The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: By Myself

The song of the day for Thursday, December 29, 2022, is “By Myself.”

About This Song

“By Myself” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the 1937 musical Between the Devil, where it was introduced by Jack Buchanan. Another great Schwartz-Dietz song from Between the Devil was “I See Your Face Before Me.” This song was used in the 1953 Fred Astaire film, The Band Wagon.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “By Myself” in July 1993 and was released that year on Steppin’ Out.

The arrangement by Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon is very effective, with the brush snare drum as an accompaniment.

“By Myself,” as well as Steppin’ Out is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Mr. Astaire performing “By Myself” from The Band Wagon.

Judy Garland sang “By Myself” on her CBS program in 1964. It’s a breathtaking turn.

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Song of the Day: By Myself

The song of the day for Saturday, April 10, 2021, is “By Myself.”

About This Song

“By Myself” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dieta for the 1937 musical Between the Devil, where it was introduced by Jack Buchanan. Another great Schwartz-Dietz song from Between the Devil was “I See Your Face Before Me.” “By Myself” was used in the 1953 Fred Astaire film, The Band Wagon.

About These Versions

Earlier in the week, I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole watching Judy Garland videos and came across one I not seen before: “By Myself.” I then remembered that Tony Bennett had also recorded the song and thought that a Bennett recording with the Garland video would make for a nice post.

When it came time to write this post, I couldn’t decide between which of the two versions Bennett had recorded and so decided to use them both. The first was recorded in 1950 and the second in 1993.

The 1959 version is from Hometown, My Town and was arranged by Ralph Burns.

By Myself

Listen to By Myself on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1959

The 1993 version from Steppin’ Out was arranged by Bennett and Ralph Sharon.

By Myself

Listen to By Myself on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1993

And finally, Judy Garland, from her television show in 1964. Her exit at the end of the song is legendary.

JUDY GARLAND sings BY MYSELF and receives a standing ovation 1964

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Song of the Day: By Myself

The song of the day for Sunday, May 31, 2015 is “By Myself.”

About This Song

“By Myself” was written in 1937 by Arthur Schwartz (music) and Howard Diets (lyrics) for the musical Between the Devil, where it was introduced by Jack Buchanan. It was used again in 1957 for The Band Wagon, which starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. Jack Buchanan co-starred in The Band Wagon, but this time it was Fred Astaire’s song.

About This Version

I love that Bennett ends the album with this song. It’s practically sung a cappella, with the drums tapping out the dance rhythm. After a long of run of energetic dance numbers, the entertainer is along … as the song fades out. It’s lovely and very touching. I think it’s interesting that out of all the songs on this album, this is the one number that Fred Astaire did not dance to, but sang only.

About Today

Today marks the end of our tribute to Tony Bennett’s 1993 album Steppin’ Out, featuring songs associated with Fred Astaire. It’s been a treat for me; the singing, the dancing, the brilliance of both Tony Bennett and Fred Astaire. I’ll be announcing a new album of the month tomorrow, but for now I’ll listen to Tony Bennett wistfully singing By Myself.

By Myself

Listen to By Myself on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1993


“By Myself,” as well as Steppin’ Out, is available from iTunes.

And here’s Mr. Astaire singing today’s song …

By Myself

Listen to By Myself on Spotify. Song · Fred Astaire · 2007

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Song of the Day: By Myself

The song of the day for Tuesday, May 7, 2013, is By Myself.

About This Song

Written by the team of Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwarz, By Myself was written for the 1937 musical Between The Devil, where it was introduced by Jack Buchanan. The song proved more popular than the production, with recordings by Eileen Farrell, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald and even Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s delightful tribute to Fred Astaire, Steppin’ Out. The arrangement is very effective, with just Bennett and Cameron with his famous brushes, as befits a song that ends with “by myself, alone.”

Fred Astaire sung this song in the film Band Wagon.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1mDaRJufal4j8Hgg7PFb6d
By Myself, as well as the full Steppin’ Out album, is available from iTunes.

Here’s a bit of Fred Astaire from Band Wagon, singing By Myself:

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