Fly Me to the Moon - wikipedia Fly Me to the Moon For other uses, see Fly Me to the Moon ( disambiguation ). `` In Other Words '' First recording titled `` In Other Words '' Song by Kaye Ballard Released April 1954 Recorded 1954 Genre Jazz Length 2 : 14 Label Decca Songwriter ( s ) Bart Howard `` Fly Me to the Moon '', originally titled `` In Other Words '', is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. Kaye Ballard made the first recording of the song in 1954. Since then it has become a frequently recorded jazz standard often featured in popular culture ; Frank Sinatra 's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apollo missions to the Moon, and the Japanese animated series Neon Genesis Evangelion played the song ( as covered by various artists ) at the end of every episode. In 1999, the US - based Songwriters Hall of Fame recognized the importance of `` Fly Me to the Moon '' by inducting it as a `` Towering Song '' which is an award ``... presented each year to the creators of an individual song that has influenced our culture in a unique way over many years. '' Contents 1 Background and composition 2 Early recordings 3 `` Fly Me to the Moon '' 3.1 Other releases 4 NASA association 5 References 6 External links Background and composition In 1954, when writing the song which would become `` Fly Me to the Moon '', Bart Howard had been pursuing a career in music for more than 20 years. He played piano to accompany cabaret singers but also wrote songs with Cole Porter, his idol, in mind. In response to a publisher 's request for a simpler song, Bart Howard wrote a cabaret ballad in waltz time which he titled `` In Other Words ''. A publisher tried to make him change some lyrics from `` fly me to the moon '' to `` take me to the moon '' but Howard refused to do this. Many years later Howard commented that ``... it took me 20 years to find out how to write a song in 20 minutes ''. He used his position as a piano accompanist and presenter at the Blue Angel cabaret venue to promote the song, and it was soon introduced in cabaret performances by Felicia Sanders. Early recordings Kaye Ballard circa late 1950s Kaye Ballard made the first commercial recording of `` In Other Words ''. It was released by Decca in April 1954. A brief review published on 8 May 1954 in Billboard said that `` In Other Words '' was `` A love song sung with feeling by Miss Ballard. '' This recording was released as the flipside of `` Lazy Afternoon '' which Kaye Ballard was currently performing as star of the stage show The Golden Apple. Over the next few years, jazz and cabaret singers released cover versions of `` In Other Words '' on EP or LP record albums, including Chris Connor, Johnny Mathis, Portia Nelson and Nancy Wilson. Eydie Gormé featured the song on her 1958 album Eydie In Love, which reached # 20 in the Cashbox Album Charts and was nominated for a Grammy Award. `` Fly Me to the Moon '' This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( November 2017 ) In 1960, Peggy Lee released the song on the album Pretty Eyes, then made it more popular when she performed it in front of a large television audience on The Ed Sullivan Show. As the song 's popularity increased, it became better known as `` Fly Me to the Moon '', and in 1963 Peggy Lee convinced Bart Howard to make the name change official. In the early 1960s, versions of the song were released under its new name by many well - known singers, including Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan and Brenda Lee. Connie Francis released two non-English versions of the song in 1963 : in Italian as `` Portami Con Te '' and in Spanish as `` Llévame a la Luna ''. Fly Me to the Moon Bossa Nova 1963 album by Joe Harnell In 1962, Joe Harnell arranged and recorded an instrumental version in a bossa nova style. It was released as a single in late 1962. Harnell 's version spent 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching No. 14 on February 23, 1963, while reaching No. 4 on Billboard 's Middle - Road Singles chart. Harnell 's version was ranked