The song of the day for Wednesday, December 17, 2014 is “These Foolish Things.”
About This Song
Today’s song was written in 1936, with music by Jack Strachey and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz (as Holt Marvell). “These Foolish Things” was not an immediate hit. In fact, Maschwitz’ agent refused to publish the song and so Maschwitz himself did. There were several fine recordings in the 1930s, including one by Billie Holiday with the Teddy Wilson Orchestra and Benny Goodman. In the 1950s, the song became even more popular, with recordings by Artie Shaw, Nat King Cole, Art Pepper and Johnny Hartman. “These Foolish Things” ranks #28 on jazzstandards.com and is still widely played and recorded.
About This Version
This is Tony Bennett’s second recording of “These Foolish Things.” The first was in 1956 for the album Tony. But, I rather like this version from 1997 for Tony Bennett on Holiday, his album of Billie Holiday songs. The strings were arranged by Jorge Calandrelli and features Ralph Sharon on piano. Bobby Tucker, one of Miss Holiday’s pianists, served as a consultant on this very fine album.
“These Foolish Things,” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.
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