The song of the day for Sunday, May 11, 2025, is “The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On).”
About Today
The Year of Tony Bennett is celebrating Irving Berlin, who was born as Israel Isidore Beilin on May 11, 1888, in Tyumen, Siberia, where his father was an itinerant cantor. The family immigrated to the United States and arrived at Ellis Island on September 14, 1893.
About This Song
“The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On)” was written by Irving Berlin in 1927 for the musical Will o’ the Whispers.
In his book The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia, Thomas Hischak calls this song “… an Irving Berlin standard whose title has been called the theme of all popular music, a chilling number in which both the lover and the ballad that was ‘their song’ is gone; yet neither can be forgotten because they remain in one’s memory.” This song was recorded in 1927 by Ruth Etting and has remained popular over the years with recordings by Dick Haymes, Dizzy Gillespie, Jeri Southern, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat “King” Cole, and many more.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded “The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On)” in May 1987 for his album Bennett/Berlin. The recording features Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet.
“The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On),” as well as Bennett/Berlin, is available on Apple Music.
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