Come Fly with Me (album)

Come Fly with Me

General information

Artist

Frank Sinatra

Arranger

Billy May

Release date(s)

1958
1987
1996
1998
1999
2009

Recorded

October 1, 3, 8, 1957

Record Label

Capitol

Producer

Voyle Gilmore

Product code

Track information

Discs

1

Total tracks

12 (1958 LP)
15 (1987 CD)

Length

46:08

Singles

"Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)"

Reception

Allmusic

5 / 5

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Alternate cover art

Chronology

Previous

A Jolly Christmas

Next

Only the Lonely

Come Fly with Me is a 1958 Capitol album by Frank Sinatra; it is his nineteenth studio album. Arranged by Billy May, the album was recorded during the October of 1957.

History

Production

Come Fly with Me was recorded at the Capitol Records building in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The album was fully recorded over three separate recording sessions during early October of 1957.

• "Isle of Capri," "On the Road to Mandalay," and "Let's Get Away from It All" were recorded on October 1, 1957.
• "Moonlight in Vermont," "Autumn in New York," and "London by Night," and "April in Paris" were recorded on October 3, 1957.
• "Come Fly with Me," "Around the World," "Aquarela do Brasil," "Blue Hawaii," and "It's Nice to go Trav'ling" were recorded on October 8, 1957.

Track information

Come Fly with Me was Sinatra's first work alongside Billy May. The album builds a theme of a world-wide trip, having songs about various exotic locals as well cities like New York, London, and Paris. The arrangements of the album sport many breezy, swinging beats to a touch of romanticism and emotion within the songs.

"On the Road to Mandalay" controversy

The song "On the Road to Mandalay," which was inspired by the Rudyard Kipling poem "Mandalay," was recorded by Sinatra on this record. This rendition of the song met controversy when the Kipling family forced the song off the record after pressuring Capitol to do so. In certain releases of the initial album, "On the Road to Mandalay" is replaced by "French Foreign Legion," "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)," or "It Happened in Monterey" depending on the pressing of the album.

Sinatra noted this controversy during a monologue before singing this song in a performance in his 1959 Australian tour with Red Norvo.

Track listing

1. "Come Fly with Me" (Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:19
2. "Around the World" (Victor Young, Harold Adamson) – 3:20
3. "Isle of Capri" (Will Grosz, Jimmy Kennedy) – 2:29
4. "Moonlight in Vermont" (Karl Suessdorf, John Blackburn) – 3:32
5. "Autumn in New York" (Vernon Duke) – 4:37
6. "On the Road to Mandalay" (Oley Speaks, Rudyard Kipling) – 3:28
7. "Let's Get Away from It All" (Matt Dennis, Tom Adair) – 2:11
8. "April in Paris" (Duke, E.Y. Harburg) – 2:50
9. "London by Night" (Carroll Coates) – 3:30
10. "Aquarela do Brasil" (Ary Barroso, Bob Russell) – 2:55
11. "Blue Hawaii" (Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger) – 2:44
12. "It's Nice to go Trav'ling" (Cahn, Van Heusen) – 3:52

    Songs added during the later CD re-release of Come Fly with Me.

13. "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" (Fred Fisher) – 2:14
14. "South of the Border" (Jimmy Kennedy, Michael Carr) – 2:50
15. "I Love Paris" (Cole Porter) – 1:49

Come Fly with Me EP

Come Fly with Me, like most of Sinatra's Capitol albums, was broken up into several 45mm discs and released as separate Extended Plays. There were four Come Fly with Me Extended Plays in total, each featuring songs from the studio album and other songs Sinatra recorded during the sessions with Billy May. Due to the legal issues regarding "On the Road to Mandalay," the song was not featured in the Extended Plays, and instead was replaced by "It Happened in Monterey," and a song initially recorded and featured in Sinatra's 1956 album Songs for Swingin' Lovers!.

A secondary EP, one suitable for jukebox releases, featured four songs on it. This 33mm disc featured "Come Fly with Me," "Moonlight in Vermont," "April in Paris," and "On the Road to Mandalay."

EP track listing

Part 1

1. "Come Fly with Me" (Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 3:19
2. "Isle of Capri" (Will Grosz, Jimmy Kennedy) – 2:29
3. "It's Nice to go Trav'ling" (Cahn, Van Heusen) – 3:52

Part 2

1. "Autumn in New York" (Vernon Duke) – 4:37
2. "April in Paris" (Duke, E.Y. Harburg) – 2:50
3. "Around the World" (Victor Young, Harold Adamson) – 3:20

Part 3

1. "Moonlight in Vermont" (Karl Suessdorf, John Blackburn) – 3:32
2. "London by Night" (Carroll Coates) – 3:30
3. "Let's Get Away from It All" (Matt Dennis, Tom Adair) – 2:11

Part 4

1. "It Happened in Monterey" (Mabel Wayne, Billy Rose) - 2:36
2. "Blue Hawaii" (Leo Robin, Ralph Rainger) – 2:44
3. "Aquarela do Brasil" (Ary Barroso, Bob Russell) – 2:55

Singles

Though no songs from the original track listing of Come Fly with Me were released as singles, several songs from the recording sessions were released as singles. "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)," one of these songs was released along with Sinatra's hit "All the Way" as a single.

Reception

Allmusic gave the album a perfect score of five out of five stars. Claiming that the album's music was "intended to be fun," Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that Billy May's arrangements "give these songs a playful, carefree, nearly sarcastic feel, but never is the approach less than affectionate."

Come Fly with Me peaked at #1 on the Billboard charts of 1958. The Fred Fisher song "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" peaked at #84 on the Billboard Top 100 charts of 1957 as well.

Personnel

Personnel
Voyle Gilmore	Producer
Billy May	Arranger, Conductor
Nelson Riddle	Arranger, Conductor
Frank Sinatra	Vocals
Larry Walsh	Remastering
Pete Welding	Liner Notes

Gallery

Part 1 of the Come Fly with Me EPs.

Part 2 of the Come Fly with Me EPs.

Part 3 of the Come Fly with Me EPs.

Part 4 of the Come Fly with Me EPs.