Song of the Day: The Rules of the Road

The song of the day for Thursday, October 17, 2013 is “The Rules of the Road.”

About This Song

While Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh are best-known for their scores for Broadway musicals, such as Little Me and Wildcat, “The Rules of the Road” was not written for a show. In addition to several recordings by Tony Bennett, the song has also been recorded by Lena Horne, Shirley Horne, Nat King Cole and Rosemary Clooney. I’m pretty sure that Bennett owns this song, though.

About This Version

Well, here we are again: your author has one more picked “The Rules of the Road” as the song of the day. But today we have a new version from the just-released Live at the Sahara: Las Vegas, 1964. I like the way he starts this song, just speaking the first couple of lines as if in conversation, letting the audience get into the song, then gradually starting to speak the lyrics in rhythm, then sliding ever so coolly into singing the song. He shows a light, deft touch on this version of the song, even though he, like all of us, are fools of the road.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3O9AKkgeXNXQM4UUeb83dj
“The Rules of the Road,” as well as Live at the Sahara: Las Vegas, 1964, is available from iTunes.