The song of the day for Wednesday, January 27, 2021, is “The Way You Look Tonight.”
Composer Jerome Kern was born on January 27, 1885. As I write this, I am listening to the version of today’s songs and am struck by the timeless quality of this song. It’s just as relevant now as when it was written 85 years ago and will be relevant for generations to come.
We’ll be celebrating Jerome Kern for the rest of the week.
About This Song
“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film Swing Time. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the year; Dorothy Fields was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting.
Fields remarked
The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.
It’s a magnificent love song that has found a strong position as a jazz standard, with recordings by Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé, and Frank Sinatra.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded this version of “The Way You Look Tonight” in 1977 for the movie My Best Friend’s Wedding; the exquisite piano is from Ralph Sharon.
I had several choices of versions of today’s song to feature, but the version Bennett recorded for My Best Friend’s Wedding is the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard and so I feature it today.
“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as the song collected on Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 2, is available from Apple Music.
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