Wilder was awarded the Temple University Jazz Master's Hall of Fame Award in 2006. The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award for 2008.
Wilder was born into a musical family led by his father Curtis, a bassist and bandleader in Philadelphia. Wilder's first performances took place on the radio program, "Parisian Tailor's Colored Kiddies of the Air." He and the other young musicians were backed up by such illustrious bands as Duke Ellington's and Louis Armstrong's that were also then playing at the Lincoln Theater. Wilder studied at the Mastbaum School of Music in Philadelphia, but turned to jazz when he felt that there was little future for an African American classical musician. At age 19, Wilder joined his first touring big band, Les Hite's band.
Wilder was one of the first thousand African Americans to serve in the Marines during World War II. He worked first in Special Weapons and eventually became Assistant Bandmaster at the headquarters' band. Following the war during the 1940's and early 1950's, he played in the orchestras of Jimmie Lunceford, Herbie Fields, Sam Donahue, Lucky Millinder, Noble Sissle, Dizzy Gillespie, and finally with the Count Basie Orchestra. From 1957 to 1974, Wilder did studio work for ABC-TV, New York, and in the pit orchestras for Broadway musicals, while building his reputation as a soloist with his albums for Savoy (1956) and Columbia (1959). His Jazz from Peter Gunn (1959), features ten songs from Henry Mancini ("Peter Gunn") television score in melodic and swinging fashion with a quartet. He was also a regular sideman with such musicians as NEA Jazz Masters Hank Jones, Gil Evans, and Benny Goodman. He became a favorite with vocalists and played for Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Johnny Mathis, Harry Belafonte, Eileen Farrell, Tony Bennett, and many others. Wilder earned a bachelor of music degree in 1953, studying classical trumpet at the Manhattan School of Music with Joseph Alessi, where he was also principal trumpet with the school's symphony orchestra under conductor Jonel Perlea. In the 1960s, he performed on several occasions with the New York Philharmonic under Andre Kostelanetz and Pierre Boulez and played lead for the Symphony Of The New World from 1965 to 1971.
He appeared on The Cosby Show episode "Play It Again, Russell" (1986), and played the trumpet in the Malcolm X Orchestra in Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" (1992). Since 1991 he returned as a leader and recorded three albums for Evening Star. He died on May 9, 2014 in New York City, of congestive heart failure.
Discography
As leader
1956 Wilder N' Wilder Jazz Savoy
1956 Softly With Feeling Jazz Savoy
1959 The Pretty Sound of Joe Wilder Jazz Columbia
1959 Jazz from "Peter Gunn" Jazz Columbia
1991 Alone With Just My Dreams Jazz Evening Star
1993 No Greater Love Jazz Evening Star
2003 Among Friends Jazz Evening Star
As sideman
With Trigger Alpert
Trigger Happy! (Riverside, 1956)
With Gil Evans
Into the Hot (Impulse!, 1961)
With Dizzy Gillespie
Gillespiana (Verve, 1960)
With Tadd Dameron
The Magic Touch (1962)
With Etta Jones
From the Heart (Prestige, 1962)
With Yusef Lateef
10 Years Hence (Atlantic, 1974)
The Doctor is In... and Out (Atlantic, 1976)
With Mundell Lowe
New Music of Alec Wilder (Riverside, 1956)
With Oliver Nelson
The Spirit of '67 with Pee Wee Russell (Impulse!, 1967)
With Houston Person
Broken Windows, Empty Hallways (Prestige, 1972)
With Shirley Scott
Great Scott!! (Impulse!, 1964)
With Sonny Stitt
What's New!!! (Roulette, 1966)
With others
Joe Newman: Hangin´ Out (Concord, 1984)
Benny Carter: A Gentleman and His Music (Concord, 1985)
Ruby Braff: Being With You (Arbirs, 1996)
Charlie Byrd: For Louis' (Concord, 1996)
Jay Jay Johnson: The Brass Orchestra (Verve, 1996)
The Heath Brothers: Jazz Family (Concord, 1998)
Blue Moon
Joe Wilder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold!
Blue moon!
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
The song "Blue Moon" by Joe Wilder is a timeless classic that speaks to the feelings of loneliness, longing, and the hope for love. The first verse sets the tone, describing a person standing alone without a dream or love in their heart, and the title, "Blue Moon," reinforces the feeling of melancholy and isolation. The second verse reveals the person's desire for someone to care for, and the hope that their prayer will be answered. Suddenly, the person sees the one they have been waiting for, the only one they will ever hold, and the mood changes from despair to joy as the moon turns to gold. The chorus repeats the shift, with the person no longer alone and now filled with a dream and love in their heart.
There is a deep sense of vulnerability in the lyrics, with the persona's emotional state laid bare for all to see. The metaphor of the moon, while commonly used, is particularly effective here in conveying the idea of a fleeting moment of hope that is all too easy to lose. The song's popularity is testament to its resonant message, with countless covers by artists across generations and genres.
Line by Line Meaning
Blue moon you saw me standing alone
The singer is addressing the moon as if it were a living being, expressing the loneliness and solitude they felt.
Without a dream in my heart
The singer is lacking a sense of purpose or direction in their life.
Without a love of my own
The singer is without a romantic partner or any sense of love and belonging.
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for
The artist believes that the moon itself understood their presence and the purpose of their loneliness.
You heard me saying a prayer for
The artist is projecting their feelings onto the moon, believing that it is listening to their prayers.
Someone I really could care for
The singer is expressing their desire for a romantic partner or someone to care for in their life.
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The singer is recounting a moment of surprise and unexpectedness.
The only one my arms will ever hold
The artist has found the person they wish to be with and hold in their arms.
I heard somebody whisper "Please adore me"
The artist heard a whispered plea for love and affection.
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold!
The artist is using imagery to convey the joy and happiness they felt when they found the person they wished to be with.
Blue moon! Now I'm no longer alone
The singer sees the moon as a symbol of their loneliness and is rejoicing in the fact that they are no longer alone.
Without a dream in my heart
The artist is still feeling a sense of purposelessness, but now has someone to care for and share their life with.
Without a love of my own
The singer has found love and companionship, no longer feeling isolated and alone.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LORENZ HART, RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind