The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: My Old Flame

The song of the day for Wednesday, December 8, 2021, is “My Old Flame.”

About This Song

“My Old Flame” was written in 1934 by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow for the movie Belle of the Nineties, starring Mae West. West was an ardent Duke Ellington fan and insisted that he and his orchestra be hired to do the film and accompany her when she sang it. The song has become a jazz standard with recordings by Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, and Dinah Washington.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “My Old Flame” for his 1997 album Tony Bennett On Holiday.

“My Old Flame,” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday is available on Apple Music.

Here’s the Mae West recording of My Old Flame from 1934!

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Song of the Day: Pennies From Heaven

The song of the day for Friday, June 25, 2021, is “Pennies From Heaven.”

About This Song

“Pennies From Heaven” was written in 1936 by Arthur Johnston and Johnny Burke. Bing Crosby introduced the song in a movie of the same name. It’s one of the classic Great Depression songs.

About This Version

Tony Bennett sang “Pennies From Heaven” at Carnegie Hall concert on June 9, 1962, captured on album Tony Bennett At Carnegie Hall.

Pennies from Heaven (From "Pennies from Heaven") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to Pennies from Heaven (From "Pennies from Heaven") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1962.

“Pennies From Heaven,” as well as Tony Bennett At Carnegie Hall is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: My Old Flame

The song of the day for Friday, April 22, 2016 is “My Old Flame.”

About This Song

“My Old Flame” was written by Arthur Johnston (music) and Sam Coslow (lyrics) for the movie Belle of the Nineties, which starred Mae West. Mae West was an ardent Duke Ellington fan and insisted that he and his orchestra be hired to do the film and accompany her when she sang it.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “My Old Flame” in 1996 for his tribute album to Billie Holiday: Tony Bennett On Holiday. It was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

My Old Flame

Listen to My Old Flame on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1997.


“My Old Flame,” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: My Old Flame

The song of the day for Friday, June 13, 2014 is “My Old Flame.”

About This Song

“My Old Flame” was written by Arthur Johnston (music) and Sam Coslow (lyrics) in 1934 for the movie Belle of the Nineties, which starred Mae West. Miss West was an ardent fan of Duke Ellington and insisted that Ellington and His Orchestra appear in the film and accompany her for the singing of this song.

The song has been widely recorded by artists including Cootie Williams, Ben Webster, Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday, among others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “My Old Flame” for his 1997 tribute album to Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett On Holiday. There are many fine recordings on this album in addition to today’s song including “Trav’lin’ Light,” “Good Morning, Heartache” and “Me, Myself and I.” The album features Ralph Sharon on piano, with strings arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2jBarJ6zzh3TyZn1hZqpMT
“My Old Flame,” as well as the album Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Pennies From Heaven

The song of the day for Monday, February 18, 2013 is Pennies From Heaven.

About Pennies From Heaven

Pennies From Heaven was written in 1936 by Arthur Johnston, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the film of the same name in 1936. This recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004.

It was a popular song during the Great Depression and remains popular to this day with jazz and popular singers including Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s 1959 album In Person! with the Count Basie Orchestra. Originally intended as a live album, engineering difficulties caused fake audience applause to be spliced into the original vinyl record; the re-released CD is free of this artifice. What remains is a wonderful recording of a very fine song by Bennett with the Count Basie Orchestra. It is also a reminder of how truly wonderful it is when singers sing the verse.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6fq9zlFcvgcOKkZqOzgfMs
Pennies From Heaven, as well as the full In Person! album, is available from iTunes.

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