An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
The song of the day for Sunday, December 30, 2012 is Suddenly.
Suddenly was written by Richard Cochran and Dorcas Heuberger in 1953.
Tony Bennett recorded Suddenly in 1959; it was released on his 1960 album To My Wonderful One. The album was arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol and was produced by Mitch Miller and Al Ham.
Suddenly, as well as the full To My Wonderful One album, is available from iTunes.
Enjoy, Nick!
The song of the day for Saturday, December 29, 2012 is Danny Boy.
The lyrics for Danny Boy were written in 1913 by Frederic Weatherly, a London songwriter and lawyer. It is sung to the folk song Londonderry Air.
Tony Bennett recorded Danny Boy in 1964 with an incredible set of jazz musicians: Herbie Hancock (piano), Stan Getz (tenor saxophone), Ron Carter (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums). Other songs from those sessions are also available on the Rarities, Outtakes and Other Delights, Vol. 1.
This is an extraordinary recording of this song.
Danny Boy, as well as the full Rarities, Outtakes and Other Delights, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.
I was testing earlier today to resolve an issue with posts that contained apostrophes. I apologize for spamming your mailboxes. Good news: issue identified (if not yet completely resolved).
Thanks,
Suzanne
The song of the day for Friday, December 28, 2012 is The Very Thought of You.
This song was written by 1934, with music and lyrics by Ray Noble. It was, of course, very popular with Noble’s own orchestra. It’s been sung by many great artists, including Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Nat “King” Cole, among many others.
Tony Bennett recorded this version in December, 1965. It was arranged and conducted by Johnny Keating and features Bobby Hackett on cornet. This version was included on the 1966 A Time For Love album.
The Very Thought of You, as well as the full A Time For Love album, is available from iTunes.
The song of the day for Thursday, December 27, 2012 is Fascinatin’ Rhythm, sung by some guy named Joe Bari; he’s got a great voice. 🙂
Fascinatin’ Rhythm is one of the great songs written by George and Ira Gershwin. It was written in 1924 and was introduced by Fred Astaire, Adele Astaire and Cliff Edwards in the Broadway musical Lady Be Good. The Astaires recorded the song in 1926, accompanied by George Gershwin himself.
This version of Fascinatin’ Rhythm was recorded by Mr. Bennett, who was then going by the name Joe Bari, in spring 1949 for Leslie Records. The session was produced by George Simon and arranged and conducted by Marty Manning (with whom Tony Bennett would work with again at Columbia) and was recorded at the New York Decca studios. From this session, a two-sided 78 RPM disc was released. The other song was a novelty song by George Simon, Vieni Qui.
We are very pleased that most of Tony Bennett’s catalogue, including material like this that was formerly only available in the 2011 The Complete Collection box set, is now available on both Spotify and iTunes. We look forward to presenting some of Mr. Bennett’s early recordings that are now generally available.
Fascinatin’ Rhythm, as well as the full Rarirites, Outtakes and & Other Delights, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.