The song of the day for Sunday, November 30, 2014 is “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.”
About This Song
“The Most Beautiful Girl In The World” was written for the 1935 musical Jumbo by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. It has become a jazz and popular standard. The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra had a Top 40 hit with the song in 1953. Other recordings include those by Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and Sonny Rollins.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded today’s song in 1973 for his second volume of Rodgers and Hart songs: Tony Bennett Sings More Great Rodgers & Hart. In addition to today’s song, this volume features favorites of mine like “Thou Swell” and “I Wish I Were In Love Again.” His two albums of Rodgers and Hart songs are really excellent. For both of these albums, Bennett worked with the Ruby Braff/George Barnes Quartet, which features Braff on cornet, Barnes on guitar, Wayne Wright also on guitar and John Guiffrida on bass. Some might think it odd to record two entire jazz albums without either piano or drums. But this quartet is absolutely perfect, especially for Rodgers and Hart. Note that the all the recordings from Bennett’s own Improv label are now collected on The Complete Improv Recordings, which is available both online and as a 4-CD set (with a great booklet) from retailers including Amazon.
“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” as well as The Complete Improv Recordings, is available on iTunes.
Please feel free to leave a comment