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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

August 10, 2014 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Revolvin’ Jones

The song of the day for Sunday, August 10, 2014 is “Revolvin’ Jones.”

About This Song

“Revolvin’ Jones” was was written in 1940 by Will Robison, a colleague of Jack Teagarden. Other well-known Robison songs include “A Cottage For Sale” and “Don’t Smoke in Bed.”

Willard Robison
Willard Robison

In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder wrote that

Everybody loved him and many tried to help him, among them John Mercer. Mildred Bailey revered him and sang every song of his she could lay her hands on. I became aware of him in the late twenties when he recorded for Perfect Records. … He did manage, during his almost euphoric life, to write a few successful songs … but generally his songs were known only to a few singers and lovers of the off-beat and the non-urban song. He had a special flair for gentleness and childhood, the lost and the religious. I suppose it’s not part of the growth of popular music, nor perhaps were any of Robison’s songs. But if they could so much bolster John Mercer’s conviction that there was more to write lyrics about than city life, that the world of memory, of remembered sayings and scenes, was as evocative as the whispered words of lovers, then he did make a contribution.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song in 1962 for the album On The Glory Road, which was to be released in 1962, but was pulled at the last minute. While some of the songs recorded for this album were used on subsequent albums, many, including today’s song, were not. We are fortunate that this album was included in the 2011 Complete Collection box set and made available on iTunes. This song, arranged and conducted by Ralph Sharon, is a real gem of a song.

http://open.spotify.com/track/71qRlRZ4z8dRBuFKlzh4Fu
“Revolvin’ Jones,” as well as the remastered On The Glory Road, is available from iTunes.

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Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Willard Robison

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