There are many great songs written that never really get the recognition they deserve. In reality, countless ingredients go into the making of a hit song, and if the recipe is off even just a little bit, it can miss the mark. Furthermore, to continue the metaphor, the recipe has to hit the patron at just the right time, when they are hungry for that particular dish. In this article, we’ll discuss how one song received a very subtle compositional change, a name change, and was released at a time that allowed it to grow gradually into a classic hit that will always be part of the American musical lexicon.
How “In Other Words” Became “Fly Me to the Moon” and Found Its Identity
In 1954, Bart Howard wrote a song called “In Other Words,” which was first recorded by Kaye Ballard. It became a popular song to cover in jazz clubs and cabarets. Peggy Lee released a version of the song in 1960 and performed it on the Ed Sullivan Show, which boosted its popularity considerably. In 1962, Joe Harnell arranged and recorded an instrumental version in bossa nova style.
The song’s popularity was increasing, and in 1963, Peggy Lee convinced Bart Howard to officially change the name of the song to “Fly Me to the Moon“, which would prove to be an excellent idea. Harnell’s recording actually won him a Grammy Award at the 5th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Performance by an Orchestra – for Dancing. By 1964, it was a top 20 song.
Frank Sinatra And Quincy Jones: The 1964 Pivot That Made It Swing
Then, in 1964, Frank Sinatra took to the studio to record an album with Count Basie titled “It Might As Well Be Swing.” Quincy Jones arranged the music for that album. Jones had worked with Basie a year prior on the album “This Time by Basie,” which also included a cover version of “Fly Me to the Moon.”
For the Sinatra version in 1964, Jones changed the time signature from 3⁄4 to 4⁄4, shifting the feel from a gentle waltz to a swing groove better suited to big band jazz and mainstream audiences of the time. And it worked. The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard Chart.
Why A No. 14 Hit Became A Timeless Standard
More impressive than a song reaching #14 on the Billboard chart is the song’s incredible staying power to this day. Sinatra’s version of the song has over 780 million streams on Spotify – that’s more than any of his other songs, including “My Way“. So, what happened to give a hit song from 1964 such staying power?
How the Apollo 11 Moon Landing Made “Fly Me to the Moon” an American Classic
First of all, it’s a great song, and Jones’ subtle change from ¾ to 4/4 time made it a definitive swing song, which helped it become a definitive song of the swing era. But something else happened in the 1960s that weaved the song into the tapestry of American history and American pride. The song was recorded about five years before the Apollo 11 mission launched in 1969—a mission that would fly humans… literally… to the moon.
The Apollo 11 mission was kind of a big deal. One could say it was, well, “…one giant leap for mankind”. Obviously, it was discussed constantly, and a fever for space exploration swept the world, but nowhere more so than in America, where they had a hit song to accompany such an event. David Bowie famously capitalized on the moon landing with his song “Space Oddity“, but Sinatra was much more of an established artist at the time; the song had already been a hit five years before the moon landing, and as a bonus, he was an American.
The NASA Connection That Helped “Fly Me to the Moon” Last for Generations
“Fly Me To The Moon” is an excellent example of a song that had to take the scenic route to success. While it may never have topped the charts, it found a way to attach itself to — and become a symbol of — something of great historical importance. It reminds us that sometimes it takes more than great songwriting and talented performances to make a hit song. Sometimes it’s all about shaping the composition to fit the era that it is released in, and perhaps more importantly, releasing it at the right time and marketing it correctly.
Perhaps, if the Apollo mission hadn’t been successful, the song would have been largely forgotten. Now the song continues to permeate across eras, largely thanks to its success in the 1960s. By 1995, the song had been covered and recorded more than 300 times by artists worldwide. “Fly Me To The Moon” was sung at commemorative ceremonies honoring the Apollo 11 Mission, and its close association with NASA has kept it relevant even today.
Could NASA’s Artemis Mission Renew Interest in “Fly Me to the Moon”?
As long as humans continue to be interested in the moon, the song will always have a place in our culture. No human has landed on the lunar surface since 1972, but the United States is planning a return to the Moon through its Artemis program, scheduled for 2027. Other countries are involved, which may prompt another space race, of sorts. If and when that shuttle launches, you can expect a spike in the popularity of the song once again.
