Fly Me to the Moon

Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox song "Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apollo missions to the Moon.

In 1999, the Songwriters Hall of Fame honored "Fly Me to the Moon" by inducting it as a "Towering Song".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Background and composition

In 1954, when "Fly Me to the Moon" was first presented to the public, Bart Howard had been pursuing a career in music for over 20 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He played piano to accompany cabaret singers, but also wrote songs with Cole Porter, his idol, in mind.<ref name="nytimes2004">Template:Cite news</ref> In the book Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret James Gavin noted that Howard wrote the song "in response to his publisher's plea for a simpler song: why did he have to write such grandiloquent lyrics? 'In Other Words' talked about the verbosity of poets who 'use many words to say a simple thing'; 'hold my hand,' 'Kiss me.Template:'"<ref name="greatamericansongbook1">Template:Cite web Quote from Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret, New York: Back Stage Books 2006. Retrieved December 16, 2024.</ref> In response, Howard wrote a cabaret ballad.<ref name="autogenerated411">Will Friedwald, Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art, Scribner, New York, 1995, page 411</ref> A publisher tried to make him change some words from "fly me to the Moon" to "take me to the Moon," but Howard refused.<ref name="nytimes1988">Template:Cite news</ref> Many years later Howard commented that "... it took me 20 years to find out how to write a song in 20 minutes."<ref name="nytimes1988"/>

He used his position as a piano accompanist and presenter at the Blue Angel cabaret venue to promote the song,<ref name="greatamericansongbook1"/> and it was soon introduced in cabaret performances by Felicia Sanders.<ref name="nytimes2004"/>

The song was composed in Template:Music time signature but was changed to Template:Music by Quincy Jones in his arrangement for Frank Sinatra.<ref>Interview with Quincy Jones. Appeared in the cover of Frank Sinatra & Count Basie 1964 album It Might As Well Be. Transcript</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early recordings

File:Kaye Ballard publicity photo taken by Maurice Seymour NY in late 1950s for MCA.jpg

Kaye Ballard circa late 1950s

Kaye Ballard made the song's first<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> commercial recording, released by Decca in April 1954.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A brief review published on May 8, 1954, in Billboard said that "In Other Words" was "...a love song sung with feeling by Miss Ballard."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This recording was released as the flipside of "Lazy Afternoon", which Kaye Ballard was currently performing as star of the stage show The Golden Apple.<ref name="autogenerated1995">Liz Smith, Liner Notes for the CD Portia Nelson, Let Me Love You: Portia Nelson Sings the Songs of Bart Howard, DRG 91442, 1995</ref>

Over the next few years, jazz and cabaret singers released cover versions of "In Other Words" on EP or LP record albums, including Chris Connor,<ref>Template:AllMusic</ref> Johnny Mathis,<ref>Template:AllMusic</ref> Portia Nelson,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Nancy Wilson.<ref>Template:AllMusic</ref> Eydie Gormé sang the song on her 1958 album Eydie In Love (under the title "In Other Words"),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which reached No. 20 in the Cashbox Album Charts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Subsequent recordings and uses

In 1960, Peggy Lee released the song on the album Pretty Eyes,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> then made it more popular when she performed it in front of a large television audience on The Ed Sullivan Show.<ref name="nytimes2004"/> As the song's popularity increased, it became better known as "Fly Me to the Moon",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in 1963 Peggy Lee convinced Bart Howard to make the name change official.<ref name="nytimes1988"/> Connie Francis released two non-English versions of the song in 1963: in Italian as "Template:Lang"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in Spanish as "Template:Lang".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Joe Harnell Fly Me To The Moon Kapp KS3318 Front Cover 1 April 2014 5942 800.JPG

