The song of the day for Friday, June 1, 2018 is “Fly Me to the Moon.”
About This Song
“Fly Me To The Moon” was written in 1954 by Bart Howard. It was originally titled “In Other Words,” but the song was not doing that well, in spite of several recordings. In 1962, Howard renamed the song to “Fly Me To The Moon,” and the song began to catch on. Tony Bennett’s 1965 recording for If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set was a big hit for Bennett. There have been many recordings of the song, including those by Frank Sinatra, Kaye Ballard and many more. However, Bart Howard told Bennett that his 1965 recording was “the definitive performance of this song.”
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded “Fly Me to the Moon” in 1965 for the album If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set; it features an arrangement by Don Costa.
“Fly Me to the Moon,” as well as If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.
About Today
Today we honor composer Bart Howard, born on June 1, 1915 in Burlington, Iowa. He started his career as a accompanist and played for many notable artists in his career, including Mabel Mercer. Johnny Mathis and Eartha Kitt. Although he composed a number of songs in his career, “Fly Me to the Moon” was far and away his biggest hit; it also provided financially for him and partner of 58 years, Thomas Fowler. The Year of Tony Bennett thanks Bart Howard for writing this beautiful song.
This New York Times obituary of Mr. Howard may be of biographical interest.
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