The song of the day for Wednesday, August 7, 2013 is “Where Do You Start.”
About This Song
“Where Do You Start” was written by Johnny Mandel with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman in 1987. If there is such as thing as songwriting royalty today, it’s these three. Mandel, who has worked extensively with Tony Bennett, wrote “Emily,”The Shadow of Your Smile,” and “Close Enough For Love,” all of which Bennett has recorded. Alan and Marilyn Bergman wrote lyrics for “How Do You Keep The Music Playing,” “The Windmills of Your Mind,” “You Must Believe in Spring” and “The Way We Were.”
About This Version
I must admit that I have an incredible weakness for both “Where Do You Start” and The Art of Romance. I have ten different versions of our song of the day in iTunes, ranging from Nancy Lamott to Tony Bennett to Barbara Cook to Shirley Horn; all of them great. And The Art of Romance. I absolutely adore this album; it’s what made me go out in 2004 and buy every Tony Bennett album I could possibly find. When it first came out, I think I listened to it four or five times a day for a month; I couldn’t believe what an exquisitely beautiful album it was … and still is. One could read books about the nature of romantic love for years and not learn as much about love as Bennett tells us in this album.
So, I’m quite happy to present this beautiful song as the song of the day. Mandel did the arrangement as well as conducted the orchestra for this recording.
Did I mention that I like The Art of Romance a lot?
http://open.spotify.com/track/398Bk2f9uCzJBl1UkAY4UN
“Where Do You Start,” as well as The Art of Romance, is available from iTunes.
I just found this post when attempting to find out who wrote this gorgeous song. Try out the version by Kenny Rankin on A Song For You. Kenny Rankin has been gone for a few years, but his body of work is extensive and gorgeous.
Alan and Marilyn Bergman are extraordinary lyric writers. I first heard this song done by Nancy Lamott and have loved it since my first listen some 25 or 30 years ago.