An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
Mr. Bennett, who is performing in Austin, Texas tonight (September 12, 2012), spent some time painting and shared it with his Twitter followers:
Painting in Austin yesterday with my new friend, Eric Rhoads. pic.twitter.com/m42M0bJJ
— Tony Bennett (@itstonybennett) September 12, 2012
Looks like a lovely day and a lovely painting.
The Song of the Day for September 12, 2012 is Maybe This Time.
Maybe This Time was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb. The song was used in the film version of their musical Cabaret, but not in the original stage production. It is said that the song was written by Kaye Ballard and that she first recorded Maybe This Time, though The Year of Tony Bennett cannot find any documentation of when she recorded it for the first time. However, her website does have a link to play a snippet from her current 4-CD set. The song is widely associated with Liza Minnelli, who sings it regularly.
Tony Bennett recorded Maybe This Time in 1995 for his album to Here’s To The Ladies. Mr. Bennett has performed this song at every concert of his I’ve ever attended, and I dearly hope he continues to include it in his concert set lists. It’s a wonderful song and I, personally, will never tire of hearing him sing it to a live audience. Mr. Bennett, with the current quartet, performed this song at the iTunes Festival in London 2010, which is available on iTunes and is a great, if short, live set. And is the best $5.99 you can spend if you like Tony Bennett. Everyone at the Year of Tony Bennett recommends this iTunes concert.
The cover for Tony Bennett’s upcoming Viva Duets has been released.
Viva Duets is available for pre-order from Amazon.com.
The Song of the Day for September 11, 2012 is While The Music Plays On.
This song was written by Irving Mills, Lupin Fien, and Emery Heim. It has also been recorded by Doris Day, Les Brown, and Jimmy Dorsey.
This song is from Tony Bennett’s 1955 Cloud 7 album. I think that this album is one of Mr. Bennett’s most important recordings. Up until this album, most long-playing albums were merely compilations of previously recorded singles. Cloud 7 was one of the earliest “concept albums,” an album that was conceived as whole experience.
More than that, however, with Cloud 7, Tony Bennett sang the music that he wanted to sing with the musicians he wanted to use. The album was a clear statement of the type of songs and the levels of musicians and quality that important to Mr. Bennett.
The Song of the Day for September 10, 2012 is The Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
This song was written by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics) in 1933. It appears in the 1934 film Moulin Rouge and was sung by Constance Bennett.
I think it can be said, in all fairness, that The Boulevard of Broken Dreams was the song that propelled Tony Bennett to stardom. In 1950, he made a demo recording of Crazy Rhythm and The Boulevard of Broken Dreams. The great Hugh Martin (yes, I’m biased about Mr. Martin; he and I are from the same town and attended the same college) heard it and was very enthusiastic about the young Mr. Bennett. A bit later, Mitch Miller at Columbia heard the recording and that demo song landed Tony Bennett his contract at Columbia. He re-recorded The Boulevard of Broken Dreams with Columbia and that version was released as a single and was a great hit.
Today’s version was recorded for the masterful Astoria: Portrait Of The Artist, released in 1990. Arranged by Jorge Calandrelli, and accompanied by the Ralph Sharon Trio (with Paul Langosch (bass) and Joe LaBarbera (drums), this version is, for me, more haunting, being sung from the mature man’s point of view.
Mr. Bennett’s rendition of The Boulevard of Broken Dreams was one of the highlights from his Bumbershoot concert last week. This version from Astoria has a similar emotional punch for me.