The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Life is a Song

The Year of Tony Bennett is happy to celebrate the birthday of the great Count Basie, who was born this day in 1904.

The song of the day for Wednesday, August 21, 2013 is “Life is a Song.”

About This Song

“Life is a Song” was written by Fred Ahlert and Joe Young; the song was written in 1935. Other Ahlert songs include “Bye, Bye Blackbird” and “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter.”

About This Version

Today’s song is from the album Basie/Bennett, released in 1959. This album featured Tony Bennett with the Count Basie Orchestra. However, only this song and “Jeepers Creepers” featured Basie himself on piano.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2d0KVeTGh0NtRMJTyMITGY
“Life is a Song,” as well as the Basie/Bennett album, is available on iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Good Life

The song of the day for Tuesday, August 20, 2013 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

It is said that Sacha Distel wrote “The Good Life” after his relationship with Bridgette Bardot ended when she refused his proposal of marriage. I don’t know if this is true or not, but it’s a great story. The song was written in 1962 for the movie The Seven Capital Sins, with lyrics by Jack Reardon. The original French title was “La Belle Vie.”

About This Version

Today’s song comes from Tony Bennett’s 1963 album I Wanna Be Around. In addition to today’s iconic song, the album also contains the Johnny Mercer-Sadie Vimmerstedt song “I Wanna Be Around,” as well as many other fine songs. “The Good Life” was arranged by Marty Manning and produced by Ernie Altschuler.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4MVvSNPOUd2z70vkkNCbLr
“The Good Life,” as well as the album I Wanna Be Around, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams

The song of the day for Monday, August 19, 2013 is “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams.”

About This Song

“Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” is a classic Depression-era song written by Harry Barris with lyrics by Ted Koehler and Billy Moll. The song was written in and 1931; Bing Crosby was the first person to record this song.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s 1964 album Who Can I Turn To. This song, as well as the entire album, was arranged by George Siravo and produced by Ernie Altschuler.

http://open.spotify.com/track/669cS5WKTDpyMn3A1Tg7EJ
“Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams,” as well as the album Who Can I Turn To, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

The song of the day for Sunday, August 18, 2013 is “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

About This Song

“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” was written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin in 1933 for the movie Moulin Rouge. The song was introduced in the film by Constance Bennett. The song was recorded in the mid 1930s by Ted Weems and His Orchestra, Bing Crosby and many others, as well as an Art Tatum piano solo version from the mid 1950s.

About This Version

“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” has a special place in the musical landscape of Tony Bennett’s career. In October 1949, Tony Bennett with his friend and musical director Tony Tamburello, recorded a demo record at Leslie Records with two songs: “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “Crazy Rhythm.” Mitch Miller, who had just become the head of “pop singles” division at Columbia Records heard “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and immediately decided to sign the young singer to a contract with Columbia. Bennett recorded the song at his first recording session for Columbia in April 1950 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today’s version was recorded some forty years after that first recording for Tony Bennett’s 1990 album Astoria: The Portrait of the Artist. This version, arranged by Jorge Calandrelli, is a quieter and more modern interpretation of this song, with a more introspective emotional arc that the early version. Like all the songs on this very fine album, it’s well worth a listen.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2GoFkLZ0SoqTLD9jN2qgIQ
“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” as well as the album Astoria: The Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes.