The song of the day for Thursday, October 3, 2013 is “Solitude.”
About This Song
“Solitude” was written by Duke Ellington in 1934, with lyrics by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills. One of his masterpieces, Ellington is said to have written this song in twenty minutes at the recording session, as they were on number short (Ted Gioia in Jazz Standards). It’s a very strong song for both vocalists and instrumentalists. Ellington made over a hundred recordings of this song. Other great recordings include those by Paul Robeson, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Billy Eckstine.
About This Version
Today’s version is Tony Bennett’s first recording of “Solitude” and is from the 1950 album In Person! with Count Basie and His Orchestra. Other Bennett recordings of today’s song include the 1962 Carnegie Hall concert and the 1997 recording from On Holiday.
Tony Bennett has said that he probably has sung this song more often than other, even “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” It was a popular request from his early (even pre-World War II) days as a singing waiter.
http://open.spotify.com/track/29vIfak1UHQzo5VUA1GaEZ
“Solitude,” as well as the album In Person!, is available from iTunes and Amazon.
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