The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Blue and Sentimental

The song of the day for Friday, December 6, 2024, is “Blue and Sentimental.”

About This Song

“Blue and Sentimental” was written in 1938 by Count Basie, Jerry Livingston, and Mack David. The Count Basie Orchestra recorded it in 1938. It has since been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Nat Cole, Kay Starr, and Mel Tormé.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Kay Starr recorded “Blue and Sentimental” in May 2001 for Playin’ With My Friends: Bennett Sings The Blues. It was Kay Starr’s last recording.

“Blue and Sentimental,” as well as Playin’ With My Friends: Bennett Sings The Blues, is available on Apple Music.

Here’s the 1938 recording with The Count Basie Orchestra:

And here’s the Kay Starr recording from 1957:

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Song of the Day: Without A Song

The song of the day for Thursday, December 5, 2024, is “Without A Song.”

About This Song

“Without A Song” was written in 1926 by Vincent Youmans (music) and Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu (lyrics). It was written for the 1929 musical Great Day. It has been recorded by artists from Perry Como to Mario Lanza to Frank Sinatra. Great Day was set in 19th-century Louisiana; as a result, some of the lyrics have been changed over time to remove currently objectionable language.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Without A Song” on September 12, 1956, for Bennett’s second album Tony, released in 1957.

“Without A Song,” as well as Tony, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Wednesday, December 4, 2024, is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About This Song

“Fly Me To The Moon” was written by Bart Howard in 1954. The song was originally titled “In Other Words,” but the song was not doing that well, in spite of several recordings. In 1962, Howard renamed the song to “Fly Me To The Moon,” and the song began to catch on. Tony Bennett’s 1965 recording for If I Ruled The World was a big hit for Bennett. There have been many recordings of the song, including those by Frank Sinatra, Kaye Ballard and many more. However, Bart Howard told Bennett that his 1965 recording was “the definitive performance of this song.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” live on April 12, 1994, on MTV. The MTV Unplugged album was released in June of that year. The songs from the televised concert were arranged by Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon.

MTV Unplugged won the 37th Annual Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

“Fly Me To The Moon,” as well as MTV Unplugged, is available on Apple Music.

Here’s the video of “Fly Me To The Moon” from the concert:

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Song of the Day: My Love Went To London

The song of the day for Tuesday, December 3, 2024, is “My Love Went To London.”

About This Song

“My Love Went To London” was written in 1991 by Anthony Scibetta and John Wallowitch for Blossom Dearie. She recorded this song in 1991 on the album Tweedledum and Tweedledee with Mike Renzi who served as Tony Bennett’s musical director in 2014.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “My Love Went To London” in July 1995 for Here’s To The Ladies. Jorge Calandrelli wrote the arrangement. In this album, Bennett recorded songs associated with popular female singers in the 20th century. This song was sung in tribute to Blossom Dearie, who was born 1924 and is being celebrated for her centennial.

“My Love Went To London,” as well as Here’s To The Ladies, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Some Other Time

The song of the day for Monday, December 2, 2024, is “Some Other Time.”

About Today

We are remembering the great Adolph Green, who co-wrote today’s song with Leonard Bernstein and Betty Comden, who was born on December 2, 1914. He was a noted lyricist and playwright. Green met Betty Comden in 1938 and they formed a troupe called The Revuers; the other members were Leonard Bernstein and Judy Holliday. Comden and Green partnered with Leonard Bernstein to write the book and lyrics for On The Town, which opened in 1944. The pair wrote for many Broadway musicals, including Wonderful Town, Peter Pan, and Bells Are Ringing. They also wrote the script for Singin’ In The Rain.

Green, with Betty Comden, received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1991. Others honored that year were Fayard and Harold Nicholas, Roy Acuff, Gregory Peck, and Robert Shaw.

Adolph Green died on October 23, 2002.

About This Song

“Some Other Time” was written by Leonard Bernstein, Adolph Green, and Betty Comden for the 1944 Broadway musical On The Town.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “Some Other Time” in June 1975 for their album The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album.

“Some Other Time,” as well as Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, is available on Apple Music.

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