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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

June 11, 2020 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Solitude

The song of the day for Friday, June 12, 2020, is “Solitude.”

About This Song

“Solitude” was written in 1934 by Duke Ellington; the lyrics by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills were added later (as they were for most of Ellington’s compositions).

One of his masterpieces, Ellington is said to have written “Solitude” in twenty minutes at the recording session, as they were one number short (Ted Gioia in The Jazz Standards). It’s a very strong song for both vocalists and instrumentalists. Ellington made over a hundred recordings of this song. Other great recordings include those by Paul Robeson, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Billy Eckstine.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Solitude” in 1996 for his album devoted to songs sung by Billie Holiday: Tony Bennett on Holiday. Jorge Calandrelli wrote the arrangement.

“Solitude,” as well as Tony Bennett on Holiday, is available from Apple Music.

If you have time to listen to two songs today, here’s Billie Holiday’s version, recorded and released on the Clef label in 1952 and re-released on Verve in 1956.

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Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Eddie DeLange, Irving Mills, Jorge Calandrelli, Tony Bennett, Tony Bennett On Holiday

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