A Song and a Story: “Fly Me to the Moon” #AtoZChallenge

 

Today’s song is a standard from Frank Sinatra, who I think we’ll see again in this A to Z:

Fly Me to the Moon

Shortly after our marriage, Susan gave me a gift certificate for professional voice lessons.  I’d always liked singing, but had never done any performing until I joined a chorus for a Christmas concert at church the year before.  My instructor Ingrid told me to get together a list of songs I wanted to sing, and among the soul and folk songs I thought would work well with my baritone, I had to include a standard from the Frank Sinatra songbook.  We worked on this one a lot and I got pretty good, if I say so myself.

In 2009, I decided to audition for the Christmas Revels chorus.  I had to prepare two songs for the audition, and having never auditioned before, I had no idea what to sing.  I settled on “The Whistling Gypsy” since it was a song I knew by heart, and then “Fly Me to the Moon” since Ingrid and I had worked it so much. When my time to sing came, I belted out “Fly Me to the Moon” complete with a key change.  I didn’t realize that they wanted just a verse and a chorus and sang the whole song.  Ooops!  Somehow I still made it in the cast.  The next year the audition instructions specified NOT to use pop songs.  I’ve always wondered if I played a part in that happening.

---

2019 Blogging A to Z Challenge – A Song and a Story

A: Always on My Mind
B: Baby Come Back and Baker Street
C: Cheek to Cheek
D: Don’t Worry, Be Happy and Doctor Jones
E: Everyday Sunshine

If you want to read more, check out my previous Blogging A to Z Challenges:

• 2016: A journey through my neighborhood of Jamaica Plain in Boston.
• 2017: A spontaneous photograph each day.
• 2018: Watched and reviewed documentary movies.

And dig deep into Panorama of the Mountains, by checking out my:

• Book Reviews
• Movie Reviews
• Beer Reviews
• Music Reviews and Writing
• City Stories, expository writing about my experiences in various cities

And, if you like Doctor Who, I have a whole ‘nother blog where I review Doctor Who stories across media: Epic Mandates.