The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Tuesday, February 11, 2020, is “The Man That Got Away.”

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away,” by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin, was written for Judy Garland for 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” on October 28, 1959, with Ralph Sharon. Bennett and Sharon recorded 14 songs that one day. The album, Tony Sings For Two, was released in January 1961.

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

I must admit that I was so happy to see Renee Zellweger win the Academy Award for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the film Judy. In honor of Renee and Judy Garland, here’s the famous clip from A Star is Born.

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Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Monday, June 10, 2019 is “The Man That Got Away.”

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away” by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin, was written for Judy Garland for 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 and Ralph Sharon recorded “The Man That Got Away” on October 28, 1959, released in 1961 on the album Tony Sings For Two. It was a remarkable session, as Bennett relates in his autobiography, The Good Life:

We booked time in the studio and pored through music books, trying one tune after another. The arrangements were spontaneous, and we finished each song in one or two takes. In one afternoon we laid down sixteen tunes–which must be some kind of record–twelve of which made it onto the album, which became 1961’s Tony Sings For Two. Mitch Miller showed up at the start of these sessions, furious that I was really going through with it. When he saw there no dissuading me, he turned to Frank Laico and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.” Tony Sings For Two turned out to be one of my finest records ever.

The Man That Got Away – Remastered

The Man That Got Away – Remastered, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

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

About Today

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of Judy Garland, born as Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on June 10, 1922. In her short life of just 47 years, she left us with a body of work that will never be forgotten. Her performance in 1954’s A Star Is Born was legendary, as shown in this clip of her singing “The Man That Got Away.”

The Man That Got Away – A Star Is Born (1954)

Of course this is the original version that was written for Judy by Harold Arlen for the film A Star Is Born in 1954. Judy Garland is 32 years old here.

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Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Saturday, February 23, 2019, is “The Man That Got Away.”

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away” was written by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin for Judy Garland 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 later sang it in most of her concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Man That Got Away” for his album Tony Sings For Two. This is one of Tony’s finest albums, I think. Bennett and Ralph Sharon booked some time in the Columbia 30th Street Studio and entered with a briefcase full of sheet music. Bennett and Sharon recorded an astounding 16 songs in a single session, many on just one or two takes. For me, this album is a tribute to two incredibly talented musicians who were completely in sync. The session was held on October 28, 1959, but the album wasn’t released until February 1961.

The Man That Got Away – Remastered

The Man That Got Away – Remastered, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

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

About Today

It’s Saturday and that means I have a video. Here’s Judy Garland from A Star Is Born.

The Man That Got Away – A Star Is Born (1954)

Of course this is the original version that was written for Judy by Harold Arlen for the film A Star Is Born in 1954. Judy Garland is 32 years old here.

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Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 31, 2018 is “The Man That Got Away.”

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away” was written by Harold Arlen and 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 for their album Tony Sings For Two which was released in February 1961. Bennett and Sharon entered the CBS 30th Street Studio on October 28, 1959 with a briefcase full of sheet music. In that one day, they chose and recorded 16 songs, most of them on the first or second take, 12 of which wound up on the album. It was a mammoth recording session that resulted in a magnificent album.

The Man That Got Away

Listen to The Man That Got Away on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1961.


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

Here’s a video of Judy Garland and “The Man That Got Away” from A Star is Born.

About Today

I thank you for letting me indulge myself by playing some of my very favourite of Tony’s recordings. Tune in tomorrow for a special monthly theme that I hope you’ll enjoy.

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Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Sunday, September 3, 2017 is “The Man That Got Away.”

About This Song

“That Man That Got Away” was written by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin for Judy Garland to sing in the 1954 version of A Star Is Born, with James Mason. Her performance of this 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 and Ralph Sharon recorded “The Man That Got Away” on October 28, 1959 and released in 1961 on the album Tony Sings For Two.

If you told me you were going to stick me on a desert island and I could only take two Tony Bennett albums with me, this would definitely be one of them (the other would be the 1962 Carnegie Hall concert album).

Tony Bennett tells this story in his autobiography The Good Life:

I always wanted to be unpredictable, and so for my next project, I decided to go in the opposite direction from the big orchestral albums I’d been doing lately and cut an intimate piano-vocal album with Ralph Sharon. We booked time in the studio and pored through music books, trying one tune after another. The arrangements were spontaneous, and we finished each song in one or two takes. In one afternoon we laid down sixteen tunes— which must be some kind of record— twelve of which made it onto the album, which became 1961’s Tony Sings for Two, Mitch Miller showed up at the start of these sessions, furious that I was really going through with it. When he saw that there was no dissuading me, he turned to Frank Laico and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.” Tony Sings for Two turned out to be one of my finest records ever.

And today’s song is my favorite from a favorite album.

The Man That Got Away

Listen to The Man That Got Away on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1961.


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

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