Fly Me to the Moon

"Fly Me to the Moon" is a popular standard song written by Bart Howard in 1954. It was titled originally "In Other Words", and was introduced by Felicia Sanders in cabarets. The song became known popularly as "Fly Me to the Moon" from its first line, and after a few years the publishers changed the title to that officially.

History
It was recorded first during 1954 by Kaye Ballard, and vended by Decca Records as catalog number 29114. In 1956 it was recorded by Portia Nelson for her album, Let Me Love You. The same year, Johnny Mathis recorded the song, this was the first time the title "Fly Me to the Moon" appeared on a record label.

Felicia Sanders recorded the song during 1959. It was released by Decca Records as catalog number 30937.

In late 1961 Nat King Cole recorded the song for the album "Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays" and was released on Capitol Records, catalog #1675.

In 1962, an instrumental version was recorded as "Fly Me to the Moon – Bossa Nova" by Joe Harnell, which became the biggest chart hit version of the song, reaching #14 (#4 easy listening) on the U.S. pop singles charts.

Jazz drummer Roy Haynes, accompanied by Roland Kirk, Tommy Flanagan on piano and Henry Grimes on bass recorded the song as a brisk instrumental waltz for Haynes' Out of the Afternoon album (Impulse! Records AS-23), on May 16, 1962.

An original arrangement (by Ernie Freeman) is found in Julie London's 1963 album "The End of the World", with a different intro than usual, a jazz pizzicato instrumental sequence and piano accompaniment. Patti Page featured the song that same year on her debut LP for Columbia Records, Say Wonderful Things. During 1964 Doris Day recorded the song for her highly acclaimed album Latin for Lovers. The same year Earl Grant recorded his instrumental version from Fly Me To The Moon album.



Frank Sinatra recorded the song on his 1964 album It Might as Well Be Swing accompanied by Count Basie. The arrangement by Quincy Jones has become the rendition by which most people recognize the song. Jones changed the time signature, which was originally 3/4 waltz-time, to 4/4 and gave it a 'swing' feel. Sinatra's recording was a hit and was played by the astronauts of Apollo 10, on their lunar-orbital mission and again on the moon itself by the astronaut Buzz Aldrin during Apollo 11. Sinatra also performed the song with Basie on 1966's Sinatra at the Sands, and on 1994's Duets II, his final recording of "Fly Me to the Moon" and his final collaboration with Antonio Carlos Jobim. He also performed this song in 1969 TV-show "Sinatra", there he dedicated it to the Apollo astronauts "who made the impossible possible".

The following year Tony Bennett recorded the song and had a minor success with it. During subsequent years through the 2000s, he has often performed the song in concert without using any amplification or sound system. Oscar Peterson recorded the song on his album Tristeza on Piano in 1970. The track had to be deleted on the Three Originals compilation because there was not enough room for it to fit. Years later, on Sesame Street, Bennett performed a version with parody lyrics called "Slimey to the Moon", during a sequence in which the show's character Slimey the Worm took a trip to the moon.

The song also became an international best seller after Connie Francis had recorded it on September 28, 1962 in Italian and on February 25, 1963 in Neapolitan (both versions were released under the title Portami con te). A Spanish version was recorded on February 21, 1963 under the title Llévame a la luna, although this recording was also released under the title Mandame a la luna. The Sandpipers also recorded the Spanish version for their 1967 album Misty Roses. The song is popular in Germany and has been recorded by Tom Gaebel on his album The Unknown (2003) and by Roger Cicero as "Schiess mich doch zum Mond" on his album Männersachen (2006). These weren't the first recordings by German artists, though. Already in 1965, the song had been recorded by Heidi Brühl, a German singer/actress who later went to the US to host her own Las Vegas Shows and to appear on television shows such as Marcus Welby, M. D., and Columbo.

The song reached a new generation when it was used during the opening titles of Oliver Stone's 1987 film Wall Street and is included on the tribute album of Westlife, Allow Us to Be Frank. It also appears in the closing moments and over the end titles of Clint Eastwood's 2000 film Space Cowboys.

The song has been covered by many artists for the ending theme of the Japanese anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion and the feature films based on the series, for more than 31 versions.

In 2000, Utada Hikaru released a cover of this song in her single Wait & See: Risk and four remixes in her single Remix: Fly Me to the Moon. A new remix was released in 2007 in her single Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry.

Yi So-Yeon, a spaceflight participant from South Korea who flew aboard Soyuz TMA-12 reported in a post-mission news conference that she had sung "Fly Me to the Moon" for the other crew members while in space.

On July 20, 2009, the song was performed by Diana Krall at the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 commemoration ceremony held at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The three astronauts from the Apollo 11 mission were in the audience.

In October, 2009, a fragment of the song appeared as a sample in DJ Lord Vampirick's album "Straight Shotgun At The Edge Of The Universe". The song also appeared in the South Korean drama You're Beautiful, sung by the protagonist Tae Kyung (portrayed by Jang Geun Suk).

The song has also been covered by Hong Kong artist Linda Chung in the album My Love Story.

The song was also remixed in an action form in various scenes of the 2010 video game Bayonetta for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, where it is sung by Helena Noguerra. The end credits of the game features a version of the song by Brenda Lee, sung in 1963.

The song was also sung on the 3rd live show by Lloyd Daniels on the X-Factor 2009, and in the 10th series of the U.S. version of Dancing with the Stars, Buzz Aldrin and his partner Ashly Costa danced the foxtrot to the song.