The song of the day for Friday, August 7, 2020, is “Pick Yourself Up.”

About This Song

“Pick Yourself Up” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields in 1936 for the movie Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It was used in the early part of the film where Astaire pretends to not be able to dance and asks for Ginger Rogers as his dance instructor just so he could dance with her. This song has been widely recorded, including those by Nat King Cole, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Pick Yourself Up” with the Bill Charlap Trio for the 2015 album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. I think it’s one of the best recordings on this very fine album, which won the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

“Pick Yourself Up,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available from Apple Music.

I have a lot of friends who work in the theater as well as friends who are performing musicians. During this pandemic, these artists are, of course, unable to work, as performances for live audiences are impossible under CDC guidelines and just plain common sense. So I was quite pleased when I learned of a project to raise money for the Actor’s Fund, which is providing emergency financial assistance to performing arts and entertainment professionals. Tony DeSare, a talented jazz singer, put together an All-Star Jazz Collab for the Actors Fund of “Pick Yourself Up” to help raise money. The video is just wonderful.