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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

December 16, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Silver Bells

On the third day of the Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, Wednesday, December 16, 2015, the song of the day is “Silver Bells.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Silver Bells” was written in 1950 by William Livingston and Ray Evans. Lyricist Evans says that the song was originally called “Tinkle Bells.” That is, until composer Jay Livingston told his wife about the new song and she reminded him that the word ‘tinkle’ had a another meaning and so it was changed to “Silver Bells.” It was first recorded in 1950 by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards and was also used in the 1951 movie The Lemon Drop Kid with Bob Hope, who performed the song with Marilyn Maxwell.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song for his jazzy Christmas album A Swingin’ Christmas; it was arranged by Lee Musiker. On piano is Monty Alexander, with Paul Langosch on bass, Gray Sargent on guitar and Harold Jones on drums.

Silver Bells

Listen to Silver Bells on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2008.


“Silver Bells,” as well as A Swingin’ Christmas, is available from iTunes.

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Filed Under: Song of the Day, The 12 Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas Tagged With: A Swingin' Christmas, Ray Evans, The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, William Livingston

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