The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Body and Soul

The Song of the Day for Wednesday, November 28, 2012 is Body and Soul.

About Body and Soul

Body and Soul was written in 1930 by Johnny Green, with lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton.  In its first year of publication, it was recorded by eleven different groups. Louis Armstrong was the first jazz artist to record the song in October 1930 with his Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra. It is thought to be the most often recorded jazz standard. Significant  recordings include those by Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Dexter Gordon.

About This Version

This version of Body and Soul is the live recording from Tony Bennett’s Grammy-winning 1994 MTV Unplugged. The Year of Tony Bennett loves Mr. Bennett singing live and all of the songs on this album are wonderful to listen to. On this song, as well as the entire album,  he is backed by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Mr. Sharon on piano, Doug Richeson on bass, and Clayton Cameron on drums.

This version of Body and Soul, as well as the entire MTV Unplugged album can be purchased at iTunes.

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Song of the Day: There Will Never Be Another You

The Song of the Day for Tuesday, November 27, 2012 is There Will Never Be Another You.

About There Will Never Be Another You

This song was written by Harry Warren, with lyrics by Mack Gordon for the 1942 film musical Iceland, starring Sonja Henie. I first fell in love with this song when it was featured in one of my favorite movies, The World According To Garp. The song is a jazz standard and has been recorded by Rosemary Clooney, Chet Baker, Lionel Hampton, Frank Sinatra and Art Tatum. It really is a beautiful song.

About This Version

This  version is from Mr. Bennett’s 1959 album In Person! With Count Basie and His Orchestra (compiled on From Now On, released in 2012).

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Song of the Day: But Beautiful

The Song of the Day for Monday, November 26, 2012 is But Beautiful.

About But Beautiful

But Beautiful was written by Jimmy  Van Heusen with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was written for the 1947 movie Road To Rio and was introduced by Bing Crosby.

About This Version

This version is from the 1975 Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album. Bill Evans had recorded the song the year earlier with his trio with Stan Getz. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Bennett and not recorded the song prior to this album. It is a great song for him and this recording is quite moving.

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Song of the Day: I Used To Be Color Blind

The Song of the Day for Sunday, November 25, 2012 is I Used To Be Color Blind.

About I Used To Be Color Blind

This song was written by Irving Berlin in 1938 for the Fred Astaire film Carefree.

About This Version

One of my favorite small moments in the new Zen of Bennett documentary is when Mr. Bennett discovers that his black shoes were polished with brown shoe polish. He makes a little joke that the person who shined the shoes must have been color blind, at which point Lee Musiker brings up this song, thinking it may have been a Gershwin tune. Mr. Bennett says no, it’s by Irving Berlin and then throws out a the first few bars of the song. As someone who herself sings snippets of songs from the Great American Songbook for just about any occasion, I found it very charming. Besides, it’s a great song.

This version was recorded by Tony Bennett for his 1972 album under his own Improv label, Life Is Beautiful. It was arranged and conducted by the great Torrie Zito and featured the Torrie Zito Trio, with Mr. Zito (piano), John Giuffrida (bass) and Chuck Hughes (drums).

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Song of the Day: Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

We conclude Johnny Mercer Week at the Year of Tony Bennett with one of my favorite songs. The Song of the Day for Saturday, November 24, 2012, is Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive.

We have enjoyed featuring a few of the great Johnny Mercer songs performed by Tony Bennett this week. We hope you have enjoyed it as well.

About Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

This wonderfully happy song was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer and was published in 1944. The song immediately became popular and was heavily recorded in the first months after publication by artists including Bing Crosby with The Andrews Sisters, Kay Kyser and Artie Shaw.

I grew up hearing this song. I have memories of my Mom singing this song and have loved it for many decades now. I think it’s one of the happiest songs ever written.

About This Version

This version is from Tony Bennett’s delightful children’s album from 1998, The Playground.  Also featured on this album is Kermit the Frog and Elmo from Sesame Street.  Mr. Bennett recorded this song with the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Gray Sargent (guitar), Paul Langosch (bass) and Clayton Cameron (drums). As always, there is some wonderful guitar work by Gray Sargent.

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