Tag Archives: Gray Sargent

Song of the Day: In A Mellow Tone

24 Mar

The song of day for Sunday, March 24, 2013 is In A Mellow Tone.

About This Song

In A Mellow Tone was written by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Milt Gabler in 1939. However, it wasn’t immediately recorded by other bands. Red Norvo recorded it as V-Disk in 1943 and after than, other band leaders and singers began to notice this song.

About This Version

This recording by Tony Bennett is from his 1999 Ellington Hot & Cool album. Definitely one of the very cool songs on the album, it’s a light and a bit laid-back arrangement that fits the song perfectly. Playing with the Ralph Sharon Quartet, it contains some very nice work by Gray Sargent.

In A Mellow Tone, as well as the full Ellington Hot & Cool album, is available from iTunes.

Song of the Day: Cold, Cold Heart

6 Dec

In honor of Mr. Bennett’s appearance tonight in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the song of the day for Thursday, December 6, 2012, is Cold, Cold Heart, sung with Argentine superstar Vincentico on the recently released Viva Duets.

About Cold, Cold Heart

Cold, Cold Heart was written in 1951 by Hank Williams. Interestingly, it appeared on the B-side of single release, with Dear John on the A-side. In spite of being on the B-side, the song became a favorite of disk jockeys and jukebox listeners. Tony Bennett famously recorded the song in the same year, with an arrangement by Percy Faith. Cold, Cold Heart was one of the first country-western songs that crossed over into popular music, thanks to Mr. Bennett’s recording. It’s a heartbreaker of a song, which I’m sure contributes to its popularity 62 years after its release.

In fact, Google used the 1951 Tony Bennett recording of the song for its Valentine’s Day animated doodle  in 2012, shown in this video:

About This Version

For Viva Duets,  the Argentine star Vincentico sang Cold, Cold Heart with Mr. Bennett. This version features very nice guitar work from Gray Sargent.

Cold, Cold Heart, as well as the entire Viva Duets album, is available from iTunes.

Song of the Day: Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

24 Nov

We conclude Johnny Mercer Week at the Year of Tony Bennett with one of my favorite songs. The Song of the Day for Saturday, November 24, 2012, is Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive.

We have enjoyed featuring a few of the great Johnny Mercer songs performed by Tony Bennett this week. We hope you have enjoyed it as well.

About Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

This wonderfully happy song was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer and was published in 1944. The song immediately became popular and was heavily recorded in the first months after publication by artists including Bing Crosby with The Andrews Sisters, Kay Kyser and Artie Shaw.

I grew up hearing this song. I have memories of my Mom singing this song and have loved it for many decades now. I think it’s one of the happiest songs ever written.

About This Version

This version is from Tony Bennett’s delightful children’s album from 1998, The Playground.  Also featured on this album is Kermit the Frog and Elmo from Sesame Street.  Mr. Bennett recorded this song with the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Gray Sargent (guitar), Paul Langosch (bass) and Clayton Cameron (drums). As always, there is some wonderful guitar work by Gray Sargent.

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