The song of the day for Friday, November 19, 2021, 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 “Fly Me To The Moon,” and it began to catch on. Tony Bennett’s 1965 recording for If I Ruled The World 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 performed “Fly Me to the Moon” on April 12, 1994, for his performance on MTV Unplugged. As he did in his concerts, Bennett asked for the microphones to be turned off. The first time I saw Bennett in concert, I was seated in the balcony. When he sang “Fly Me to the Moon” with no amplification, I could hear every word. It was a miracle to hear an unamplified voice in a huge concert hall.

“Fly Me to the Moon,” as well as MTV Unplugged is available on Apple Music.

Here’s that performance.