Song of the Day: Bewitched

The song of the day for Tuesday, March 3, 2015 is “Bewitched.”

About This Song

Our song of the day, more commonly known today as “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, was one of the hit songs from the 1940 musical Pal Joey, where it was introduced by Vivienne Segal. Notable recordings are by Benny Goodman, Mel Tormé, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. Alec Wilder admired the lyric and the verse, but found the song “notey.” In spite of being notey, it’s a cornerstone of the American Songbook.

About This Version

I have known and loved this song for about as long as I can remember and this version is, far and away, my absolute favorite. The tempo is slightly slower than most versions and that tempo means that the lyric actually makes sense … the singer is bewitched, he’s bothered and is also bewildered. When Tony Bennett sings this song, it’s completely, totally believable.

“Bewitched,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.