The song of the day for Tuesday, September 30, 2014 is “My Foolish Heart.”

About This Song

“My Foolish Heart” was composed in 1949 by Victor Young with lyrics by Ned Washington. This song was written for a widely-panned film of the same name, based on a J.D. Salinger short story. Time magazine excoriated the score: “nothing offsets the blight of such tear-splashed excesses as the bloop-bleep-bloop of a sentimental ballad on the soundtrack.” The song went on to be a great standard. On the other hand, J.D. Salinger would never even consider allowing any films of any of his work after the experience.

About This Version

Today’s version is from the brilliant 1975 The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album, the first of their two albums. In lesser hands, one can imagine that this song could turn into the sentimental mush described by Time Magazine; indeed, your author remembers reading about a club owner in the 1950s who would not permit any singer to perform “My Foolish Heart” at all. In the hands of these two masters, however, the song is strong, focused and meaningful. Bill Evans’ version from the legendary Village Vanguard sessions in 1961, with Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums, is well worth listening to.

Here’s the live 1961 Bill Evans version, in case you’re interested.