The song of the day for Saturday, March 14, 2026, is “Because of You.”
About This Song
“Because of You” was written in 1940 by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson. It charted briefly in the early 1940s.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded “Because of You” on April 4, 1951, and was released as a single that year. Percy Faith wrote the arrangement.
Bennett related this in his autobiography The Good Life.
By the spring of 1951, I was told that if I didn’t get a hit soon, I’d be dropped from the label. I went into Percy’s office and he said, “In this next session you really have to deliver. We have three songs ready, so we need another song.” I remember that he looked through a bunch of sheet music on his desk, grabbed a song, and said, “Well, let’s do this one.” That song was ‘Because of You.’ I was doing a lot of dramatic singing on my early records, but Percy said to me, “Just relax. Use your natural voice and sing the song.” I took his advice.
“Because of You” was a major hit; it reached #1 on the Billboard charts and stayed there for 10 weeks.
“Because of You,” as well as The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available on Apple Music.
Dear Mr. Bennett
The John Pizzarelli Trio (Pizzarelli on guitar and vocals, Michael Karn on bass, and Isaiah J. Thompson on piano) recorded “Because Of You” for Dear Mr. Bennett, released in March 2026.
Dear Mr. Bennett is available for purchase on CD and vinyl at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Tower Records, and other record stores. It is also available on most popular streaming services.
On September 23, 1951, Tony Bennett sang “Because of You” live on the Ed Sullivan Show.