• 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

December 11, 2020 By Suzanne 1 Comment

Song of the Day: Nancy

The song of the day for Saturday, December 12, 2020, is “Nancy.”

About Today

We are celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Francis Albert Sinatra, born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on December 15, 1915. There’s a great Sinatra website at sinatra.com, where you can learn more about Sinatra, purchase his music (CD, Vinyl, and digital) and branded souvenirs (mugs, flasks, caps, t-shirts, onesies, hoodies, journals … well you get the idea).

About This Song

“Nancy” was written in 1942 by Jimmy Van Heusen and Phil Silvers. In 1942, Van Heusen, along with Johnny Burke, was in Palm Springs working on the score for a film. The comedian Phil Silvers dropped by and suggested that they write a song for Van Heusen’s wife Bessie, whose birthday they would be celebrating soon. “Bessie, with the laughing face”, was well-received and the pair would often sing it at birthday celebrations for other women. A bit later, at the birthday party for Sinatra’s daughter Nancy, they sang the song again, this time using “Nancy, with the laughing face.” Sinatra was quite moved, thinking that the song had been written especially for him and his daughter and the songwriters let him think that. Frank Sinatra first recorded “Nancy” in 1944.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Nancy” in 1992 for the album Perfectly Frank, a tribute to Frank Sinatra. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

Nancy

Listen to Nancy on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1992.

“Nancy,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from Apple Music.

Of course, I have to add Sinatra’s 1944 recording of “Nancy.”

Nancy (With the Laughing Face) - 78rpm Version

Listen to Nancy (With the Laughing Face) - 78rpm Version on Spotify. Frank Sinatra · Song · 1944.

Share this:

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

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Frank Sinatra, Happy Birthday Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Van Heusen, Nancy Sinatra, Perfectly Frank, Phil Silvers, Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett

Comments

  1. Aida Dombrovskaya says

    December 11, 2020 at 11:26 pm

    Hello! I would also advise to visit a great Sinatra Family Forum as there’s a chance to talk with Frank’s daughter, Nancy: https://sinatrafamily.com/forum/index.php
    Sincerely,
    Aida Dombrovskaya (the Head of the Russian Tony Bennett Fan Club)

    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

  • Duke Ellington and the Harlem Renaissance
  • Collaborator of the Month: Marion Evans
  • Review: Viva Duets
  • Song of the Day: The Good Life
  • Song of the Day: Growing Pains
  • Song of the Day: Pick Yourself Up
  • Home
  • About
  • Song of the Day
  • Album of the Week
  • Music and Art
  • And More
  • The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography

Copyright © 2023 The Year of Tony Bennett · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress