The song of the day for Saturday, August 8, 2020, 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 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 has only recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” twice: the original 1965 recording on If I Ruled the World and in 1994 for his live performance on MTV Unplugged. On a personal note, your author has seen Mr. Bennett perform live around a dozen times and he has sung this song at every one of those performances. He asks for his microphone to be cut off and invites guitarist Gray Sargent to join him and then he sings “Fly Me To The Moon.” The first time I attended a Tony Bennett concert, I was seated in the balcony. And I heard every single word. It was truly phenomenal. And for all the rest of his concerts that I’ve attended, they turn off the microphone and he sings this beautiful song. It thrills me each and every time. My memories of Tony Bennett singing “Fly Me To The Moon” are among my most precious.

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

Here’s the video from the live telecast.