No. 89 on Billboard 's end of year ranking `` Top Records of 1963 ''. Harnell 's recording won him a Grammy Award at the 5th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Performance by an Orchestra -- for Dancing. Harnell 's version was included on his album Fly Me to the Moon and the Bossa Nova Pops released in early 1963, which reached No. 3 stereo album on the Billboard Top LP 's chart. Versions of the song were released by many other 1960s instrumental artists, including Roy Haynes, Al Hirt and Oscar Peterson. Frank Sinatra included the song on his 1964 album It Might as Well Be Swing, accompanied by Count Basie. The music for this album was arranged by Quincy Jones, who had worked with Count Basie a year earlier on the album This Time by Basie, which also included a version of `` Fly Me to the Moon ''. Will Friedwald commented that `` Jones boosted the tempo and put it into an even four / four '' for Basie 's version, but `` when Sinatra decided to address it with the Basie / Jones combination they recharged it into a straight swinger... ( which )... all but explodes with energy ''. Other releases Bart Howard estimated that by the time Frank Sinatra covered the song in 1964, more than 100 other versions had been recorded. By 1995, it had been recorded more than 300 times. NASA association Quincy Jones presents platinum copies of Frank Sinatra 's album to Senator John Glenn and Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong Frank Sinatra 's 1964 recording of `` Fly Me to the Moon '' became closely associated with NASA 's Apollo space program. A copy of the song was played on the Apollo 10 mission which orbited the Moon. It became the first music heard on the Moon when played on a portable cassette player by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin after he stepped onto the Moon. The song 's association with Apollo 11 was reprised many years later when Diana Krall sang it at the mission 's 40th anniversary commemoration ceremony. She also sang a `` slow and solemn version '' in 2012 at the national memorial service for Apollo 11 mission commander Neil Armstrong. References Jump up ^ `` 1999 Award and Induction Ceremony ''. Songwriters Hall of Fame. 1999 - 06 - 09. Archived from the original on 2013 - 12 - 07. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Towering Song ''. Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Famous Iowans - Bart Howard The Des Moines Register DesMoinesRegister.com ''. Data.desmoinesregister.com. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 07. ^ Jump up to : STEPHEN HOLDEN ( 2004 - 02 - 23 ). `` Bart Howard, 88, Songwriter Known for ' Fly Me to the Moon ' - New York Times ''. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 07. ^ Jump up to : `` '' Fly Me to the Moon `` : Song History, Commentary, Discography, Performances on Video ''. Greatamericansongbook.net. 2004 - 02 - 23. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. ^ Jump up to : Will Friedwald, `` Sinatra ! The Song Is You : A Singer 's Art '', Scribner, New York, 1995, page 411 ^ Jump up to : Stephen Holden ( December 19, 1988 ). `` Product of 20 Minutes : A Million Dollar Song ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 26 November 2013. Jump up ^ `` Kaye Ballard - In Other Words / Lazy Afternoon - Decca - USA - 9 - 29114 ''. 45cat.com. 2012 - 11 - 25. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ Billboard. Books.google.com. 1954 - 05 - 08. p. 24. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. ^ Jump up to : Liz Smith, Liner Notes for the CD Portia Nelson, `` Let Me Love You : Portia Nelson Sings the Songs of Bart Howard '', DRG 91442, 1995 Jump up ^ `` ABC - Paramount Album Discography, Part 2 ''. Bsnpubs.com. 2005 - 09 - 01. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ Carolyn Hope ( 2007 - 09 - 11 ). `` Barry 's Hits of All Decades Pop rock n roll Music Chart Hits ''. Hitsofalldecades.com. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Pretty Eyes - Peggy Lee ''. AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Bart Howard : 1915 - 2004 ''. Jazzhouse.org. