The song of the day for Wednesday, May 20, 2015 is “The Rules Of The Road.”
About This Song
Today’s song, “The Rules Of The Road,” was written in 1960 by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh. In his new biography of Cy Coleman, You Fascinate Me So, author Andy Propst tells us that prior to writing “The Rules Of The Road” Coleman was suffering from a long bout of writers block. Leigh was ready to start on “The Rules Of The Road” until Coleman found a way around the episode of writer’s block. In addition to this song, they followed up with one of their great Broadway hits, Wildcat.
About This Version
It’s no secret that I love to listen to Tony Bennett sings “The Rules Of The Road.” This version is from his 1964 album with the Ralph Sharon Trio When Lights Are Low. In addition to Sharon on piano, the trio featured Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums. The album was recorded in Las Vegas in March 1964 as they were preparing for Tony Bennett’s big show at The Sahara the following month.
About Today
Why did I choose this song today? I was in a rather long business meeting this morning where we were discussing a new issue that just come up. Somebody at the table said, “Well, that’s how it goes.” And so today’s song was decided.
“The Rules Of The Road,” as well as When Lights Are Low, is available from iTunes.
Andy’s book, You Fascinate Me So, is available from Amazon as well as other book retailers.