The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Blue Velvet

The song of the day for Saturday, May 26, 2018 is “Blue Velvet.”

About This Song

“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.

About This Version

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.


“Blue Velvet,” as well as all of the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Volume 1, is available from iTunes.

About Today

This week’s Saturday video features Tony’s duet of “Blue Velvet” with k.d. lang for the album Duets II.

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Song of the Day: Blue Velvet

The song of the day for Sunday, November 12, 2017 is “Blue Velvet.”

About This Song

“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.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang recorded “Blue Velvet” in 2011 for the album Duets II. k.d. lang is the only singer to appear on both Duets: An American Classic and Duets II.

Blue Velvet

Listen to Blue Velvet on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2011.


“Blue Velvet,” as well as Duets II, is available from iTunes.

We also have this video of the recording of “Blue Velvet” for Duets II.

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Song of the Day: Blue Velvet

The song of the day for Saturday, July 8, 2017 is “Blue Velvet.”

About This Song

“Blue Velvet” was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Blue Velvet” on July 17, 1951. This recording of “Blue Velvet” was the first recording of the song and was one of Bennett’s early hits for Columbia. Percy Faith did the orchestration and Mitch Miller produced the recording.

Blue Velvet

Listen to Blue Velvet on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2011.


“Blue Velvet,” as well as all of the single collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

About Today

For our Saturday video, I have Tony Bennett and Maria Gadú singing “Blue Velvet,” from the 2012 album Viva Duets.

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Song of the Day: Blue Velvet

The song of the day for Saturday, May 21, 2016 is “Blue Velvet.”

About This Song

“Blue Velvet” was written by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris in 1950.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Blue Velvet” in 1951. It was one of the first recordings of this song and was an early hit for Bennett. The arrangement is by Percy Faith.

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, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Our video for this Saturday is the Tony Bennett and k.d. lang duet of “Blue Velvet,” from Duets II, released in 2011.

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Song of the Day: Blue Velvet

The song of the day for Saturday, March 1, 2014 is “Blue Velvet.”

About This Song

“Blue Velvet” was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris. Tony Bennett’s was the first recording of this song and it did well on the Billboard charts in 1951. This song has been widely recorded over the years by artists including Bobby Vinton, The Clovers and, more recently, Lana Del Rey. Bennett’s version has been used in several films, including The Last Picture Show and Raging Bull.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Blue Velvet” on July 17, 1951 and it was released on September 21, 1951. It reached #16 on Billboard. It was arranged and conducted by Percy Faith.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6bjd70prjZHdOpR7qv1KQA
“Blue Velvet,” as well as all of the songs on The Columbia Singles, Volume 1, is available from iTunes.

Today’s video is from Bennett’s recent Viva Duets album. Here’s “Blue Velvet,” featuring the Brazilian singer Maria Gadú.

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