The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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The Judy Garland Show with Guests Tony Bennett and Dick Shawn

As you might imagine from the playlist I posted yesterday, I’m still reveling in all things Judy Garland, which caused me to poke around on YouTube to see what I might enjoy viewing.

I came across this episode of The Judy Garland Show, with guests Tony Bennett and Dick Shawn. It aired on December 15, 1963.

I’ve shared before Tony and Judy singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” before, but there’s a lot more of Tony, including two songs with the Ralph Sharon Trio and the whole production number with Tony and Judy leading up to “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

I just finished watching the entire video and it’s a real joy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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Available for Pre-Order: Just Getting Started

If there is any kind of post that I love to write, it’s when I get to announce a pre-order for something from Tony Bennett.

Today, I’m happy to let everyone know that Tony’s new book, Just Getting Started, is now available for pre-order at online booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

just-getting-started

Working with Tony on this book is NPR’s Scott Simon, who hosts Weekend Edition Saturday. It’s obvious to this listener that he loves Tony Bennett as much as we do and I think he’s an excellent choice of a collaborator. He did a lovely interview with Tony and Bill Charlap last October for the release of The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. You can listen to that interview here. It’s also being released as an audiobook–I’ll provide more information on that as soon as I learn more.

For those of you who live in the New York area, Mr. Bennett will be signing copies of his book at The Bookmark Shoppe in Brooklyn. Click here for more information.

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Tony Bennett and Bill Evans on Film!

The Year of Tony Bennett is very pleased to bring this video to our readers.

In 1976, Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded their second album Together Again. Soon afterwards, the pair was filmed singing a selection songs from both their albums by a Canadian filmmaker named Bernard Picard. The 27 minute film was broadcast by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation in May 1977.

Thanks to YouTube, here’s that film.