Saturday, May 23, 2026

Frank Ocean Drops the ‘Huckleberry Friend’ from “Moon River,” Andy Williams, Henry Mancini Turn in Graves

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Andy Williams sang it. Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer wrote it. “Moon River” is a classic, and we thought it was safe. But Frank Ocean decided to cover it. Oh, my! This might be best listened to while studying the new official Obama portraits.

Listen carefully because Frank omits the best line–“my huckleberry friend.” Not sure what the point of that was since Mercer considered that the standout expression of youth. He should have asked Sly Stone how to cover a classic. SLy did perfectly on “Que Sera Sera.”

Here’s Audrey Hepburn singing it in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”– the original

Andy Williams’ hit version

And my personal favorite by Jerry Butler

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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