The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Smile

The song of the day for Friday, July 17, 2015 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.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded “Smile” several times, first in 1959. I chose his second studio recording from 1965 for The Movie Song Album. This version was arranged by Al Cohn and conducted by Johnny Mandel. This song is a favorite of Tony Bennett: he sings at virtually all of his concerts. Your author tears up every time. Mr. Chaplin loved Bennett’s singing of his song that he gave Bennett a copy of the film Modern Times.

If you’ve never seen the film (and I encourage you to see it), here’s that final scene with Chaplin and Goddard. Pure genius.

Smile

Smile, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


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

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Song of the Day: How Insensitive

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 5, 2015 is “How Insensitive.”

About This Song

“How Insensitive” (known as “Insensatez” in the original Portuguese) was written in 1963 by Antonio Carlos Jobim, with the Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. Norman Gimbel wrote the English lyrics. The melody was based on Frédéric Chopin’s Prelude No.4. Interestingly, “insensatez” in Portuguese is typically translated as folly or absurdity.

This song has been widely recorded, including a very fine early recording with Jobim and Stan Getz for their 1963 album Jazz Samba Encore and the Astrud Gilberto and João Gilberto recording. American singers include Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, Diana Krall and many, many more.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “How Insensitive” in 1965. It is the third song on the album, following “Fly Me To The Moon” Arranged by Don Costa, the recording features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums) and also features Al Cohn on tenor sax. It’s a perfect bossa nova song.

How Insensitive

How Insensitive, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“How Insensitive,” 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: Smile

The song of the day for Saturday, December 27, 2014 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 are by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons.

About This Version

This is Bennett’s second studio recording of “Smile”; the first was in 1959. It was released as a single and was later included on his 1962 album I Left My Heart In San Francisco. Today’s version was recorded in 1965 and was arranged by Al Cohn and conducted by Johnny Mandel.

About Today

On December 27, 1965, 49 years ago today, Tony Bennett recorded three songs for his upcoming masterpiece The Movie Song Album, which was released in 1966. These three songs were “Smile,” “The Second Time Around,” and “Maybe September.” It was hard to choose a song from these three, but I do love “Smile.”

Smile

Smile, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


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

And yes, it’s Saturday and yes, we have a video. Our video today is from Tony Bennett’s concert at Bumbershoot in Seattle Washington on September 2, 2012. It’s an amateur video and the quality isn’t great. But I was at that performance and I have so many fond memories of the concert; you read about it here. At the end, after a very long standing ovation, he thanked the audience and said “We will remember today for the rest of our lives.” So will we … so will we.

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Song of the Day: The Second Time Around

The song of the day for Sunday, May 19, 2013 is The Second Time Around.

About This Song

The Second Time Around was written by great team of Jimmy VanHeusen and Sammy Cahn for the 1960 movie High Time, where is was introduced by Bing Crosby.  It’s been recorded by many popular singers including Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Mel Tormé, Rosemary Clooney and Michael Feinstein,

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song for one of his favorite albums, the 1966 The Movie Song Album. Other great songs from this album include Emily, The Days of Wine and Roses and Maybe September, from The Oscar,  in which Tony Bennett appeared in a non-singing role.

The Second Time Around was arranged by Al Cohn and conducted by Johnny Mandel.


The Second Time Around, as well as The Movie Song Album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Smile

The song of the day for Friday, February 8, 2013, is Smile.

About Smile

This beautiful song was written as an instrumental by Charles Chaplin and was used in the soundtrack for his 1936 film Modern Times. In 1954, John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons wrote the lyrics. The first recording was made in 1954 by Nat King Cole and has been steadily recorded ever since.

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About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded Smile in 1959; it was released as a single in 1959 and was included in his wonderful 1962 I Left My Heart In San Francisco album. Today’s version is from the 1966 The Movie Song Album and was recorded in late 1965 with an arrangement by Al Cohn and orchestra conducted Johnny Mandel. Mr. Bennett sings this song regularly in concert and it is always perfect.


Smile, as well as the full The Movie Song album, is available from iTunes.

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