The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: What A Wonderful World

The song of the day for Sunday, June 16, 2013 is “What a Wonderful World.”

About This Song

“What a Wonderful World” was written in 1967 by Bob Thiele and George Weiss Davis. Louis Armstrong released it as a single that same year and the song has associated with Armstrong ever since. That recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

About This Version

Today’s version is the lovely duet with k.d. lang from  their 2002 album A Wonderful World. The orchestral arrangements are by Peter Matz with musical direction by Lee Musiker.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1I1nwFdcQIvMGMqLVsa5NO
“What a Wonderful World,” as well as the album A Wonderful World, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Saturday, June 15, 2013 is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About This Song

“Fly Me To The Moon” was written in 1954 by Bart Howard and it was a huge hit for him. There are other people that have sung this song, but as far as I am concerned, Tony Bennett owns this song and has owned it since the first moment he sang it.

We have written about this song before: Tony Bennett and the Moon and an early article (now slightly outdated) Fly Me To The Moon. Yes, I really love this song.

Originally, the song was called “In Other Words,” but so many people called it “Fly Me To The Moon” that the name was officially changed.

About This Version

Today’s version is from the 1994 MTV Unplugged concert.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0qUiWrxMh7n5Db1EADZt5R
“Fly Me To the Moon,” as well as the entire MTV Unplugged album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Best Is Yet To Come

Cy Coleman, who composed many of our favorite Tony Bennett songs, was born on June 14, 1929. We salute Cy Coleman, who wrote one of my favorites, “The Best Is Yet To Come,” which is our song of the day for June 14, 2013.

About This Song

Cy Coleman wrote “The Best Is Yet To Come” in 1959, with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. The song is associated with both Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, who sings it regularly at his live concerts.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Bennett’s legendary Carnegie Hall concert, recorded on June 9, 1962. The arrangement by Ralph Sharon with the orchestra is pretty much perfect. Listen for the muted trumpet at the very beginning of the song with the call and response. Great!

If there is a song that we at The Year of Tony Bennett consider a theme song, it may be “The Best Is Yet To Come.”

http://open.spotify.com/track/36TDSM8QA8e1HiDydSeyjw
“The Best Is Yet To Come,” as well as the complete Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: One For My Baby

We continue our exploration of Tony Bennett’s great live performances  with “One For My Baby” as the song of the day for Thursday, June 13, 2013.

About This Song

We are always happy at The Year of Tony Bennett to showcase any song by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. This Arlen/Mercer masterpiece was written in 1943 for the movie The Sky’s The Limit, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire.

This song has been sung by many of the great popular singers, including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.

About This Version

Today’s live version of “One For My Baby” is from the recently released Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962. It’s a great rendition of one of Tony Bennett’s most popular songs.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4OEbmpeKICcKyNapON0vas
“One For My Baby,” as well as the newly released Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, is available from iTunes.