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 in 1954 by Kaye Ballard, and vended by Decca Records as catalog number 29114.
 * Portia Nelson recorded it for her album Let Me Love You (1956)
 * Johnny Mathis also recorded it in 1956, which was the first time the title "Fly Me to the Moon" appeared on a record label.
 * Felicia Sanders recorded the song in 1959. (Released by Decca Records, catalog number 30937.)
 * Nat King Cole recorded the song for the album Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays (1961). (Released on Capitol Records, catalog #1675)
 * Joe Harnell recorded an instrumental version in 1962, as "Fly Me to the Moon – Bossa Nova". This version became the biggest chart hit, reaching #14 (#4 easy listening) on the U.S. pop singles charts.
 * Jazz drummer Roy Haynes, accompanied by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Henry Grimes on double bass recorded the song as a brisk instrumental waltz for the albaum Out of the Afternoon (1962). (Released by Impulse! Records, AS-23).
 * 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.
 * An original arrangement by Ernie Freeman is found in Julie London's album The End of the World (1963). This version has a different intro than usual: a jazz pizzicato instrumental sequence and piano accompaniment.
 * Patti Page featured the song on her debut LP for Columbia Records, Say Wonderful Things (1963).
 * Doris Day recorded the song for her highly acclaimed album Latin for Lovers (1964)
 * Earl Grant recorded his instrumental version on the albaum Fly Me To The Moon (1964).
 * Frank Sinatra recorded it on the album It Might as Well Be Swing (1964), accompanied by Count Basie. The arrangement by Quincy Jones has become the rendition most people know. Jones changed the time signature, which was originally 3/4 waltz-time, to 4/4 and gave it a looser, 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 the Apollo 11 landing.
 * Tony Bennett recorded the song in 1965, with minor success. Bennett also sang it through the 2000s in concert without any amplification or sound system.
 * In 1965, the song was recorded by Heidi Brühl, a German singer/actress who later went to host her own Las Vegas Shows in the U.S. and appear on television shows, such as Marcus Welby, M.D., and Columbo.
 * Sinatra also performed the song with Basie on Sinatra at the Sands (1966), and on Duets II (1994). His final recording appears his collaboration with bossa nova great Antonio Carlos Jobim.
 * The Sandpipers also recorded the Spanish version for their album Misty Roses (1967).
 * Sinatra also performed it on the TV show Sinatra (1969), where he dedicated it to the Apollo astronauts "who made the impossible possible".
 * Oscar Peterson recorded the song on his album Tristeza on Piano (1970). However, the track was deleted on the Three Originals compilation due to lack of space. 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 reached a new generation when it was used during the opening titles of Oliver Stone's film Wall Street (1987).
 * The song is included on the tribute album of Westlife, Allow Us to Be Frank.
 * The song appears in the closing moments and over the end titles of Clint Eastwood's film Space Cowboys (2000).
 * 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.
 * 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).
 * In 2004, the song was recorded by Westlife on their Allow Us to be Frank.
 * In 2006, saxophonist Jimmy Sommers covered the song for his release "Time Stands Still."
 * On July 20, 2009, Diana Krall performed the song 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. She also recorded it on her albaum Live in Paris (2002).
 * 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 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.
 * 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.