The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: The Good Life

The song of the day for Saturday, August 23, 2014 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

Today’s song was written in 1962 by French composer Sacha Distel, with lyrics by Jack Reardon. Originally titled “La Belle Vie,” “The Good Life” was featured in the movie Seven Capital Sins. Tony Bennett is the singer most widely identified with “The Good Life;” other good recordings include those by Betty Carter, Carmen McRae and Stephane Grappelli. It has been said that Distel wrote this song about Bridgette Bardot, who refused Distel’s marriage proposal.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Good Life” in December, 1962 for his terrific album I Wanna Be Around, released in 1963. “The Good Life” was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning; the album was produced by Ernie Altschuler and was recorded at the CBS 30th Street Studio, with Frank Laico at the engineering helm. In addition to today’s song (which leads off the album) and the title song, other great songs from this album include “I’ve Got Your Number,” “It Was Me” and “Quiet Nights.”

The Good Life

Listen to The Good Life on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1963

“The Good Life,” as well as the album I Wanna Be Around, is available from iTunes.

And for our Saturday YouTube viewing, here are Tony and Billy Joel singing today’s song, from Duets: An American Classic, released in 2006. You can read more about the album and even read the liner notes at our sister site, The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography.

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New York State Of Mind

And, for those of us who weren’t there to hear it today, here are Tony Bennett and Billy Joel singing Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”

New York State of Mind (with Billy Joel)

Listen to New York State of Mind (with Billy Joel) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Billy Joel · 2001

Too true, Lauren.

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Song of the Day: New York State Of Mind

The Song of the Day for Saturday, November 17, is New York State Of Mind.

About New York State Of Mind

New York State of Mind was, of course, written by Billy Joel. In the same category as New York, New York (as sung by both Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli), New York State of Mind is an anthem for city that is recognized world-wide.  It’s recorded by many artists; two of my favorite versions are from Carmen McRae and Oleta Adams.

About This Version

It seems that Tony Bennett owns New York this week: book signings all week for Life Is A Gift, appearances on television shows and a sold-out two night stand at the Westbury Theater on Long Island this weekend. It put me in a New York state of mind.

This version is the Tony Bennett – Billy Joel live performance at Shea Stadium in 2008.

 

 

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New York State of Mind

When the leaves start to turn and I realize that autumn is really here at last, I find myself in a New York State of Mind. New York is always beautiful, but never more so than in the fall season.

I’m rather embarrassed to say that I had been listening to this song for years not knowing it was a Billy Joel song; I first heard it, and loved it, as sung by Carmen McRae and have loved the song for years.

Here’s the video, performed by the two masters: Billy Joel and Tony Bennett.