The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet

The song of the day for Wednesday, September 25, 2013 is “A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet.”

About This Song

“A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet” was written in 1932 by Gus Kahn and Harry Woods. It was made popular on radio and in clubs by Vincent Lopez. The song was a big hit for Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s autobiographical 1990 album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist.

I chose today’s song as I was thinking about our wonderful weekend at the 56th Monterey Jazz Festival. In our new, upgraded seats this year, there were many wonderful people, some of whom had been coming to the festival for twenty to thirty years. This year, there was great concern about a couple who had been attending for over thirty years (25 years of which were in the same seats near us) who were not there. As a result, people who had known each other for years only from the festival, decided to exchange phone numbers and email addresses and vowed to stay in touch better. Section 150 was indeed a little street where old friends meet.

As the newcomers to section 150, we met many wonderful people, both in our section and in our favorite hang-out spot: the picnic tables near the Courtyard Stage, which featured excellent music from Judy Roberts and Greg Fishman. We handed out cards for this site and are proud to welcome one of our newest subscribers from this year’s festival — Hello Jan! We all attend Monterey Jazz for the music, but we come away not only with many wonderful music memories but new friends as well. And yes, I’m already planning for next year.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0bnJ1AqxPRBjMUXXiMzzJ1
“A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet,” as well as the album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com.

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Song of the Day: The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

The song of the day for Sunday, August 18, 2013 is “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

About This Song

“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” was written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin in 1933 for the movie Moulin Rouge. The song was introduced in the film by Constance Bennett. The song was recorded in the mid 1930s by Ted Weems and His Orchestra, Bing Crosby and many others, as well as an Art Tatum piano solo version from the mid 1950s.

About This Version

“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” has a special place in the musical landscape of Tony Bennett’s career. In October 1949, Tony Bennett with his friend and musical director Tony Tamburello, recorded a demo record at Leslie Records with two songs: “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “Crazy Rhythm.” Mitch Miller, who had just become the head of “pop singles” division at Columbia Records heard “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and immediately decided to sign the young singer to a contract with Columbia. Bennett recorded the song at his first recording session for Columbia in April 1950 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today’s version was recorded some forty years after that first recording for Tony Bennett’s 1990 album Astoria: The Portrait of the Artist. This version, arranged by Jorge Calandrelli, is a quieter and more modern interpretation of this song, with a more introspective emotional arc that the early version. Like all the songs on this very fine album, it’s well worth a listen.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2GoFkLZ0SoqTLD9jN2qgIQ
“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” as well as the album Astoria: The Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

The song of the day for Wednesday, June 19, 2013 is “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

About This Song

“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” was written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin for the 1933 movie Moulin Rouge, starring Constance Bennett, who introduced the song.

Tony Bennett first recorded this song in 1949 with Leslie Records as demo record, with “Crazy Rhythm” on the flip side, both arranged by Bennett’s friend and vocal coach Tony Tamburello. Tony Bennett relates the story in The Good Life:

Not long after Mitch took over as head of A&R (at Columbia), he heard my demo disks of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “Fascinatin’ Rhythm.” This was around the same time that he had the his now-infamous feud with Frank Sinatra. They constantly fought over what songs Frank should record. The industry was beginning to give Mitch a lot of flack for that, and I always suspected he signed me partially to show people that he wasn’t prejudiced against Italian singers! He had never heard of me, but he was so impressed by the way I sang “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” that he signed me to the label sight unseen and selected “Boulevard” as my first single for Columbia. As it turned out, it was one of the few times that Mitch and I saw eye to eye on the subject of repertoire.

“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” was released on May 22, 1950.

About This Version

Today’s version is from one of my favorite albums, the 1990 Astoria: Portrait of the Artist. It’s a slower and somewhat more romantic arrangement that it is quite sweet and tender.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2GoFkLZ0SoqTLD9jN2qgIQ
“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” as well as the full Astoria album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Folks That Live On The Hill

The song of the day for Wednesday, May 15, 2013 is The Folks That Live On the Hill.

About This Song

While the partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II probably comes to mind when people first think of Hammerstein, Oscar Hammerstein was nearly 50 before he and Rodgers wrote Oklahoma. Prior to that, he had teamed with composers including Jerome Kern (Showboat in 1927), Vincent Youmans, Rudolf Friml and Sigmund Romberg. Not only a lyric writer, Hammerstein usually wrote the book for the musicals he collaborated on.

220px-High_wide_and_handsome_promo_picture

Today’s song, The Folks That Live On The Hill, was written in 1937 with Jerome Kern for a movie called High, Wide and Handsome, where it was introduced by Irene Dunne. It was recorded that same year by Bing Crosby. Peggy Lee also recorded the song in 1957 on her album The Man I Love.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song on his 1990 autobiographical album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist. The song is quite touching in the context of the arc of the album: the young man returning home after World War II, exploring his past, planning his future and dreaming of what life might bring.

http://open.spotify.com/track/38kABxg7jKSRBo1Yd5V7k5
The Folks That Live On the Hill, as well as the entire Astoria: Portrait of the Artist album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: When Do The Bells Ring For Me

The song of the day for Wednesday, March 27, 2103 is When Do The Bells Ring For Me.

About This Song

When Do The Bells Ring For Me was written by composer, pianist and songwriter Charles DeForest. Mr. DeForest was a noted cabaret performer in New York for virtually his entire professional life. His songs were recorded by George Shearing, Blossom Dearie, Chris Conner, Sylvia Syms and, of course, Tony Bennett, who featured three of his songs on his 1990 album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist.

About This Version

Today’s recording is from Astoria, which I believe is one of Tony Bennett’s best and most beautifully realized albums. It’s an autobiographical album, which starts with the return of the young World War II veteran to his home in Astoria as he adjusts to his life again, falls in love, and begins his career. In this song, he asks the question that all of us have asked ourselves at some point: when do the bells ring for me?

When Do The Bells Ring For Me

Listen to When Do The Bells Ring For Me on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1990

Thanks to YouTube, here’s a video of Tony performing this song from the 1991 Grammy Awards: