The song of the day for is “East of the Sun (West of the Moon).”
About This Song
“East of the Sun (West of the Moon)” was written by Brooks Bowman (Princeton University Class of 1936) in 1934 for a student musical production called Stags at Bay, produced by the Princeton Triangle Club. The song had great reception and was noted by Princeton alumnus F. Scott Fitzgerald. After his graduation from college in 1936, he worked briefly in Hollywood for the film industry, but decided to return to the East Coast. He was about to start a contract with a New York music publisher when he was killed in an automobile accident in 1937. The song is regarded as a jazz classic, with many fine recordings by artists including Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, and Diana Krall.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded “East of the Sun (West of the Moon)” in June 1992 for Perfectly Frank, his tribute to Frank Sinatra. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement and led the trio that accompanied Bennett on the album (Sharon on piano, Paul Langosch on bass, and Joe LaBarbera on drums).
Perfectly Frank won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.
“East of the Sun (West of the Moon),” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available on Apple Music.
We’ve included the 1940 recording of “East of the Sun (West of the Moon)” by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, with Frank Sinatra on vocals:
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