The song of the day for Tuesday, June 24, 2020, is “Blue Velvet.”

About Today

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.

About This Song

“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.

About This Version

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.