The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan

The song of the day for Friday, April 23, 2021, is “I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan.”

About This Song

“I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the 1929 revue The Little Show and was introduced by Clifton Webb. It was a featured song in the 1953 movie The Band Wagon, where it was sung by Fred Astaire and Oscar Levant. Even though the original title was “I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan,” it more often sung with Plans.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan” in 1994 for his album Steppin’ Out, an album consisting of songs associated with Bennett’s good friend Fred Astaire. Bennett and Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement. Sharon’s piano on this version is exquisite.

I Guess I"ll Have to Change My Plan

Listen to I Guess I"ll Have to Change My Plan on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1993.

“I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan,” as well as Steppin’ Out, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: By Myself

The song of the day for Saturday, April 10, 2021, is “By Myself.”

About This Song

“By Myself” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dieta for the 1937 musical Between the Devil, where it was introduced by Jack Buchanan. Another great Schwartz-Dietz song from Between the Devil was “I See Your Face Before Me.” “By Myself” was used in the 1953 Fred Astaire film, The Band Wagon.

About These Versions

Earlier in the week, I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole watching Judy Garland videos and came across one I not seen before: “By Myself.” I then remembered that Tony Bennett had also recorded the song and thought that a Bennett recording with the Garland video would make for a nice post.

When it came time to write this post, I couldn’t decide between which of the two versions Bennett had recorded and so decided to use them both. The first was recorded in 1950 and the second in 1993.

The 1959 version is from Hometown, My Town and was arranged by Ralph Burns.

By Myself

Listen to By Myself on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1959.

The 1993 version from Steppin’ Out was arranged by Bennett and Ralph Sharon.

By Myself

Listen to By Myself on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1993.

And finally, Judy Garland, from her television show in 1964. Her exit at the end of the song is legendary.

JUDY GARLAND sings BY MYSELF and receives a standing ovation 1964

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Song of the Day: Dancing In The Dark

The song of the day for Thursday, February 25, 2021, is “Dancing In The Dark.”

About This Song

“Dancing in the Dark” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the 1931 revue The Band Wagon and is widely considered to be the finest of the songs written by Schwartz and Dietz. Alec Wilder in American Popular Song describes it as “… a very strong song with a superb, poetic lyric.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Dancing in the Dark” in 1962 for the album My Heart Sings. The Ralph Burns arrangement is wonderful. Bennett first worked with Burns on the 1959 Hometown, My Town and several singles, including Bennett’s first recording of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile.”

Dancing in the Dark

Listen to Dancing in the Dark on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1961.

“Dancing In The Dark,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from Apple Music.

The song, as an instrumental, was used in the 1953 film version of The Band Wagon, featuring the exquisite Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The number is pure heaven; I particularly love the business with the bench (starts at 3:36). Michael Kidd choreographed the dance.

Cyd Charisse w/ Fred Astaire (1953) The Band Wagon [Dancing in the Dark]

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Song of the Day: Dancing in the Dark

The song of the day for Saturday, December 26, 2020, is “Dancing in the Dark.”

About This Song

“Dancing in the Dark” Dwas written for the 1931 revue The Band Wagon and is widely considered to be the finest of the songs written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz. Alec Wilder in American Popular Song describes it as “… a very strong song with a superb, poetic lyric.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Dancing in the Dark” for his 1961 album My Heart Sings. The album was arranged and conducted by Ralph Burns. Burns first worked with Bennett on the 1959 Hometown, My Town album (one of your author’s favorite albums) and returned for this album, with spectacular results.

Dancing in the Dark

Listen to Dancing in the Dark on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1961.

“Dancing in the Dark,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from Apple Music.

How can I talk about “Dancing in the Dark” without mentioning Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in the 1953 film Dancing in the Dark? Cyd Charisse was trained as a ballet dancer and her work with Astaire in this film is lyrical and quite beautiful.

Cyd Charisse w/ Fred Astaire (1953) The Band Wagon [Dancing in the Dark]

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Song of the Day: I See Your Face Before Me

The song of the day for Wednesday, December 2, 2020, is “I See Your Face Before Me.”

About This Song

“I See Your Face Before Me” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the 1937 Broadway musical Between The Devil, where it was introduced by Adele Dixon. Both Guy Lombardo and Glen Gray recorded the song in that time period. Later recordings include those by Frank Sinatra and Johnny Hartman. The Johnny Hardman version, recorded in 1955, was used in the soundtrack for the 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I See Your Face Before Me” in 1992 for the album Perfectly Frank. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

I See Your Face Before Me

Listen to I See Your Face Before Me on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1992.

“I See Your Face Before Me,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from Apple Music.

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