An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
The song of the day for Sunday, June 27, 2021, is “Blue Velvet.”
“Blue Velvet” was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris. Tony Bennett’s 1951 single was the first recording of this song.
Tony Bennett sang Blue Velvet at his 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall, captured on Tony Bennett At Carnegie Hall.
Blue Velvet - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962
Listen to Blue Velvet - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1962.
“Blue Velvet,” as well as Tony Bennett At Carnegie Hall is available on Apple Music.
The song of the day for Wednesday, April 21, 2021, is “Blue Velvet.”
“Blue Velvet” was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris. Bennett’s 1951 recording was the first recording of the song and was one of his early hits for Columbia.
Tony Bennett recorded “Blue Velvet” in 1951; it was released as a single that year. Percy Faith wrote the arrangement.
Blue Velvet
Listen to Blue Velvet on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2011.
“Blue Velvet,” as well as all of the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Volume 1, is available from Apple Music.
The song of the day for Tuesday, June 24, 2020, is “Blue Velvet.”
Last weekend I had the very great pleasure to watch actress Holland Taylor’s one-woman show (for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by A Leading Actress in a Play) about Ann Richards, the late former governor of Texas. Appropriately, it’s named ANN. One of the unexpected and pleasant surprises was when she recalls that she and her husband’s favorite song was Tony Bennett’s “Blue Velvet.” ANN is currently showing in the U.S. on the PBS program Great Performances. I heartily recommend it. It’s very funny–I laughed out loud a lot.
Ann and Holland: This one’s for you.
“Blue Velvet” was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris. While Bennett’s recording is most well-known, it’s also been recorded by Bobby Vinton and, more recently, by Tony Bennett and k.d. lang and Lana Del Rey.
Tony Bennett recorded “Blue Velvet” on July 17, 1951; it was released as a single that year and features an arrangement by Percy Faith. It was one of the top 20 songs on Billboard. “Blue Velvet” is one of Bennett’s early recordings that are compiled on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1 CD, available in his 2011 Complete Collection.
“Blue Velvet,” as well as all the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from Apple Music.
The song of the day for Friday, July 26, 2019, is “Blue Velvet.”
“Blue Velvet” was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris. Tony Bennett’s 1951 recording of “Blue Velvet” was the first recording of the song and was one of his early hits for Columbia.
“Blue Velvet” was recorded on July 17, 1951, and was released as a single that same year. It was arranged by Percy Faith. Tony tells this story in his autobiography, The Good Life:
Mitch Miller customarily reserved Monday afternoons to audition new material, and songwriters and demo singers lined up the entire length of the hall outside Mitch’s office. When songwriter Bernie Wayne got his chance to play “Blue Velvet” for Mitch, he got as far as the first line, “She wore blue velvet …” when Mitch interrupted an said, “How about Tony Bennett?” Bernie said, “Don’t you want to hear the rest of the song?” and Mitch answered, “Quit while you’re ahead.”
Blue Velvet – Remastered
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“Blue Velvet,” as well as The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.
The song of the day for Saturday, May 26, 2018 is “Blue Velvet.”
“Blue Velvet” was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris. It is said that Bernie Wayne wrote the song, inspired by a woman he saw at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia.
Tony Bennett recorded “Blue Velvet” in 1951, with an arrangement by Percy Faith. The single was released that year and was a top 20 hit for Bennett.
Blue Velvet
Listen to Blue Velvet on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2011.
This week’s Saturday video features Tony’s duet of “Blue Velvet” with k.d. lang for the album Duets II.