• Home
  • About
    • About This Blog
    • About the Authors
  • Song of the Day
  • Album of the Week
  • Music and Art
    • Tony Live!
    • Music
      • Viva Duets
      • Songs
      • Albums
    • Art
  • And More
    • Collaborator of the Month
    • Songwriter of the Month – 2016
    • News
      • Cheek To Cheek
      • Bennett & Brubeck -The White House Sessions Live 1962
      • Life is a Gift
      • Viva Duets
      • Zen of Bennett
      • Other News
    • About His Collaborators
    • Musings
    • Extras
      • Books
      • Interviews
      • Media
  • The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography

The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

October 27, 2016 By Suzanne 4 Comments

Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Thursday, October 27, 2016 is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About This Song

“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields in 1936. It was introduced by Fred Astaire in the film Swing Time; the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the year. Dorothy Fields remarked “The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.” Dorothy Fields was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting. It’s a magnificent love song that has found a strong position as a jazz standard, with recordings by Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Tony Bennet has recorded this beautiful song several times. Today I feature his most recent recording from last year’s The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, with Bill Charlap on piano.

The Way You Look Tonight

Listen to The Way You Look Tonight on Spotify. Tony Bennett, Bill Charlap · Song · 2015.


“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Tonight, my friend Lesley and I had the great honor to see Tony Bennett in concert here in Portland. We had a wonderful time, for the most part, save a few drunks seated in front of and behind us. One drank from a flask throughout, getting drunker and talking louder the entire time. The one behind us was yelling and shouting like he was at football game. He also sang along to many of the songs, especially this one. So tonight when Tony sings “The Way You Look Tonight,” I mostly heard the idiot drunk behind me. I dedicate this recording to me and to Lesley, so that we can hear it sung by the master himself.

But who needs an excuse to listen to this song? It’s one of Kern’s best and Tony’s recording is better than great.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Print
  • More
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern, Swing Time, The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern

Comments

  1. Lesley Valentine says

    October 27, 2016 at 2:41 am

    Nothing diminishes the pleasure I get from hearing Tony sing this song. He brings his heart and holds the moment of exquisite vulnerability for us. Priceless. Thanks for the dedication, my wonderful and creative friend! What a great night!

    Reply
  2. Richard Budgen says

    October 27, 2016 at 4:02 am

    My absolute favourite song from the Great American Songbook sung by the greatest exponent ever of that genre.

    Reply
  3. Richard Budgen says

    October 27, 2016 at 4:07 am

    What a shame, and it shows no respect for a great artist either. I’ve seen Tony many times down the years and nothing like this has happened at any of his concerts in the UK.

    Reply
    • Suzanne says

      October 27, 2016 at 9:38 am

      My friend and I discussed this last night. I’d never seen such behavior in Portland and it broke my heart.

      Reply

Please feel free to leave a comment Cancel reply

Subscribe to The Year of Tony Bennett

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Current Reader Favorites

  • Song of the Day: Once Upon a Time
  • God Is Love
  • 2022 Grammy Awards!
  • Song of the Day: Have You Met Miss Jones?
  • Song of the Day: Let's Begin
  • Song of the Day: How Do You Keep The Music Playing?
  • Home
  • About
  • Song of the Day
  • Album of the Week
  • Music and Art
  • And More
  • The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography

Copyright © 2023 The Year of Tony Bennett · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress