From Mount Pleasant’s James Van Allen (“Father of Space Science”) to Beaconsfield’s Peggy Whitson (who holds the U.S. endurance record for most cumulative time in space at 695 days) to the July 2025 TRACERS mission to study space weather, developed and tested at the University of Iowa, our state has had a long and fruitful relationship to NASA and space exploration in the United States.
One lesser known component of that? Bart Howard, a composer from Burlington, Iowa, whose 1954 song “Fly Me to the Moon” became the soundtrack to the space program’s mid-20th century Apollo program. Frank Sinatra’s 1964 recording of the tune played when Apollo 10 orbited the moon in 1969, and again on Apollo 11, just before the first moon landing. It was also played at the 2012 memorial service for Apollo 11 mission commander Neil Armstrong.
The song was first recorded by comedian Kaye Ballard. Peggy Lee, who made a cover in 1960 and sang it on The Ed Sullivan Show later that year, convinced Howard to change the name from “In Other Words” to the title it’s known by today.
Bart Howard, born June 1, 1915 as Howard Joseph Gustafson, grew up in a musical family, his piano lessons financed by his father’s bootlegging. He left Iowa at 16 years old to tour the vaudeville and burlesque circuits as pianist for British conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton. During World War II, he served as a musician in the U.S. Army, and in the 1950s, he became an established presence at the Blue Angel Night Club in New York City.
While there, he served as mentor to singer Johnny Mathis, who recorded several of his songs and referred to Howard as “my Cole Porter.” Howard brought his Iowa hospitality with him to the big city, sharing meals with Mathis in his home, as the Black singer was frequently discriminated against at area restaurants.
Also during that time, he met Bud Fowler. The couple remained together for 58 years, until Howard’s death in 2004. The two are buried side by side in Clarksville, Texas.
This article is from Little Village’s December 2025 Peak Iowa issue, a collection of stories drawn from Hawkeye State history, culture and legend. Browse dozens of Peak Iowa tales here.
