The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Mood Indigo

The song of the day for Friday, May 29, 2020, is “Mood Indigo.”

About This Song

Duke Ellington wrote “Mood Indigo” in 1930 and named it “Dreamy Blues”; the lyrics by Irving Mills were added later. The song, which is based on a theme by Barney Bigard, who is said to have learned it from his New Orleans clarinet teacher, Lorenzo Tio. Ellington wrote the song specifically for “microphone transmission” and it was first played on a 1930 radio broadcast. Audiences loved the song, and so Irving Mills wrote the lyrics, changing the name of the song to “Mood Indigo.” The song has been widely recorded by instrumental and vocal artists, including Tony Bennett, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Mood Indigo” in May 1999 for the album Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, which was released in the 100th year anniversary of Ellington’s birth. The album won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

“Mood Indigo,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Mood Indigo

The song of the day for Wednesday, March 18, 2020, is “Mood Indigo.”

About This Song

Duke Ellington wrote “Mood Indigo” in 1930; the lyrics by Irving Mills were added later. Originally titled “Dreamy Blues,” Ellington wrote this song, which is based on a theme by Barney Bigard, who is said to have learned it from his New Orleans clarinet teacher, Lorenzo Tio.

Ellington wrote the song specifically for “microphone transmission” and it was first played on a 1930 radio broadcast. Audiences loved the song, and so Irving Mills wrote the lyrics, changing the name of the song to “Mood Indigo.” The song has been widely recorded by instrumental and vocal artists, including Tony Bennett, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Mood Indigo” in 1999 for the album Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, released on the centenary of Ellington’s birth in 1899. Jorge Calandrelli did the arrangement.

Bennett Sings Ellington Hot & Cool won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

“Mood Indigo,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington Hot & Cool, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Mood Indigo

The song of the day for Monday, November 30, 2015 is “Mood Indigo.”

About This Song

Originally titled “Dreamy Blues,” Ellington wrote this song in 1930, which is based on a theme by Barney Bigard, who is said to have learned it from his New Orleans clarinet teacher, Lorenzo Tio. Ellington wrote the song specifically for “microphone transmission” and it was first played on a 1930 radio broadcast. Audiences loved the song, and so Irving Mills wrote the lyric, changing the name of the song to “Mood Indigo.” The song has been widely recorded by instrumental and vocal artists, including Tony Bennett, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Mood Indigo” in 1999 for his tribute album to Duke Ellington, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool. It was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

Mood Indigo

Mood Indigo, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“Mood Indigo,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, is available from iTunes.

About Today

You may have noticed that we have been playing a lot of Ellington lately. About six weeks ago, I picked up a book called Meanwhile There Are Letters, the Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald. I came to the book as a fan of Eudora Welty, whom I had met in the late 1970s when I lived in Jackson, Mississippi. Welty and the mystery writer Ross Macdonald were fans of each other and began exchanging letters in 1970 until Macdonald’s death from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. In writing these letters, Welty and Macdonald fell in love, though because Macdonald was married and because Welty was a lady, that love remained in their letters. As I said, I entered the book as a fan of Welty and along the way became a fan of Ross Macdonald. Ross loved jazz, as did Eudora, and he especially loved Duke Ellington’s music. And so I’m in a Duke Ellington kind of mood.

If any of you are interested in Ross Macdonald, I’ve started a website on him and his novels at seekingrossmacdonald.com. It’s not nearly complete, but you might find it interesting.

Oh, and a news flash: the 4th Annual Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas will start on December 14.

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Song of the Day: Mood Indigo

The song of the day for Tuesday, April 30, 2013 is Mood Indigo, as we continue Duke Ellington Week here at the Year of Tony Bennett.

About This Song

Ellington wrote Mood Indigo in 1930, though the composition credits of the song is shared with Barney Bigard, who learned the tune from his clarinet teacher from New Orleans. The lyrics, attributed to Irving Mills, were likely written by Mitchell Parish.

In spite of this, there is no mistaking this as a classic Ellington song with unmistakable Ellington orchestrations. Mood Indigo was a big hit for Ellington, as well as a critical success. Compared at the time to Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, the song was named by NPR as one the top 100 American musical works of the 20th century and was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Al Gioia, Jazz Standards, page 272).

About This Version

Today’s version comes from Tony Bennett’s 1999 album, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool. The big band arrangement is by Ralph Burns and in addition to the fine work by the Ralph Sharon Quartet (with Paul Langosch [bass], Clayton Cameron [drums] and Gray Sargent [guitar]), this cut also features Wynton Marsalis on trumpet and Al Grey on trombone. This album is one of Bennett’s purest jazz recordings and this particular cut is certainly a great example of the nuanced jazz that Ellington was known for.


Mood Indigo, as well as the full Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool album, is available from iTunes.

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