The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Just One Of Those Things

The song of the day for Wednesday, October 14, 2020, is “Just One Of Those Things.”

About This Song

Cole Porter wrote “Just One of Those Things” for the 1935 musical Jubilee. It’s one of Porter’s most popular songs and has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra. Alec Wilder in “American Popular Song” spoke of the lyric as ‘a trip to the moon on gossamer wings’ and “that it seems impossible that it wasn’t sitting on his piano, waiting for Porter even before he wrote the lyric.” It has certain literary fame as well: Holden Caulfied, in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye likes the song and notes that even the “stinking band” in the hotel lounge “couldn’t ruin it entirely.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Just One Of Those Things” 63 years ago today–October 14, 1957, for the album The Beat of My Heart. The band was fantastic: Ralph Sharon (musical director and piano), Nat Adderly (trumpet), Al Cohn (tenor sax), Milt Hinton (bass), and Art Blakey (drums). It’s a wonderful recording.

“Just One Of Those Things,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Monday, June 1, 2020, is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About Today

Today we are celebrating the composer of today’s song, Bart Howard, who was born on June 1, 1915, in Burlington, Iowa. He began his career as an accompanist at the age of 16 and played for Mabel Mercer, Johnny Mathis, and Eartha Kitt, among others. He is best known for “Fly Me To The Moon” and used to say that he lived off this song. As well he should; it’s a wonderful song.

About This Song

Bart Howard wrote “Fly Me To The Moon” in 1954. It was originally titled “In Other Words,” but the song was not doing that well, in spite of several recordings. In 1962, Howard renamed the song to “Fly Me To The Moon,” and the song began to catch on. Tony Bennett’s 1965 recording for If I Ruled The World was a big hit for Bennett. There have been many recordings of the song, including those by Frank Sinatra, Kaye Ballard, and many more. Bart Howard told Bennett that his 1965 recording was “the definitive performance of this song.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” in 1965 for his album If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set. Don Costa wrote the very good arrangement. Featured are The Will Bronson Chorus and Al Cohn on tenor saxophone.

“Fly Me To The Moon,” as well as If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Get a Kick Out of You

The song of the day for Tuesday, May 21, 2019, is “I Get a Kick Out of You.”

About This Song

“I Get a Kick Out of You” was written by Cole Porter his 1934 musical Anything Goes, where it was introduced by Ethel Merman. It’s been popular since then and has been recorded by artists including Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Anita O’Day, Max Roach, and many more. The original lyrics reference the use of cocaine (I get no kick from cocaine), and that particular line in the lyric is often rewritten, often to champagne.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Get a Kick Out of You” in 1957 for his second jazz album The Beat of My Heart (after Cloud 7). The album was conceived and arranged by Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon. For the album, they invited some of the best percussionists in the world to appear on the album. “I Get a Kick Out of You” features Art Blakey. This recording did not appear on the original 1957 LP, but was, happily, included on the 1996 CD release.

In addition to the world-class percussionists, Bennett and Sharon brought in some the best musicians for the band, including Milt Hinton (bass), Al Cohn (tenor sax), and Eddie Costa (vibes), just to name a few.

The Beat of My Heart is a truly excellent album.

I Get a Kick out of You

I Get a Kick out of You, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“I Get a Kick Out of You,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Just One of Those Things

The song of the day for Friday, July 20, 2018 is “Just One of Those Things.”

About This Song

Cole Porter wrote “Just One of Those Things” for the 1935 musical Jubilee. It’s one of Porter’s most popular songs and has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. Alec Wilder in American Popular Song spoke of the lyric as ‘a trip to the moon on gossamer wings’ and “that it seems impossible that it wasn’t sitting on his piano, waiting for Porter even before he wrote the lyric.” It has a certain literary fame as well: Holden Caulfied, in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye likes the song and notes that even the “stinking band” in the hotel lounge “couldn’t ruin it entirely.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Just One of Those Things” in 1957 for his album The Beat of My Heart. The arrangement was done by Ralph Sharon.

For this album, Bennett gathered world-class drummers and percussionists to participate in the album. Today’s recording featured a spectacular band, including Art Blakey (drums), Milt Hinton (bass), Al Cohn (tenor saxophone) and Nat Adderly (trumpet). It’s a great recording of a great song.

Just One Of Those Things

Listen to Just One Of Those Things on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1957.


“Just One of Those Things,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Smile

The song of the day for Saturday, April 16, 2016 is “Smile.”

About This Song

Charlie Chaplin wrote “Smile” in 1936 for his last silent film, Modern Times, which shows Chaplin and his costar Paulette Goddard, walking hand-in-hand up the road as the sun rises and as this song plays, in one of the most iconic scenes ever filmed. The lyrics, which were added later, are by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons. This song is a favorite of Tony Bennett’s and he sings “Smile” followed by “When You’re Smiling” at the end of his concerts.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Smile” is from The Movie Song Album. Recorded in 1965, it was arranged by Al Cohn. It’s my favorite of all of his recordings of this song.

Smile

Listen to Smile on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1966.


“Smile,” as well as The Movie Song Album, is available from iTunes.

About Today

The composer of today’s song, Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, better known as Charlie Chaplin, was born on April 16, 1889 in London to a poor family and knew much hardship early in his life. He was quite a talented child and began touring the music halls as an actor and comedian. At the age of 19, he signed a contract that took him to America, and at that point his career began to bloom. In 1914, he started working for the Keystone Studios, where he began to develop his Tramp persona, which he used in virtually all of his films.

In 1919, Chaplin co-founded United Artists, which gave him complete control over his films including The Kid, The Gold Rush and The Circus. Even after sound was introduced in the early 1930s, he refused to use dialogue in his film and out of that came two of his finest films: City Lights and Modern Times. In the 1940s, Chaplin fell under suspicion for communist sympathies and moved to Switzerland, where he lived for the rest of his life. Chaplin died on December 25, 1977.

He is remembered as one of the most creative early filmmakers who pushed the medium to artistic heights.

We have two videos for you today. First, is Tony Bennett singing “Smile” at the Hollywood Bowl on August 2, 2013, the day before his 87th birthday.

And finally, the very end of Modern Times, featuring today’s song with Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard.

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