The song of the day for Wednesday, September 16, 2015 is “The Man That Got Away.”

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away” was written by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, for Judy Garland to sing in the 1954 version of A Star Is Born, with James Mason. Her performance of the song is legendary in film history, with 27 takes in three days, three separate sessions, and two different directors. The filmed scene is brilliant and made the song a huge hit for Garland, who sang it in most of her concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Man That Got Away” with Ralph Sharon on October 28, 1959 for the album Tony Sings For Two, which wasn’t released until 1961. Remarkably, Bennett and Sharon recorded sixteen songs in a single day-long session. Sharon came in with case full of sheet music; they would pick a song, try it out, choose a key and then record in one or two takes, with no instruments except Sharon’s piano, and then move on to the next. The result, Tony Sings For Two, is one of his finest albums with an extraordinary selection of songs from the American Songbook.

“The Man That Got Away,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.