The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: More Than You Know

The song of the day for Monday, June 19, 2017 is “More Than You Know.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “More Than You Know,” was written in 1929, with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu for the Broadway musical Great Day, which only ran for 36 performances. In spite of its poor run on Broadway, the score was considered very good and so it got sold to Hollywood, where it was to be a starring vehicle for Joan Crawford. Eight weeks into production, the film was shut down and was never released. Thankfully, this song remained popular, in many ways thanks to Fanny Brice, who was married to Billy Rose, and sang the song in her performances with the Ziegfeld Follies. It has been widely recorded by jazz and popular artists since it was written.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded the Ralph Burns arrangement of “More Than You Know” in 1961 for the album My Heart Sings.

More Than You Know

Listen to More Than You Know on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1961


“More Than You Know,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: More Than You Know

The song of the day for Wednesday, May 25, 2016 is “More Than You Know.”

About This Song

“More Than You Know” was written in 1929, with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. The song was written for the Broadway musical Great Day, which only ran for 36 performances. In spite of its poor run on Broadway, the score was considered very good and so it got sold to Hollywood, where it was to be a starring vehicle for Joan Crawford. Eight weeks into production, the film was shut down and was never released. Thankfully, this song remained popular, in many ways thanks to Fanny Brice, who was married to Billy Rose, and sang the song in her performances with the Ziegfeld Follies. It has been widely recorded by jazz and popular artists since it was written.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this wonderful version of “More Than You Know” in 1961 for his album My Heart Sings. The arrangement is by Ralph Burns, who also arranged Hometown, My Town in 1959.

More Than You Know

Listen to More Than You Know on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1961


“More Than You Know,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: It’s Only A Paper Moon

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 17, 2016 is “It’s Only A Paper Moon.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “It’s Only A Paper Moon,” was written in 1933 by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose. Originally written for an unsuccessful play called The Great Magoo, this song was used in the 1933 movie Take a Chance. Paul Whiteman recorded it that year. There were two very fine recordings in the 1940s by Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole, which sealed the popularity of the song. Since that time, it has been a popular and jazz favorite that has been widely recorded.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “It’s Only A Paper Moon” in 1998 for his lovely children’s album The Playground. The album was produced by Tony Bennett and Danny Bennett; the musical consultant was Bobby Tucker, who was pianist and arranger for both Billie Holiday and Billy Eckstine. The song features The Ralph Sharon Quartet, with Grey Sargent on guitar, Paul Langosch on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums. It’s fun, swingy arrangement.

(It’s Only) A Paper Moon

“It’s Only A Paper Moon,” as well as The Playground, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: More Than You Know

The song of the day for Tuesday, December 9, 2014 is “More Than You Know.”

About This Song

Today’s song was composed by Vincent Youmans with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. It was written in 1929 for the Broadway musical Great Day, which only ran for 36 performances. In spite of its poor run on Broadway, the score was considered very good and so it got sold to Hollywood, where it was to be a starring vehicle for Joan Crawford. Eight weeks into production, the film was shut down and was never released. Thankfully, this song remained popular, in many ways thanks to Fanny Brice, who was married to Billy Rose, and sang the song in her performances with the Ziegfeld Follies. It has been widely recorded by jazz and popular artists since it was written.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “More Than You Know” in 1961 for his album My Heart Sings. It was arranged and conducted by Ralph Burns; the album was produced by Ernie Altschuler. One of the many reasons that I love the music of Tony Bennett is because he often sings the verse to his songs. Sometimes you’ll be listening to a song and think “this sounds familiar, but what is it?” and then the verse has ended and there’s the chorus we know so well. I love those moments.

More Than You Know

Listen to More Than You Know on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1961


“More Than You Know,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Without a Song

The song of the day for Saturday, September 27, 2014 is “Without a Song.”

About This Song

Today’s song was composed by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. It was written for the 1929 musical Great Day. “Without a Song” has been recorded by artists ranging from Perry Como to Mario Lanza to Frank Sinatra. Great Day was set in 19th century Louisiana; as a result some of the lyrics have been changed over time to remove language that is now found objectionable.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded “Without a Song” three times. His first recording was for the 1958 album Tony, followed by the recording with the Count Basie Orchestra for the 1959 album In Person! Today’s version is from his legendary 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall, arranged by Ralph Sharon.

About Today

The composer of “Without A Song,” Vincent Youmans was born in New York, NY on September 27, 1898. He was born to a prosperous family and grew up on Central Park West and later Larchmont. Youmans originally attended Yale with the thought of becoming an engineer, but dropped out to become a runner on Wall Street. His interest in theatre began during his service in World War I when he produced shows for the troops.

After the war, he became a song plugger and later served as a rehearsal pianist for Victor Herbert. He wrote several musicals in the 1920s, becoming most famous for No, No, Nanette, the score of which includes “Tea For Two” and “I Want To Be Happy.” He died young, at the age of 47, from tuberculosis.

Without A Song (From "Great Day!") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to Without A Song (From "Great Day!") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon & His Orchestra · 1962


“Without a Song,” as well as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall, is available from iTunes.

And for our Saturday YouTube viewing pleasure, I’m happy to present this video of Tony Bennett singing this song on television in 1959. While the quality of the video isn’t that great, I think you’ll enjoy it quite a lot.