The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 1, 2025, is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About This Song

“Fly Me To The Moon” was written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The song was originally titled “In Other Words,” but the song was not doing that well, despite several recordings. In 1962, Howard renamed the song “Fly Me To The Moon,” and the song 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 recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” on February 18, 1965, for If I Ruled the World: Songs For the Jet Set. Don Costa wrote the very fine arrangement.

“Fly Me To The Moon,” as well as If I Ruled the World: Songs For the Jet Set, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Wednesday, December 4, 2024, is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About This Song

“Fly Me To The Moon” was written by Bart Howard in 1954. The song 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 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” live on April 12, 1994, on MTV. The MTV Unplugged album was released in June of that year. The songs from the televised concert were arranged by Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon.

MTV Unplugged won the 37th Annual Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

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

Here’s the video of “Fly Me To The Moon” from the concert:

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Saturday, June 1, 2024, is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About This Song

“Fly Me To The Moon” was written in 1954 by Bart Howard. “Fly Me To The Moon” was originally titled “In Other Words,” but the song was not doing that well, despite several recordings. In 1962, Howard renamed the song “Fly Me To The Moon,” and the song 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 recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” on February 18, 1965, for If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set. Don Costa wrote the excellent arrangement.

“Fly Me To The Moon,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Tuesday, September 5, 2023, is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About This Song

“Fly Me To the Moon” was written by Bart Howard in 1954. 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 the song began to catch on. Tony Bennett’s 1965 recording of “If I Ruled The World” was a big hit. 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” on February 18, 1965, and released it on his album If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set. Don Costa wrote the arrangement.

“Fly Me To The Moon,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Saturday, July 22, 2023, is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About This Song

“Fly Me To The Moon” was written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The song 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 recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” on February 18, 1965, for his album If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set. The wonderful arrangement was by Don Costa.

“Fly Me To The Moon,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set is available on Apple Music.

I found this lovely video of Tony singing today’s song from the television program, Live By Request, originally aired in 1998. The violinist is Joel Smirnoff, who was featured on Bennett’s 1999 album Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool.