The song of the day for Saturday, November 20, 2021, is “These Foolish Things.”

About This Song

“These Foolish Things” was written by Jack Strachey and Eric Maschwitz (writing as Holt Marvell for contractual reasons). The song was not an immediate hit. In fact, Maschwitz’ agent refused to publish the song and so Maschwitz himself did. There were several fine recordings in the 1930s, including one by Billie Holiday with the Teddy Wilson Orchestra and Benny Goodman. In the 1950s, the song became even more popular, with recordings by Artie Shaw, Nat King Cole, Art Pepper and Johnny Hartman.”These Foolish Things” ranks #28 on jazzstandards.com and is still widely played and recorded.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “These Foolish Things” in 1996 for his album Tony Bennett On Holiday, a tribute to the great Billie Holiday, who first recorded the song in 1937. The album won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. Tony Bennett painted the portrait of Billie Holiday used on the cover.

“These Foolish Things,” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Lady Day’s 1937 recording of “These Foolish Things” with Teddy Wilson: