"Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by
Bart Howard
Bart Howard (born Howard Joseph Gustafson, June 1, 1915 – February 21, 2004) was an American composer and songwriter, most notably of the jazz standard " Fly Me to the Moon", which has been performed by Kaye Ballard, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, ...
. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by
Kaye Ballard
Kaye Ballard (November 20, 1925 – January 21, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, and singer.
Early life
Ballard was born Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four children born to Italian immigrant parents, Lena (née Nac ...
.
Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the
Apollo missions to the Moon.
In 1999, the
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...
honored "Fly Me to the Moon" by inducting it as a "Towering Song".
Background and composition
In 1954, when he began to write the song that became "Fly Me to the Moon", Bart Howard had been pursuing a career in music for over 20 years. He played piano to accompany
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
singers, but also wrote songs with
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
, his idol, in mind.
In response to a publisher's request for a simpler song,
Bart Howard wrote a cabaret ballad
[Will Friedwald, ''Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer's Art'', Scribner, New York, 1995, page 411] which he titled "In Other Words". A publisher tried to make him change some words from "fly me to the Moon" to "take me to the Moon," but Howard refused.
Many years later Howard commented that "... it took me 20 years to find out how to write a song in 20 minutes."
He used his position as a piano accompanist and presenter at the Blue Angel cabaret venue to promote the song,
and it was soon introduced in
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
performances by
Felicia Sanders
Felicia Sanders (born Felice Schwartz; April 26, 1921 – February 7, 1975) was a singer and musician of traditional pop music.
Early years
Sanders was born in Mount Vernon, New York but was raised in Southern California. She studied merchandi ...
.
The song was composed in
time signature
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
but was changed to by
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
in his arrangement.
Early recordings
Kaye Ballard
Kaye Ballard (November 20, 1925 – January 21, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, and singer.
Early life
Ballard was born Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four children born to Italian immigrant parents, Lena (née Nac ...
made the song's first commercial recording, released by
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
in April 1954. A brief review published on May 8, 1954, in ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' said that "In Other Words" was "...a love song sung with feeling by Miss Ballard." 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''.
[Liz Smith, Liner Notes for the CD Portia Nelson, ''Let Me Love You: Portia Nelson Sings the Songs of Bart Howard'', DRG 91442, 1995]
Over the next few years,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
and cabaret singers released
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of "In Other Words" on
EP or
LP record
The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...
albums
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...
, including
Chris Connor
Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was an American jazz singer.
Biography
Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Shir ...
,
Johnny Mathis
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
,
Portia Nelson
Portia Nelson (born Betty Mae Nelson; May 27, 1920 – March 6, 2001) was an American popular singer, songwriter, actress, and author. She was best known for her appearances in 1950s cabarets, where she sang soprano.
In 1965, she portrayed ...
, and
Nancy Wilson.
Eydie Gormé
Eydie Gormé ( ; born Edith Gormezano; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who had hits on the pop and Latin pop charts. She sang solo and in the duo Steve and Eydie with her husband, Steve Lawrence, on albums and telev ...
sang the song on her 1958 album ''Eydie In Love'', which reached No. 20 in the ''
Cashbox'' Album Charts.
Subsequent recordings and uses
In 1960,
Peggy Lee
Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...
released the song on the album ''
Pretty Eyes
''Pretty Eyes'' is a 1960 studio album by Peggy Lee that was arranged by Billy May.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Dave Nathan awarded the album three stars and commented that "There's no brass in the orchestra, just flutes, woodwinds, and ...
'', then made it more popular when she performed it in front of a large television audience on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
''.
As the song's popularity increased, it became better known as "Fly Me to the Moon", and in 1963 Peggy Lee convinced Bart Howard to make the name change official.
Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937),
known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
released two non-English versions of the song in 1963: in Italian as "" and in Spanish as "".
![Joe Harnell Fly Me To The Moon Kapp KS3318 Front Cover 1 April 2014 5942 800](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Joe_Harnell_Fly_Me_To_The_Moon_Kapp_KS3318_Front_Cover_1_April_2014_5942_800.JPG)
In 1962,
Joe Harnell
Joseph Harnell (August 2, 1924 – July 14, 2005) was an American composer, musician, and music arranger.
Early life
His father was a vaudeville performer who also played in jazz and klezmer ensembles. Harnell began playing piano at age six and ...
arranged and recorded an instrumental version in a
bossa nova
Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...
style. It was released as a single in late 1962. Harnell's version spent 13 weeks on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching No. 14 on February 23, 1963, while reaching No. 4 on ''Billboard''s
Middle-Road Singles chart. Harnell's version was ranked No. 89 on ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''s end of year ranking "
Top Records of 1963". Harnell's recording won him a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
at the
5th Annual Grammy Awards for
Best Performance by an Orchestra – for Dancing. His version was included on his album ''Fly Me to the Moon and the Bossa Nova Pops'' released in early 1963, which reached No. 3 stereo album on the
''Billboard'' Top LP's chart.
Julie London
Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums ...
included a cover of the song for her 1963 album ''
The End of the World''. Paul Anka released a version of "Fly Me To The Moon" in 1963, appearing in his album ''Our Man Around the World''.
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
included the song on his 1964 album ''
It Might as Well Be Swing
''It Might as Well Be Swing'' is a 1964 studio album by Frank Sinatra, accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra. It was Sinatra's first studio recording arranged by Quincy Jones.
The recording of " Fly Me to the Moon" which appears on thi ...
'', accompanied by
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
.
The music for this album was arranged by
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
,
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".
Will Friedwald
Will Friedwald (born September 16,
1961) is an American author and music critic. He has written for newspapers that include the ''Wall Street Journal'', ''New York Times'', ''Village Voice'', '' Newsday'', '' New York Observer'', and ''New Yor ...
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...
hich
Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
..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.
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...
recorded a version that was released in 1968 on
Minit Records
Minit Records was an American independent record label, originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak in 1959. Ernie K. Doe, Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, and Benny Spellman were early artists on the label. Later artists included Bo ...
, 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
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
. Occasionally on the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
series ''
WKRP in Cincinnati
''WKRP in Cincinnati'' is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working ...
'', an instrumental sampling of "Fly Me To The Moon" was used as a
doorbell
A doorbell is a signaling device typically placed near a door to a building's entrance. When a visitor presses a button, the bell rings inside the building, alerting the occupant to the presence of the visitor. Although the first doorbells were ...
melody during scenes taking place in the apartment of character
Jennifer Marlowe.
In 1991, this song notably featured in the soundtrack of ''
Once Around
''Once Around'' is a 1991 American romantic comedy-drama film about a young woman who falls for and eventually marries an overbearing older man who proceeds to rub her close-knit family the wrong way, while exposing the dynamics of other family ...
''.
By 1995, the song had been recorded more than 300 times.
The Japanese animated series ''
Neon Genesis Evangelion
, also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...
'' uses several versions of the song sung by Claire Littley,
Yoko Takahashi
is a Japanese singer, who is best known for her work throughout the 1990s, most particularly for her singles which were performed for and featured in anime, most notably the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise.
Career
Takahashi began her ...
, and various female cast members of the series for the closing music of each episode; everywhere outside Japan, the song was removed from the 2019
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
streaming version, 2021 (and later)
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
releases, and cinema screenings due to licensing issues, much to the dismay of fans. According to a poll conducted by Japanese music magazine ''CD&DL Data'' in 2016 about the most representative songs associated with the Moon, the cover version by Claire Littley and Yoko Takahashi was ranked 7th by 6,203 respondents. The Claire cover version won the Planning Award of Heisei Anisong Grand Prize among the anime theme songs from 1989 to 1999.
In the 2009 video game ''
Bayonetta
is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya and developed by PlatinumGames. The franchise was introduced in 2009 with ''Bayonetta''. Two sequels were released, ''Bayonetta 2'' (2014) and ''Bayonetta 3'' (2022), as well as a s ...
'', a remix of "Fly Me to the Moon", titled "Fly Me to the Moon (∞ Climax Mix)", sung by
Helena Noguerra
Helena Noguerra (18 May 1969) is a Belgian actress, singer and writer.
Career
Noguerra was born in Brussels, Belgium. Her songs have been used in commercials and television programmes such as ''Lunettes noires pour nuits blanches'' by Thier ...
, is used as the game's battle theme. During the 2020
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
a 6-year-old girl in China named Miumiu made national news when her home video of the song was found and edited by a group of Italian musicians led by Bruno Zucchetti, who added an instrumental accompaniment performed from their homes during
lockdown
A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison ...
.
In June 2022, the South Korean mobile game ''Moonlight Blade M'' (developed by
Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
) uses a version of the song sung by
Taeyeon
Kim Tae-yeon (; born March 9, 1989), known mononymously as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and on ...
for being the game's theme track.
NASA association
Frank Sinatra's 1964 recording of "Fly Me to the Moon" became closely associated with
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's
Apollo space program. A copy of the song was played on a
Sony TC-50
The Sony TC-50 was a compact cassette recorder and portable audio player designed and marketed by Sony. It was conceived for the purpose of dictation but gained popularity with the general public after its use during the Apollo program lunar missi ...
portable cassette player on the
Apollo 10
Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was a human spaceflight, the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second (after Apollo8) to orbit the Moon. NASA described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, and ...
mission which orbited the Moon, and also on
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...
before the first landing on the Moon. The song's association with Apollo 11 was reprised many years later when
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...
sang it at the mission's 40th anniversary commemoration ceremony, and also for mission commander
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.
...
's memorial service in 2012.
The Sinatra version was also used in the 2000 NASA related fictional film ''
Space Cowboys
''Space Cowboys'' is a 2000 American adventure drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. It stars Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner as four older "ex-test pilots" who are sent into space to repair an old ...
''.
Certifications
Frank Sinatra's version
References
External links
ASCAP Foundation: Bart Howard Provides A Musical GiftFly Me to the Moon Chord Study for Guitar*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fly Me to the Moon
1954 songs
Fly Me to the Moon (Bossa Nova)
Songs written by Bart Howard
Frank Sinatra songs
Trini Lopez songs
Tony Bennett songs
Judy Garland songs
Perry Como songs
Patti Page songs
Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs
Ella Fitzgerald songs
Johnny Mathis songs
Michael Bolton songs
Al Hirt songs
Neon Genesis Evangelion songs
Pop standards
Songs about outer space
Bobby Womack songs
Minit Records singles
1968 singles
Decca Records singles
Songs about the Moon
Jazz songs