The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Just Friends

The song of the day for Friday, May 24, 2013 is Just Friends.

About This Song

Just Friends was written in 1931 by John Klenner with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis. It’s been a popular jazz standard , including vocal versions by Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Charlie Parker and Chet Baker.  The song, both the music as well as the lyrics, seem more modern that most songs written in the early 1930s and for that reason has received interesting jazz treatments  and found itself quite at home with bebop stylings.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recording this song for his album with Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett Sings For Two, released in 1961 (even though it was recorded in 1959).  With just Bennett accompanied only by Ralph Sharon, it was an unusual album for that time. This outing gave Bennett and Sharon an opportunity to do a very intimate album. In what must have been a remarkable recording session, Bennett and Sharon recorded sixteen songs in one day and  twelve of those songs are on the album. It is one of my favorites of Tony Bennett’s early albums: two great jazz musicians singing some of the best songs ever written.
http://open.spotify.com/track/5fLeV8El2vqaZs7hYwHwCO
Just Friends, as well as Tony Bennett Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Left My Heart in San Francisco

As Tony Bennett is performing this evening at Davies Hall in San Francisco, the song of the day for May 23, 2013 is I Left My Heart in San Francisco.

About This Song

What can I say? This is one the best songs ever recorded and it helped make Tony Bennett the legend that he is today. And 50 years after he first recorded it, it sounds as fresh and new as it can possibly be.

About This Version

This is the version recorded for the album in 1962. I never, ever tire of it. This song won Tony Bennett his first Grammy Award for Best Male Solo Performance as well as the Grammy for Record of the Year.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1bYItjcPRtxZs6Ir71O5RB
I Left My Heart in San Francisco, as well the album I Left My Heart in San Francisco is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: That Old Black Magic

The song of the day for Wednesday, May 22, 2013, is That Old Black Magic.

About This Song

Written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, That Old Black Magic was written in 1942 and used in the 1943 film Star Spangled Rhythm, where it was introduced by Vera Zorina and Johnnie Johnston.

This song has been very popular since it was first written, starting with the 1942 version by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Other significant recordings are by Margaret Whiting, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. Marilyn Monroe sang the song in the 1956 Bus Stop.

About This Version

Bennett:Brubeck

Today’s version is from upcoming release of em>Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, which will be available on May 28, 2013. The concert began with a set by the Dave Brubeck Quartet (Brubeck, Paul Desmond on alto sax, Joe Morello on drums and Eugene Wright on bass), followed by a set of Tony Bennett with the Ralph Sharon Trio (Sharon, Billy Exiner on drums and Hal Gaylord on bass). The last part of the concert featured the Dave Brubeck Trio (minus Desmond) and Tony Bennett in a unrehearsed set of improvisations, including this great recording of That Old Black Magic.

That Old Black Magic

Listen to That Old Black Magic on Spotify. Song · Dave Brubeck, Tony Bennett · 2003

That Old Black Magic, as well as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962 is available for pre-ordering from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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Song of the Day: When Joanna Loved Me

The song of the day for Tuesday, May 21, 2013 is When Joanna Loved Me.

About This Song

When Joanna Loved Me was written in 1964 by Robert Wells and Jack Segal. This song has always been strongly identified with Tony Bennett, starting with his 1964 recording for The Many Moods Of Tony.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Bennett’s 1994 MTV Unplugged album from his live television concert. I’m quite partial to this recording of this favorite song of his. He reminds us at the beginning that he loves the song so much that he named his first daughter after the song. For me, this is Bennett at his best: approaching the song lightly, just touching on the notes, almost speaking but in perfect pitch and rhythm. As the song progresses, he starts putting more of his full voice in the song, but still with a certain lightness works nicely with Sharon’s accompaniment. And then, at last, leading to the full-out singing of the last verse. Don’t just take my word for it; the audience loved it too.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0kAddd7qjnk7Bdl3v1HxwK
When Joanna Loved Me, as well as the full MTV Unplugged album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Nobody Else But Me

The song of the day for Monday, March 20, 2013 is Nobody Else But Me.

About This Song

Nobody Else But Me was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II for the 1946 revival of Show Boat; it did not appear in the original 1927 production.

The song quickly became a jazz standard; the recording by Joe Pass on guitar was one of the early significant early recordings.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded Nobody Else But Me for his 1964 album with the Ralph Sharon Trio, When Lights Are Low. This is one of favorite of Bennett’s albums from the 1960s; Bennett singing with just the Trio (Ralph Sharon, Hal Gaylord and Billy Exiner) was, and is, a real treat for this author.

Nobody Else But Me

Listen to Nobody Else But Me on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1964

Nobody Else But Me, as well as the remastered When Lights Are Low album, is available from iTunes.

Just to compare, here’s the same song from the 1988 studio recording of Show Boat:
http://open.spotify.com/track/5gyPWLQy5YEQAnkLmDEVo8