The song of the day for Saturday, May 18, 2013 is I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face.
About This Song
This song is, of course, from the very successful 1956 musical My Fair Lady. The music is by Frederick Lowe and the lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. My Fair Lady was nominated for nine Tony Awards, and won six, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical for Rex Harrison, and Best Direction of a Musical for Moss Hart. The 1956 original cast album became the best-selling album in the US that year. My parents had that album and I know we all listened to it frequently.
I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face is sung by Henry Higgins at the end of show, when the Professor finally recognizes how much Eliza Doolittle (played by Julie Andrews) means to him and how much he will miss her. (Spoiler: she comes back.)
The song has been steadily recorded since 1956, with recordings by Chet Baker, Ruby Braff, Nat King Cole, and many more.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face with Count Basie in January, 1958, for the Basie/Bennett album released in 1959.
http://open.spotify.com/track/5wNGLVq6BUm9SXPzosUh55
I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face, as well as the digitally remastered Bennett & Basie Strike Up The Band, is available from iTunes.
This is a great performance by Benedetto. The DJs did not spin it much thus the vast listening public has not had the opportunity to hear it! When they do they deeply appreciate hearing il maestro bring this song to life with new feelings and emotions.