The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Playlist of the Week: Tony Sings with the Guys, Part 1

The playlist of the week starting June 16, 0219, is Tony Sings with the Guys, Part 1.

Tony Sings with the Guys, Part 1

This playlist contains some of Tony early duets with male singers.

Let the Good Times Roll, with B.B. King, from Playin’ With My Friends

New York State of Mind, with Billy Joel, from Playin’ With My Friends

Cold, Cold Heart, with Tim McGraw, from Duets: An American Classic

Everyday I Have The Blues, with Stevie Wonder, from Playin’ With My Friends

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, with Sting, from Duets: An American Classic

The Shadow of Your Smile, with Juanes, from Duets: An American Classic

The Very Thought of You, with Paul McCartney, from Duets: An American Classic

I Wanna Be Around, with Bono, from Duets: An American Classic

Evenin’, with Ray Charles, from Playin’ With My Friends

Rags to Riches, with Elton John, from Duets: An American Classic

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Song of the Day: I Wanna Be Around

The song of the day for Saturday, October 1, 2016 is “I Wanna Be Around.”

About This Song

The story of “I Wanna Be Around” is legendary in the music business. Sadie Vimmerstedt, who lived in Youngstown, Ohio, was a big fan of Johnny Mercer’s music. She wrote the opening line ‘I want to be around to pick up the pieces, when somebody breaks yours heart’ and felt it sounded like a Johnny Mercer song. She mailed a letter to ‘Johnny Mercer, Songwriter, New York.’ The post office forwarded the letter to ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), who got the letter to Mercer. Mercer wrote the melody himself and completed the lyrics for “I Wanna Be Around” in 1959 and asked Tony Bennett to record it, which he did in 1962. Mercer gave 50% of the profits to Ms. Vimmerstedt, which made her a wealthy woman and enabled her to retire and travel the world. It is one of the great songs in the American Songbook.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Wanna Be Around” in 1962 for the album I Wanna Be Around, released in 1963. The memorable arrangement is by Marty Manning.

I Wanna Be Around...

Listen to I Wanna Be Around... on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1963


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

About Today

It’s Saturday again … here’s Tony and Bono recording “I Wanna Be Around” in 2006 for Duets: An American Classic.

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Song of the Day: I Wanna Be Around

The song of the day for Saturday, December 6, 2014 is “I Wanna Be Around.”

About This Song

“I Wanna Be Around” was written in 1959 by Johnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstedt. Ms. Vimmerstedt, a housewife from Ohio, was a huge Johnny Mercer fan. A line came to her: “I wanna be around to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart.” She thought it sounded a like Johnny Mercer and so she sent it to him. And the rest, as they say, is history. Mercer wrote the melody himself and completed the lyrics. He paid Ms. Vimmerstedt 50% of the royalties, which were considerable, as the song was a huge hit.

About This Version

Mercer offered the song to Tony Bennett, who recorded it in 1962 and released it on his 1963 album I Wanna Be Around. It was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning. The recording is a real classic.

About Today

Once again, it’s Saturday and once again, it’s time for a video. Today, we offer the video of Tony Bennett and Bono recording this song for Duets: An American Classic. We wish Bono a very speedy recovery from his bicycle accident from last month.

I Wanna Be Around...

Listen to I Wanna Be Around... on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1963


“I Wanna Be Around,” as well the album of the same name, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Wanna Be Around

The song of the day for Saturday, May 10, 2014 is “I Wanna Be Around.”

About This Song

“I Wanna Be Around” was written by Johnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstedt. Ms. Vimmerstedt, who was a big fan of Johnny Mercer, came up one day with the line “I wanna be around, to pick up the pieces, when somebody breaks your heart.” She thought it sounded like a Johnny Mercer lyric, so she wrote a letter addressed to Johnny Mercer, Songwriter, Los Angeles, CA. The letter reached Mercer who agreed with her, to the point that he decided to not only finish the lyric but to write the music as well. Mercer set up a 50-50 split of the royalties with Ms. Vimmerstedt, which made her a quite well-to-do woman. And together, they gave us a really great song. Even though Aretha Franklin recorded the song first, in 1962, Tony Bennett’s 1963 version is by far the most famous and well-regarded version ever recorded.

About This Version

Bennett recorded “I Wanna Be Around” in October 1962 and released it in 1963 on his album of the same name. This album is treasure: it also has “The Good Life” and many other excellent songs.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1smChL3Aq1U9DZA83LuDtp
“I Wanna Be Around,” as well as the album I Wanna Be Around, is available from iTunes.

Today is not only another YouTube Saturday, but is also the birthday of Bono, who was born on May 10, 1960. To help celebrate his birthday, we’re happy to present this video of Tony and Bono recording “I Wanna Be Around” from the album Duets: An American Classic.