Moanin' Lisa Blues

Album: The Simpsons Sing the Blues (1990)
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Songfacts®:

  • Lisa Simpson performed this song in the first-season Simpsons episode "Moaning Lisa," where she befriends a grizzled bluesman named Bleeding Gums Murphy. Lisa, an 8-year-old saxophone prodigy, writes the song and plays it to treat her case of the blues, which the rest of her family can't understand. Among her complaints: her bratty brother and her uncouth dad. At the end of the episode, Bleeding Gums performs it in a jazz club.
  • A full version of the song was included on the first Simpsons album, The Simpsons Sing The Blues. This version features some very real musicians: Joe Walsh on guitar, John Sebastian of The Lovin' Spoonful on harmonica, and the horn section from Tower Of Power.

    Lisa has all the musical talent in the family but big hits from the album both feature Bart: "Do The Bartman" and "Deep, Deep Trouble." The album ended up selling over 2 million copies.
  • The song was written by the show's writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss along with two musicians, John Boylan and Jai Winding.

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