Fly Me to the Moon Bossa Nova 1963 album by Joe Harnell

In 1962, Joe Harnell arranged and recorded an instrumental version in a bossa nova style. It was released as a single in late 1962.<ref>"Reviews of New Singles", Billboard, November 10, 1962. p. 52. Retrieved February 17, 2018.</ref><ref>Thompson, Dave (2016). Standard Catalog of American RecordsTemplate:Dead link, F+W Media, Inc. p. 567. Retrieved February 17, 2018.</ref> Harnell's version spent 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching No. 14 on February 23, 1963,<ref>Hot 100 - Joe Harnell and His Orchestra Fly Me to the Moon - Bossa Nova Chart History Template:Webarchive, Billboard.com. Retrieved February 17, 2018.</ref> while reaching No. 4 on BillboardTemplate:'s Middle-Road Singles chart.<ref>"Middle-Road Singles", Billboard, February 23, 1963. p. 42. Retrieved February 17, 2018.</ref><ref>Adult Contemporary - Joe Harnell and His Orchestra Fly Me to the Moon - Bossa Nova Chart History Template:Webarchive, Billboard.com. Retrieved February 17, 2018.</ref> It reached No. 30 in Canada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Harnell's version was ranked No. 89 on BillboardTemplate:'s end of year ranking "Top Records of 1963".<ref>"Top Records of 1963", Billboard, Section II, December 28, 1963. p. 30. Retrieved February 17, 2018.</ref> Harnell's recording won him a Grammy Award at the 5th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Performance by an Orchestra – for Dancing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His version was included on his album Fly Me to the Moon and the Bossa Nova Pops<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> released in early 1963, which reached No. 3 stereo album on the Billboard Top LPs chart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Frank Sinatra included the song on his 1964 album It Might as Well Be Swing, accompanied by Count Basie.<ref name="Swing">Template:Cite web</ref> The music for this album was arranged by Quincy Jones,<ref name="Swing" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> who had worked with Count Basie a year earlier on the album This Time by Basie, which also included a version of "Fly Me to the Moon".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Will Friedwald commented that "Jones boosted the tempo and put it into an even four/four" for Basie's version, but "when Sinatra decided to address it with the Basie/Jones combination they recharged it into a straight swinger... [which]...all but explodes with energy". Bart Howard estimated that by the time Frank Sinatra covered the song in 1964, more than 100 other versions had been recorded.<ref name="autogenerated411" />

Bobby Womack recorded a version that was released in 1968 on Minit Records, from his album Fly Me to the Moon. His rendition reached No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 16 on the R&B chart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Occasionally on the CBS series WKRP in Cincinnati, an instrumental sampling of "Fly Me To The Moon" was used as a doorbell melody during scenes taking place in the apartment of character Jennifer Marlowe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

By 1995, the song had been recorded more than 300 times.<ref name="autogenerated1995" /> According to a poll conducted by Japanese music magazine CD&DL Data in 2016, the cover versions by Claire Littley and Yoko Takahashi ranked highly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Claire cover version won the Planning Award of Heisei Anisong Grand Prize among the anime theme songs from 1989 to 1999, following its appearance in the end credits of Neon Genesis Evangelion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Richard Simmons's last words were a loose paraphrase of the song's lyrics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

NASA association

File:Quincy Jones, John Glenn, and Neil Armstrong during NASA's 50th anniversary gala.jpg

Quincy Jones presents platinum copies of Frank Sinatra's album to Senator John Glenn and Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong

Frank Sinatra's 1964 recording of "Fly Me to the Moon" became closely associated with NASA's Apollo space program. A copy of the song was played on a Sony TC-50 portable cassette player on the Apollo 10 mission which orbited the Moon,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and also on Apollo 11 before the first landing on the Moon.<ref>Music on the Moon: Meet Mickey Kapp, Master of Apollo 11's Astro-Mixtapes</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The song's association with Apollo 11 was reprised many years later when Diana Krall sang it at the mission's 40th anniversary commemoration ceremony,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and also for mission commander Neil Armstrong's memorial service in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• ASCAP Foundation: Bart Howard Provides A Musical Gift
• Fly Me to the Moon Chord Study for Guitar
• Template:YouTube