The song of the day for Saturday, August 17, 2013 is “Old Devil Moon.”
About This Song
“Old Devil Moon” was composed by Burton Lane with lyrics by Yip Harburg in 1947 for the musical Finian’s Rainbow. This musical about an Irishman named Finian who moves to the state of Missitucky and plans to bury a pot of gold (stolen from a leprechaun) near Fort Knox, thinking that the treasure will grow. The plot includes the leprechaun named Og and a corrupt American senator. It proved quite popular, running for over 700 performances with a film released in 1968, starring Fred Astaire as Finian.
About This Version
Today’s song is from the 1967 album Tony Makes It Happen! I have been listening to this album a lot lately: first of all, it’s a very fine album with some of Bennett’s best songs on it. Secondly, the entire album was arranged by the great Marion Evans, who wrote the arrangements for the jazz album that Bennett and Lady Gaga are recording. The arrangements on Tony Makes It Happen! are outstanding and the entire album is certainly worth a careful listen. After studying this album quite a bit for the last week or so, I am more excited than ever about Bennett and Lady Gaga’s new album.
http://open.spotify.com/track/4t3I5khZ6TCaoSYYW1cKms
“Old Devil Moon,” as well as the album Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.
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