The song of the day for Saturday, January 4, 2013 is “Without a Song.”

About This Song

“Without a Song” was written in 1929 for the musical Great Day by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. It’s proven to be a popular song for singers including Perry Como, Nelson Eddy, Frank Sinatra and even opera singers such as Jan Peerce and Mario Lanza. It has also proven to be a favorite of jazz instrumentalists: Bill Evans recorded it for his album You Must Believe in Spring and other jazz recordings include those by Oscar Peterson, Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum and Art Blakey.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Without a Song” was Tony Bennett’s first recording of it, from his 1959 album with Count Basie and His Orchestra for the album In Person! He also sang it in 1962 for his Carnegie Hall concert.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6CPYvGblWfbJmd6f65mqW1
“Without a Song,” as well as the album In Person! with Count Basie and His Orchestra, is available from iTunes.

And with my grateful thanks to my good friend Nick (who sent the link to this video to me this afternoon) and because it’s YouTube Saturday, we have this 1959 video of Tony Bennett singing “Without a Song,” recorded in 1959. While the video quality isn’t great, Tony’s singing is remarkable.