The song of the day for Monday, January 23, 2017 is “When In Rome.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “When In Rome,” was written in 1964 by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh.

In the year 2000, as part of his 70th birthday celebration at the Library of Congress, Stephen Sondheim chose a list of ‘Songs I Wish I Had Written (At Least in Part).’ On this list were several songs by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, most of which are songs that Tony Bennett has recorded, including “When In Rome.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “When In Rome” in 1975 for their first album, The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album. I have always found it interesting that Bill Evans strived to tell people that he, Evans, was the one that wanted to include this song on the album, thinking that most people would assume that Bennett wanted to add the song because they might assume it was in Bennett’s comfort zone. In fact, Evans loved the song because of the harmonic structures in it. We should remember that before he became known as a composer, Cy Coleman was a jazz pianist and his songs are loved by jazz instrumentalists and singers alike.