Fly Me to the Moon is a Bart Howard song that Frank Sinatra recorded with Count Basie in 1964.
Reprise released it that August on the album It Might as Well Be Swing.
Quincy Jones's arrangement turned a 1954 waltz into the swing standard we know today.
Table of Contents
The Story Behind Fly Me to the Moon
A Cabaret Song Called "In Other Words"
Bart Howard wrote the song in 1954, and he called it "In Other Words."
Howard worked as a cabaret accompanist in New York.
American Songwriter reports that he had Cole Porter in mind and that Felicia Sanders premiered it at the Blue Angel.
A publisher suggested changing the famous first line to "take me to the moon," but Howard kept his words.
The First Recordings
Kaye Ballard made the first commercial recording for Decca, released in April 1954.
It was the B-side of "Lazy Afternoon."
Billboard reviewed it on May 8, 1954 as "a love song sung with feeling by Miss Ballard."
Eydie Gormé, Chris Connor, Johnny Mathis and Nancy Wilson all cut versions in the years that followed.
A New Title
Peggy Lee put the song on her 1960 album Pretty Eyes and sang it on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Listeners kept asking for the song by its first line.
Lee persuaded Howard to make the title official in 1963.
Joe Harnell's bossa nova instrumental had already reached number 14 on the Hot 100 on February 23, 1963, and won a Grammy.
Howard later estimated that more than 100 versions existed by the time Sinatra recorded it.
Recording the Sinatra Version
Quincy Jones Changes the Time Signature
Howard wrote a waltz in 3/4 time.
Quincy Jones rewrote it in an even 4/4 swing, and Count Basie recorded that arrangement in 1963 on the album This Time by Basie.
Sinatra's 1964 recording reused the swinging feel.
The jazz historian Will Friedwald wrote that Jones "boosted the tempo and put it into an even four/four."
The Sessions
The sessions for It Might as Well Be Swing ran from June 9 to 12, 1964, in Hollywood.
Sonny Burke produced the album and Jones conducted the Basie band.
It was the second Sinatra and Basie album, after Sinatra-Basie in 1962.
Reprise issued it in August 1964.
| Measure | Detail | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard Top LPs | Debuted August 22, 1964 | No. 13 (31 weeks) |
| Cash Box Top Monaural Albums | Entered August 15, 1964 | No. 13 |
| UK Top Albums | Peak | No. 17 |
The Apollo Connection
Apollo 10
Astronaut Gene Cernan carried a cassette on Apollo 10, the 1969 mission that orbited the Moon.
It played on a Sony TC-50 portable player, and Boeing employee Al Bishop had recorded the tapes.
Cernan's tape held this Sinatra track and "Come Fly with Me."
Apollo 11 and After
The track also played on Apollo 11 before the first landing.
Diana Krall sang the song at the mission's 40th anniversary in 2009.
It was reprised at Neil Armstrong's memorial service in 2012.
Legacy and Covers
Honors
The Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted the song in 1999 as a "Towering Song."
The Sinatra recording is certified Platinum in the UK.
By 1995 the song had been recorded more than 300 times.
Other Versions
- Bobby Womack's 1968 Minit Records cover, which reached No. 52 on the Hot 100 and No. 16 on the R&B chart
- Claire Littley's version, used over the end credits of the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Tony Bennett's unamplified live performances
Where It Fits
The recording belongs to 1964, and it sits on our 100 best 60s songs list.
Sinatra's wider career is in our Frank Sinatra biography.
The sound belongs to the Jazz and Easy Listening hub, and you can hear more 1964 hits on Radio Dial.
FAQ
Who wrote the song?
Bart Howard wrote it in 1954 under the title "In Other Words."
Peggy Lee persuaded him to make the new title official in 1963.
Who arranged Frank Sinatra's version?
Quincy Jones arranged it for the Count Basie Orchestra.
He moved the song from 3/4 waltz time into a swinging 4/4.
What album is the Sinatra recording on?
It is on It Might as Well Be Swing, released by Reprise in August 1964.
The album reached number 13 on the Billboard Top LPs chart.
Did the song really go to the Moon?
A copy was played on Apollo 10, which orbited the Moon in 1969, and on Apollo 11 before the first landing.
Who recorded the song first?
Kaye Ballard made the first recording for Decca, released in April 1954.
It was the B-side of "Lazy Afternoon."
A cabaret waltz found its swing and then found the Moon.
Wikipedia's entry on the song covers its many versions in more depth.
Press play above and hear Fly Me to the Moon the way Sinatra and Basie swung it.