This song was written by Bart Howard in 1954 as "In Other Words," and it was introduced on the cabaret circuit by Felicia Saunders. Two years after Kaye Ballard recorded the first commercial version of the song, Johnny Mathis released his rendition as "Fly Me to the Moon." In 1962 the composer Joe Harnell revived the song, giving it a bossa nova arrangement. His version peaked at #14 in the US and won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Two years later, Frank Sinatra recorded the song with the Count Basie Orchestra arranged by Quincy Jones. Though it was never a hit, his is considered the definitive version. Other notable versions of this much-recorded standard include ones by Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Connie Francis and Westlife. Connie Francis' Italian version recorded in 1962 under the title "Portami con te" was an international best-seller.
Sinatra was about to marry the 21-year-old Mia Farrow when he put this to disc, which gave his recording an extra spring in the step.
During Apollo 10's lunar mission, a cassette recording of relevant songs befitting a flight to the Moon was played. Sinatra's recording of this song was included along with others such as "Going Back to Houston" and "Moonlight Serenade." Therefore this song was one of the first ever to be played in outer space.
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