The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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By Special Request: Danny Boy

I am more than happy to fulfill a special request by a very special friend to hear Tony Bennett’s exquisite recording of “Danny Boy.”

This song was her late father’s favorite song. If he were still alive, today would be his birthday.

Danny Boy

Tony Bennett · Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 1 · Song · 2012

The first time I heard this recording, I actually wept.

In 1964, Tony Bennett recorded several songs, including “Danny Boy,” in a session with Herbie Hancock on piano, Stan Getz on tenor sax, Ron Carter on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. All of the songs they recorded that are collected on Volume 1 of Rarities, Outtakes and Other Delights are amazing. Really, really amazing.

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Congratulations to Tony Bennett

The Year of Tony Bennett congratulates Tony Bennett on the nomination of Viva Duets for Best Traditional Pop Album.

Billboard has the complete list of Grammy nominations here.

Here’s one of our favorite duets from this album:

Cold, Cold Heart (with Vicentico)

Listen to Cold, Cold Heart (with Vicentico) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Vicentico · 2012

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63 Years Ago Today

On December 6, 1950, Tony Bennett headed into the studio to record “Once There Lived a Fool.” The song was arranged by Marty Manning and produced by Mitch Miller.

The Interactive Tony Bennett DiscographyAbout Once There Lived a Fool “Once There Lived a Fool” was written by Jessie Mae Robinson, who was the first female African-American member of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). Tony Bennett was one of the first artists to record this song, as was Anita O’Day.

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Click the link to the Interactive Tony Bennett Discography above  to view the entire topic and listen to this song via Spotify.

 

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Johnny Mercer Day on the Jonathan Channel

On his new 24-7 streaming Jonathan Channel, Jonathan Schwartz is doing all Johnny Mercer songs today. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Jonathan Channel and if you love the American Songbook, check out his site on WNYC:

http://www.wnyc.org/series/jonathan-channel/

I can’t think of a better way to help celebrate Johnny Mercer on his birthday.

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Have You Pre-Ordered Yet?

Tony Bennett’s Live at the Sahara: Las Vegas 1964 concert album drops a week from today. The Year of Tony Bennett would like to remind you to pre-order this album if you haven’t already. You can get it from iTunes, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

liveathesahara

People have been talking about this recording since, well, 1964. I first heard it when it came in my 2011 Tony Bennett Complete Collection and fell head-over-heels in love with this show. As much as I adore Bennett’s studio albums, there is nothing on earth like hearing him live and this album is a great example of the kind of show he puts on. There are many moments of sheer beauty and amazing vocal power on this album and I recommend it highly.