• 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

February 14, 2013 By Suzanne 1 Comment

Song of the Day: Last Night When We Were Young

In recognition of Harold Arlen Week and Valentine’s Day, Last Night When We Were Young is the song of the day for Thursday, February 14, 2013.

About Last Night When We Were Young

This wonderful song was written in 1935 by Harold Arlen with lyrics by E.Y. (Yip) Harburg. When Arlen first wrote this song, he played it for George Gershwin, who found it too complicated; Jerome Kern found it too esoteric (Edward Jablonski, Harold Arlen: Rhythm, Rainbows and Blues). Alec Wilder, on the other hand, said that “This is a most remarkable and beautiful song. It is one that goes far beyond the boundaries of popular music. For me, it’s a concert song without a trace of trying to be.” Yip Harburg has said that “the juxtaposition those two phrases is almost a whole world of philosophy.”

yip-harburg-and-harold-arlen-1-d15

It was one of Arlen’s favorite songs and with the excellent lyrics by Yip Harburg, it became a standard for major singers. It was a favorite of both Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded Last Night When We Were Young in 1959 for To My Wonderful One. Today’s version, however, comes from his 1992 Perfectly Frank. This album is, for this writer, as perfect as any human endeavor can be. Tony Bennett’s version is perfectly phrased and perfectly sung; it is a true masterpiece.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1qgQmCZ3fUkG2dNSYI6OvN
Last Night When We Were Young, as well as the full Perfectly Frank album, is available from iTunes.

Share this:

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

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: E.Y Harburg, Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg

Comments

  1. NICK RIGGIO says

    February 14, 2013 at 3:18 am

    This is a beautiful song that seemed not to generate the air play that it deserved. In fact the entire album To My Wonderful One is a true classic recorded with perfection!

    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: The Good Life
  • Song of the Day: Where Do You Start
  • Song of the Day: Once Upon a Time
  • Song of the Day: Yesterday I Heard The Rain
  • Song of the Day: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
  • Song of the Day: Penthouse Serenade
  • Home
  • About
  • Song of the Day
  • Album of the Week
  • Music and Art
  • And More
  • The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography

Copyright © 2022 The Year of Tony Bennett · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress

Posting....
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.