The song of the day for Wednesday, March 13, 2013 is Taking a Chance on Love.
About This Song
Taking a Chance on Love was written by Vernon Duke, with lyrics by John LaTouche and Ted Fetter. It was introduced in the 1940 Broadway show Cabin in the Sky and was sung by Ethel Waters and Dooley Wilson. The song was recorded by Benny Goodman with vocals by Helen Forrest and reached #1 on the charts in 1943. The song has remained popular and has been performed by many jazz and popular singers, ranging from Ruby Braff to Dave Brubeck to Nat King Cole and many, many more singers and instrumentalists.
About This Version
Today’s version comes from Tony Bennett’s second album, Tony, released in 1957. This version was arranged and conducted by Ray Conniff. I’ve been listening to Tony Bennett’s albums recorded in the 1950s this week. There are some wonderful recordings there and this number is definitely one of my favorites.
http://open.spotify.com/track/4mXklW7Ibzp1qetGMq1Uw3
Taking a Chance on Love, as well as the full Tony album, is available from iTunes.
I absolutely love this recording by Benedetto. It’s so light and full of love! Benedetto was at his absolute best!
Do you know that there is an alterante version of this recording on the monaural edition of the “In San Francisco” LP?