The song of the day for Monday, July 15, 2024, is “The Way You Look Tonight.”
About Today
The Year of Tony Bennett remembers lyricist Dorothy Fields on the anniversary of her birth on July 15, 1905. She was born into a family with deep roots in show business. Her father, Lew Fields, was a vaudeville performer and later became a prominent Broadway producer. Her brother Joseph was a writer and producer and her brother Herbert was a writer who later collaborated with Dorothy. Over her career, she wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films and worked with many notable composers, including Jerome Kern, Cy Coleman, Irving Berlin, and Jimmy McHugh. She was one of the first Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood femaale songwriters.
About This Song
“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 file Swing Times, starring Fred Astaire. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song; Fields was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting. She remarked about this song:
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.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded this version of “The Way You Look Tonight” in 1997 for the film My Best Friend’s Wedding.
“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 2, is available on Apple Music.
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