The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: What Child Is This?

On the eleventh day of the Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, Thursday, December 24, 2015, the song of the day is “What Child Is This?”

About This Song

The lyrics for “What Child Is This” was written in 1865 by an English businessman named William Chatterton Dix. It was set to the traditional English melody “Greensleeves.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett released The Classic Christmas Album in 2011, with songs from his other Christmas albums, ranging from Snowfall to A Swingin’ Christmas. Today’s song, “What Child Is This?” was the only previously unreleased song on the album.

What Child is This

What Child is This, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“What Child Is This,” as well as The Classic Christmas Album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Christmas Waltz

On the tenth day of the Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, Wednesday, December 23, 2015, the song of the day is “The Christmas Waltz.”

About This Song

“The Christmas Waltz” was written in 1954 by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Christmas Waltz” for his 2008 album with the Count Basie Big Band, A Swingin’ Christmas.

The Christmas Waltz

The Christmas Waltz, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“The Christmas Waltz,” as well as A Swingin’ Christmas, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

On the ninth day of the Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, Tuesday, December 22, 2015, the song of the day is “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.”

About This Song

Written by the songwriting team of J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, “Santa Claus is Coming To Town” had a spectacular debut. The song was first sung on Eddie Cantor’s radio show in November 1934. On the day after the broadcast, there were 100,000 orders for the sheet music; by Christmas, over 400,000 copies of the sheet music had been sold.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” in 1968 for his first Christmas album, Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album; it was arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon.

Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town

Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” as well as Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Snowfall Christmas Medley

On the seventh day of the Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, Sunday, December 20, 2015, the song of the day is “The Snowfall Christmas Medley.”

About These Songs

The medley consists of these songs: “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” (traditional 16th century English carol); “Silent Night” (music by Franz Xavier Gruber, lyrics Joseph Mohr. 1818); “O Come All Ye Faithful” (traditional 13th century song); “Jingle Bells” (James Lord Pierpont, 1857) and “Where Is Love” (Lionel Bart, 1968).

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this beautiful medley of Christmas songs in 1968 for his album Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album, which was arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon.

Medley

Medley, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“The Snowfall Christmas Medley,” as well as Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Winter Wonderland

On the sixth day of the Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, Saturday, December 19, 2015, the song of the day is “Winter Wonderland.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Winter Wonderland,” was written in 1934 by Felix Barnard and Richard Smith. Smith, the lyricist, wrote this song after a snowfall covered his home town of Honesdale, Pennsylvania. It is, of course, a beloved holiday song, even though the lyrics do not explicitly mention Christmas.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded today’s version of “Winter Wonderland” for his 2008 album A Swingin’ Christmas, which features The Count Basie Big Band. It was arranged by Bill Holman.

Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“Winter Wonderland,” as well as A Swingin’ Christmas, is available from iTunes.

About Today

For our video today, we feature Tony and Lady Gaga singing today’s song at last year’s Christmas At Rockefeller Center.

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