to sit and enjoy each other's company in the park.
I know you should be sleeping and I'm keeping you awake
But I'm just delivering a message he told me to take
I'm sorry I'm keeping you up, but this message was too important to wait until morning.
I've got a message saying love will be 'round to call and then
If we don't meet him he may never be 'round to call again;
The message is about the importance of seizing opportunities for love, because they may not come around again.
The evening found me lonely and I thought you might be lonely too
So I brought a message from The Man In The Moon for you.
I felt lonely and thought you might be feeling the same way, so I wanted to share this message of hope and love from the moon with you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRONISLAW KAPER, GUS KAHN, WALTER JURMANN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind