Song of the Day: I Could Write a Book

The song of the day for Tuesday, August 27, 2013 is “I Could Write a Book.”

About This Song

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote “I Could Write a Book” for the 1940 Broadway musical Pal Joey. Based on the novel by John O’Hara, Pal Joey was one of the first musicals with an anti-hero. Joey is a charming, but is manipulative and ambitious.

About This Version

“I Could Write a Book” is from Tony Bennett’s sublime Improv recordings of the Rodgers and Hart songbook in 1973. Originally released on two separate albums, all 26 songs are available on a combined set: Tony Bennett Sings the Rodgers and Hart Songbook.

For all of these songs, Bennett sings with the Ruby Braff – George Barnes Quartet, with Barnes and Wayne Wright on guitar, Ruby Braff on cornet and John Guiffrida on bass. The quartet and Bennett’s voice are perfect. A brilliant collection of songs, Bennett in very fine voice and the unusual, but very effective quartet add up to a splendid set.

http://open.spotify.com/track/7MxaMByk7vzys1FjVGGSo7
“I Could Write a Book,” as well as the Tony Bennett Rodgers & Hart Songbook, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com.