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 Tuesday, May 30, 2023, 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 (and danced) by Fred Astaire and Jack Buchanan.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan” in July 1993 for his album of Fred Astaire songs, Steppin’ Out. Bennett and Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

Steppin’ Out won. the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.


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

And here are Mr. Astaire and Mr. Buchanan from The Band Wagon:

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

The song of the day for Thursday, February 14, 2019, 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 Schwarz 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 1959 with the Count Basie Orchestra and features a terrific arrangement by Ralph Sharon. The album Basie/Bennett was originally released on Basie’s Roulette label; this decision was not well-regarded by Mitch Miller and others at Columbia Records. Their second album, In Person!, was released by Columbia.

The two albums that Tony Bennett made with Count Basie in the late 1950s are really remarkable and are among my favorites. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to them, just follow the Spotify link where you can stream the full album. Both are also available on iTunes.

I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plans – 1990 Remix/Remaster

I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plans – 1990 Remix/Remaster, a song by Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Tristan Powell on Spotify

“I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan,” as well as Basie/Bennett, is available from iTunes.

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

The song of the day for Thursday, June 15, 2017 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 Schwarz and Howard Dietz for the 1929 revue The Little Show, where it 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’ve Have To Change My Plan” in 1993 for the album Steppin’ Out. This album consists of songs sung by Bennett’s friend Fred Astaire.

I Guess I"ll Have to Change My Plan

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


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

And here’s a little Fred Astaire …

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Song of the Day: Dancing In The Dark

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 4, 2017 is “Dancing in the Dark.”

About This Song

“Dancing in the Dark” was written by Arthur Schwarz and Howard Dietz 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

Today’s song, “Dancing in the Dark,” was recorded in 1961 for the album My Heart Sings. The arrangement is by Ralph Burns.

Dancing in the Dark

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


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

This past New Year’s Eve, Turner Classic Movies had the great sense to air all three of the That’s Entertainment films. This dance with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse dancing to today’s song never fails to thrill me.

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

The song of the day for Tuesday, September 2, 2014 is “I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan.”

About This Song

Though often called “I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plans,” the original title uses the singular “plan.” In either case, it was written by Arthur Schwarz and Howard Dietz in 1929 for a revue called The Little Show, where it was introduced by Clifton Webb. This song was also used in the 1953 movie The Band Wagon, where it was sung by Fred Astaire and Oscar Levant

About This Version

Today’s version of “I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plan” was recorded in 1959 for Tony Bennett’s first album with Count Basie. This album has been released under various titles, but is most often known as Basie/Bennett or Basie Swings/Bennett Sings. Tony Bennett and Count Basie and His Orchestra sounded great together — I’m just glad that there were two albums of them to enjoy. The other album, In Person! was released the same year, 1959.

I Guess I"ll Have to Change My Plans - 1990 Remix / Remaster

Listen to I Guess I"ll Have to Change My Plans - 1990 Remix / Remaster on Spotify. Song · Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Tristan Powell · 1959

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