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Connie Francis - Mala Femmena / Portami Con Te ( Fly Me To The Moon ) - MGM - Italy - K 2078 ''. 45cat.com. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Connie Francis - Connie Francis Canta En Español - MGM - Spain ''. 45cat.com. 2015 - 02 - 15. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Reviews of New Singles '', Billboard, November 10, 1962. p. 52. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ Thompson, Dave ( 2016 ). Standard Catalog of American Records, F + W Media, Inc. p. 567. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ Hot 100 - Joe Harnell and His Orchestra Fly Me to the Moon - Bossa Nova Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Middle - Road Singles '', Billboard, February 23, 1963. p. 42. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ Adult Contemporary - Joe Harnell and His Orchestra Fly Me to the Moon - Bossa Nova Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Top Records of 1963 '', Billboard, Section II, December 28, 1963. p. 30. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ Joe Harnell, Recording Academy Grammy Awards, grammy.com. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Joe Harnell, 80 ; Pianist, Conductor, Composer, Arranger - Los Angeles Times ''. Articles.latimes.com. 1994 - 09 - 29. Retrieved 2013 - 12 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Fly Me to the Moon and the Bossa Nova Pops - Joe Harnell & His Orchestra, Joe Harnell ''. AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Billboard Top LP 's for Week Ending March 16 ''. Billboard. 1963 - 03 - 16. p. 66. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 17. ^ Jump up to : `` It Might as Well Be Swing - Count Basie, Frank Sinatra ''. AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ `` It Might as Well Be Swing - Count Basie, Frank Sinatra - Credits ''. AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ `` This Time by Basie : Hits of the 50 's - Count Basie ''. AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Lunar Collections : April 2006 ''. Apollotribute2.blogspot.com.au. 2006 - 04 - 13. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ Diane K. Shah ( November 18, 1990 ). `` '' On Q `` ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 1 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` NASA - NASA TV 's This Week @ NASA, July 24 ''. Nasa.gov. 2009 - 07 - 24. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Neil Armstrong remembered at public memorial ''. BBC News. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 26. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics ASCAP Foundation : Bart Howard Provides A Musical Gift `` Fly Me to the Moon ( In Other Words ) '' at MusicBrainz ( information and list of recordings ) Brenda Lee Albums Grandma, What Great Songs You Sang ! Brenda Lee This Is... Brenda Emotions All the Way Sincerely, Brenda Lee All Alone Am I... `` Let Me Sing '' Brenda, That 's All Gospel Duets with Treasured Friends Other albums The Winning Hand Singles `` Jambalaya ( On the Bayou ) '' `` One Step at a Time '' `` Let 's Jump the Broomstick '' `` Rockin ' Around the Christmas Tree '' `` Sweet Nothin 's '' `` That 's All You Gotta Do '' `` I 'm Sorry '' `` I Want to Be Wanted '' `` Emotions '' `` You Can Depend on Me '' `` Dum Dum '' `` Fool # 1 `` Break It to Me Gently '' `` Speak to Me Pretty '' `` Everybody Loves Me But You '' `` Here Comes That Feeling '' `` Heart in Hand '' `` It Started All Over Again '' `` All Alone Am I '' `` Your Used to Be '' `` She 'll Never Know '' `` Losing You '' `` I Wonder '' `` My Whole World Is Falling Down '' `` The Grass Is Greener '' `` As Usual '' `` Think '' `` Alone with You '' `` When You Loved Me '' `` Truly, Truly True '' `` Is It True '' `` Jingle Bell Rock '' `` Too Many Rivers '' `` Rusty Bells '' `` Coming on Strong '' `` Johnny One Time '' `` Let It Be Me '' `` Always on My Mind '' `` Sunday Sunrise '' `` Wrong Ideas '' `` Big Four Poster Bed '' `` Rock on Baby '' `` He 's My Rock '' `` Tell Me What It 's Like '' `` The Cowgirl and the Dandy '' `` Broken Trust '' Other singles `` Hallelujah, I Love You So '' `` America the Beautiful '' Songs `` Fly Me to the Moon '' `` The Letter '' `` Our Day Will Come '' Related topics Discography Connie Francis Skeeter Davis Ricky Nelson Lesley Gore Red Foley Muruga Booker Book : Brenda Lee Perry Como Albums So Smooth ( 1955 ) We Get Letters ( 1956 ) Saturday Night with Mr. C ( 1958 ) When You Come to the End of the Day ( 1958 ) Como Swings ( 1959 ) Season 's Greetings from Perry Como ( 1959 ) For the Young at Heart ( 1960 ) Sing to Me Mr. C ( 1961 ) By Request ( 1962 ) The Best of Irving Berlin 's Songs from Mr. President ( 1962 ) The Songs I Love ( 1963 ) The Scene Changes ( 1965 ) Lightly Latin ( 1966 ) Perry Como in Italy ( 1966 ) The Perry Como Christmas Album ( 1968 ) Look to Your Heart ( 1968 ) Seattle ( 1969 ) Perry Como in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas ( 1970 ) It 's Impossible ( 1970 ) I Think of You ( 1971 ) And I Love You So ( 1973 ) Perry ( 1974 ) Just Out of Reach ( 1975 ) 40 Greatest Hits ( 1975 ) The Best of British ( UK and Canada ) ( 1977 ) Where You 're Concerned ( US ) ( 1978 ) Perry Como ( 1980 ) Perry Como Live on Tour ( 1981 ) So It Goes / Goodbye for Now ( 1983 ) Today ( 1987 ) Perry Como 's Christmas Concert ( 1994 ) On the Radio -- The Perry Como Shows 1943 ( 2009 ) At the Supper Club ( 2010 ) At the Supper Club Part II ( 2011 ) At the Supper Club Part III ( 2011 ) Songs `` ' A ' You 're Adorable '' `` Ac - Cent - Tchu - Ate the Positive '' `` And I Love You So '' `` As Time Goes By '' `` Bali Ha'i '' `` Because '' `` Beyond Tomorrow '' `` Bibbidi - Bobbidi - Boo '' `` Blue Room '' `` A Bushel and a Peck '' `` Ca n't Help Falling in Love '' `` Catch a Falling Star '' `` Chi - Baba, Chi - Baba ( My Bambino Go to Sleep ) '' `` Confessin ' '' `` Days of Wine and Roses '' `` Deep in the Heart of Texas '' `` Delaware '' `` Do n't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes '' `` Dream Along with Me ( I 'm on My Way to a Star ) '' `` A Dreamer 's Holiday '' `` El Cóndor Pasa '' `` Feelings '' `` Fly Me to the Moon '' `` For the Good Times '' `` Forever and Ever '' `` Forget Domani '' `` Give Me Your Hand '' `` Glendora '' `` The Gypsy in My Soul '' `` Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas '' `` He 's Got the Whole World in His Hands '' `` Hello, Young Lovers '' `` Here, There and Everywhere '' `` Home for the Holidays '' `` Hot Diggity ( Dog Ziggity Boom ) '' `` A House Is Not a Home '' `` I Do n't See Me in Your Eyes Anymore '' `` I Dream of You ( More Than You Dream I Do ) '' `` I Think I Love You '' `` I 'll Be Home for Christmas '' `` If ( They Made Me a King ) '' `` It 's Been a Long, Long Time '' `` It 's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas '' `` Kewpie Doll '' `` The Lord 's Prayer '' `` Magic Moments '' `` Mandolins in the Moonlight '' `` Maria '' `` Moon River '' `` More '' `` No Other Love '' `` Papa Loves Mambo '' `` Prisoner of Love '' `` Round and Round '' `` Santa Claus Is Coming to Town '' `` Seattle '' `` The Shadow of Your Smile '' `` Some Enchanted Evening '' `` Somos Novios ( It 's Impossible ) '' `` The Songs I Love '' `` Stop ! And Think It Over '' `` Surrender '' `` Till the End of Time '' `` Unchained Melody '' `` Wanted '' `` The Way You Look Tonight '' `` What 'll I Do '' `` When You and I Were Young, Maggie '' `` Young at Heart '' Related Perry Como discography Perry Como television and radio shows Beat the Band The Chesterfield Supper Club List of songs recorded by Perry Como Goodman Ace Mitchell Ayres Ray Charles Frank Gallop Nick Perito Category Westlife singles Discography Westlife `` Swear It Again '' `` If I Let You Go '' `` Flying Without Wings '' `` I Have a Dream '' / `` Seasons in the Sun '' `` Fool Again '' Coast to Coast `` Against All Odds '' `` My Love '' `` What Makes a Man '' `` I Lay My Love on You '' `` Uptown Girl '' `` When You 're Looking Like That '' World of Our Own `` Queen of My Heart '' `` Evergreen '' `` World of Our Own '' `` Bop Bop Baby '' Unbreakable `` Unbreakable '' `` Tonight / Miss You Nights '' Turnaround `` Hey Whatever '' `` Mandy '' `` Obvious '' Allow Us to Be Frank `` Ai n't That a Kick in the Head '' `` Fly Me To The Moon '' `` Smile '' Face to Face `` You Raise Me Up '' `` When You Tell Me That You Love Me '' `` Amazing '' The Love Album `` The Rose '' `` Total Eclipse of the Heart '' Back Home `` Home '' `` Us Against the World '' `` Something Right '' Where We Are `` What About Now '' Gravity `` Safe '' Greatest Hits `` Lighthouse '' `` Beautiful World '' Book Category Neon Genesis Evangelion Media Anime episodes Manga chapters Angelic Days Petit Eva : Evangelion@School Campus Apocalypse Films Death & Rebirth The End of Evangelion Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 + 1.0 Video games Ayanami Raising Project Shinji Ikari Raising Project Girlfriend of Steel 2nd Neon Genesis Evangelion Shinji and Good Friends Battle Orchestra Misato Katsuragi 's Reporting Plan City Shrouded in Shadow Music `` A Cruel Angel 's Thesis '' `` Fly Me to the Moon '' `` Beautiful World '' `` Sakura Nagashi '' Studios Gainax Khara Production I.G Tatsunoko Characters Shinji Ikari Rei Ayanami Asuka Langley Soryu Misato Katsuragi Gendo Ikari Kaworu Nagisa People Hideaki Anno Mahiro Maeda Yoshiyuki Sadamoto Shirō Sagisu Kazuya Tsurumaki Related Angels Evangelions Themes Aoki Uru `` Arue '' Japan Animator Expo Antônio Carlos Jobim Studio albums The Composer of Desafinado, Plays ( 1963 ) The Wonderful World of Antonio Carlos Jobim ( 1965 ) A Certain Mr. Jobim ( 1967 ) Wave ( 1967 ) Tide ( 1970 ) Stone Flower ( 1970 ) Jobim ( 1973 ) Urubu ( 1976 ) Terra Brasilis ( 1980 ) Antonio Brasileiro ( 1995 ) Live albums Jazzvisions ( 1986 ) Compilations Sinatra -- Jobim Sessions ( 1979 ) Soundtracks Lost Highway ( 1997 ) Collaborations Getz / Gilberto ( 1963, Stan Getz ) Jazz Samba Encore ! ( 1963, Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfá ) Getz / Gilberto Vol. 2 ( 1963, Stan Getz ) Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim ( 1967, Frank Sinatra ) Sinatra & Company ( 1971, Frank Sinatra ) Elis & Tom ( 1974, Elis Regina ) `` Fly Me to the Moon '' ( 1994, Frank Sinatra ) Compositions `` Água de Beber '' ( Drinking - Water ) `` Waters of March '' `` Chega de Saudade '' ( No More Blues ) `` Corcovado '' ( Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars ) `` Desafinado '' ( Slightly Out of Tune ) `` Dindi '' `` The Girl from Ipanema '' `` How Insensitive '' `` Inútil Paisagem '' ( If You Never Come to Me ) `` Meditation '' `` One Note Samba '' `` Someone to Light Up My Life '' `` Wave '' As contributor Canção do Amor Demais ( 1958, Elizete Cardoso ) Chega de Saudade ( 1959, João Gilberto ) Do the Bossa Nova with Herbie Mann, Latin Fever ( 1962, Herbie Mann ) The Swinger from Rio ( 1965, Sérgio Mendes ) Love, Strings and Jobim ( 1966, various ) Abandoned Garden ( 1995, Michael Franks ) VIAF : 177805984 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fly_Me_to_the_Moon&oldid=826267073 '' Categories : 1954 songs 1962 singles Songs written by Bart Howard Frank Sinatra songs Trini Lopez songs Tony Bennett songs Judy Garland songs Perry Como songs Patti Page songs Bobby Womack songs Westlife songs Nancy Wilson ( jazz singer ) songs Ella Fitzgerald songs Johnny Mathis songs Michael Bolton songs Al Hirt songs Neon Genesis Evangelion songs Bossa nova jazz standards Pop standards Outer space themed songs Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017 Articles needing additional references from November 2017 All articles needing additional references MusicBrainz work same as Wikidata Articles with MusicBrainz work links Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk More Contents About Wikipedia Brezhoneg Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano Kiswahili 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 18 February 2018, at 04 : 50. 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Question: who sang fly me to the moon originally
Answer: Kaye Ballard