An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
The Song of the Day for September 23, 2012 is Fly Me To The Moon.
Fly Me to the Moon was written in 1954 by Bart Howard.
Tonight, I’ll be in San Diego listening to Tony Bennett sing at Humphrey’s By The Bay, in a lovely outdoor setting. Fly Me to the Moon sounds like the perfect song for a warm southern California evening.
The Song of the Day for September 4, 2012 is Fly Me To The Moon.
Fly Me To the Moon, originally known as In Other Words, was written by Bart Howard in 1954. Recorded first by Kaye Ballard in 1954, it was first introduced by cabaret singer Felicia Sanders. This song has been recorded by more top popular, jazz, and cabaret singers than we can possibly list here, including Johnny Mathis, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, and, of course, Frank Sinatra. Tony Bennett first recorded the song in 1965 for his If I Ruled The World: Songs of the Jet Set (a much-loved album at The Year of Tony Bennett).
On the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, held July 2009 at the Kennedy Center, Diana Krall performed Fly Me To The Moon.
In her concert on August 26, 2012 at the Hollywood Bowl, she sang it memory of Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut to set foot on the moon, who passed away on August 25, 2012 at the age of 82.
Sunday night as I was driving back to Portland after seeing Tony Bennett and the Quartet at the Bumbershoot Festival, the just-past-full blue moon was low in sky and filling the eastern skyscape. I didn’t even need to turn on the iPod to hear him singing this beautiful song as we drove.
Today’s version is from the 1994 MTV Unplugged concert.
According to the wishes of the Armstrong family, as quoted on the Global Post website:
Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.
Driving home last night, I did just that.
Mr. Bennett has recorded only two versions of this song.
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If I Ruled The World: Tony Bennett Sings For the Jet Set 1965 with The Ralph Sharon Trio. Featuring Al Cohn on saxophone. Produced by Ernie Altschuler. Also collected on The Essential Tony Bennett and Forty Years of Tony Bennett |
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MTV Unplugged 1994 The Ralph Sharon Trio |
This song was originally called In Other Words, but the publishers later changed the title to Fly Me To The Moon. Mr. Bennett says in the booklet included in Forty Years of Tony Bennett that “composer extraordinaire Bart Howard always felt that this was the definitive performance of his song.” You’ll get no argument from me; this arrangement is exquisitely beautiful and haunting.
I think it’s interesting that other than the live MTV performance, Tony Bennett has not re-recorded the song with another arrangement. But how do you improve on perfection?
That said, my favorite version of this song has never been recorded. It was the version that Mr. Bennett sang at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington on September 14, 2007. This was my first Tony Bennett performance. By the time I bought my tickets, there were no orchestra seats left and I could only get tickets in what was (optimistically) called the mezzanine. At that time, I didn’t know that at certain concert halls, Mr. Bennett sometimes sings this song a capella, without a microphone. Towards the end of the concert, he put down his microphone and started to sing Fly Me To The Moon. Even in back of the house, his voice filled the auditorium. All of us hung on every note, never wanting this beauty to ever end. I’ve since heard him do the song without a microphone, but nothing could have prepared me for that first moment. It was, and remains, a moment of pure magic.
Note: While the versions of this song are the same on If I Ruled The World as it is on the two compilation albums, the time on If I Ruled The World is shorter by 11 seconds, as it omits a short piano-only introduction that is included later. But it is the same version, recorded on February 18, 1965.
Poets often use many words
To say a simple thing
It takes thought and time and rhyme
To make a poem sing
With music and words I’ve been playing
For you I have written a song
To be sure that you know what I’m saying
I’ll translate as I go along
Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars
In other words
Hold my hand
In other words
Darling kiss me
Fill my heart with song
And let me sing forevermore
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
In other words
Please be true
In other words
I love you.