The song was written in 1954 as "In Other Words." It was recorded by various artists and in 1963 Peggy Lee convinced the composer, Bart Howard, to change the name to "Fly Me to the Moon." An instrumental version by Joe Harnell became a hit in 1963 and won a Grammy, but it's the 1964 recording by Frank Sinatra that I'm most familiar with. Sinatra was backed by Count Basie, with an arrangement by Quincy Jones. That version subsequently became associated with the Apollo Space program.
The only thing I can tell you about this version is that the trumpeter is young Kwak DaKyung, whom I've been following for a number of years. The male vocalist owes a debt to Sinatra, though I don't think Sinatra ever performed in shades. The female vocalist is an excellent scat singer.
From the Wikipedia article:
By 1995, the song had been recorded more than 300 times. According to a poll conducted by Japanese music magazine CD&DL Data in 2016 about the most representative songs associated with the Moon, the cover versions by Claire Littley and Yoko Takahashi ranked 7th by 6,203 respondents. The Claire cover version won the Planning Award of Heisei Anisong Grand Prize among the anime theme songs from 1989 to 1999, following its appearance in the end credits of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
From Sinatra in 1964, to the moon a couple years later, to Japanese anime at the end of the century.
Now, sit back for a moment and ponder the fact that that very American song from the mid-20th Century is being performed in 2024 by a Korean jazz combo featuring a 14 year old trumpet player. I'm waiting for her to cut loose. I wonder when?
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