1915-2004
Bart Howard
1915-2004
Bart Howard
Bart Howard was an American Songwriter, composer, author, and pianist, educated at Juilliard and in private music study. He is most recognized for his jazz standard "Fly Me to the Moon", which has been performed by Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Womack, Nat King Cole, Sia Furler, and more. It is played frequently by jazz and popular musicians around the world. Howard was born Howard Joseph Gustafson in Burlington, Iowa on June 1, 1915. He began his career as an accompanist at the age of 16 and played for Mabel Mercer, Johnny Mathis, and Eartha Kitt, among others. Howard left home at the age of 16 to serve as the pianist in a dance band that toured in support of Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton.
In 1934 he settled in Los Angeles in the hopes of mounting a career as a Hollywood tunesmith. Instead, Howard ended up as the accompanist behind female impersonator Rae Bourbon -- from there he backed comedienne Elizabeth Talbot-Martin, following her to New York City when she was booked at the Rainbow Room in 1937. The following year, at the suggestion of Marlene Dietrich, the singer Miss Mabel Mercer sang one of the young composer’s songs in her American debut at the Ruban Bleu, earning Howard his first minor hit "If You Leave Paris." After some limited musical success, Howard joined the US Army in World War II. He returned to New York in 1945 and was hired as the pianist at the popular cabaret Spivy's Roof before transitioning to "Tony's West Side" to support Mercer full-time, Mabel remained a faithful interpreter of his songs and a close personal friend. From 1951 to 1959, Howard served as the emcee and intermission pianist, and director of shows at the Blue Angel in New York, where he introduced Eartha Kitt, Dorothy Loudon, and others. Among the many singers who performed at the Blue Angel were Johnny Mathis and Portia Nelson, who became particularly devoted champions of songs by Bart Howard. Bart’s songs were also part of revues at Upstairs at the Downstairs, another New York nightclub.
Bart Howard Reformatted
Though working full time during the day Howard continued honing his own material, and in 1954, he completed “Fly Me to the Moon”, written for his partner of 58 years, Bud Fowler, it is the composition that launched his career. The piece’s original name was "In Other Words,” but so many people referred to it by the first lyric line, "fly me to the moon" the publisher changed its name to "Fly Me to the Moon". The song was first sung in 1954 by cabaret singer Felicia Sanders at the Blue Angel nightclub in Manhattan,in 1960 however, the song was made a huge hit when it was performed by Peggy Lee on The Ed Sullivan Show, it was she who suggested changing the title officially to “Fly Me To The Moon”. The piece was later recorded by Judy Garland, Doris Day, and -- perhaps most notably -- Frank Sinatra. Frank Sinatra’s recording was on the spaceship that made the 1969 moon landing. The song has also been recorded by Tony Bennett and thousands of others. In 1999, it was the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame Towering Song of The Year. Bart Howard commented "I've always said it took me 20 years to find out how to write a song in 20 minutes. The song ("Fly Me to the Moon") just fell out of me. One publisher wanted me to change the lyric to 'take me to the moon'. Had I done that I don't know where I'd be today.'”
Howard became a member of the Authors League, he joined ASCAP in 1952, and his other popular-song compositions include "Let Me Love You", "On the First Warm Day", "One Love Affair", "Be My All", "The Man in the Looking Glass", "You Are In Love", "Who Wants to Fall in Love" and "Don't Dream of Anybody But Me", and more. Howard’s “Fly Me to the Moon” was such a success that he curtailed his songwriting efforts and entered semi-retirement. In the decades to follow, Howard would agree to the occasional concert and cabaret stint, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999. Howard died Feb. 21, 2004, after suffering complications from a stroke; at age 88, in Carmel, New York. He was survived by a sister Dorothy Lind of Burlington, Iowa, and by his partner of 58 years, Thomas Fowler.
All in all, Bart Howard has written some 200 songs about love including “My Love Is A Wanderer” and ”I’ll Be Easy to Find”. In recent years Howard's songs have been championed by such artists as KT Sullivan, Joyce Breach, Eric Comstock, and Barbara Fasano. And his composition “Fly Me to the Moon” is played frequently by jazz and popular musicians around the world including Sia, Lady Gaga, Michael Bublé, and more. In addition, Bart’s hometown has a burgeoning reputation as a Midwest spot for cabaret music with its Bart Howard Room modeled after the Blue Angel and the Des Moines County Historical Museum with its collection of Bart Howard memorabilia. In addition, the Bart Howard Foundation promotes concerts in additional Burlington venues.
