The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Sometimes I’m Happy

The song of the day for Sunday, March 16, 2025, is “Sometimes I’m Happy.”

About This Song

“Sometimes I’m Happy” was written by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Leo Robin, Clifford Grey, and Irving Caesar for the 1927 Broadway musical Hit The Deck. It found early favor as a popular song with numerous recordings in 1927. It has also proven a durable standard, with recordings by Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, Betty Carter, Bing Crosby, and Billie Holiday, among many others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Sometimes I’m Happy” nn September 1, 1967, for his album For Once In My Life. Marion Evans wrote the arrangement and arranged the orchestra. The orchestra consisted of some of the top jazz musicians at the time, including Milt Hinton on bass and Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar.

“Sometimes I’m Happy,” as well as For Once In My Life, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Laura

The song of the day for Friday, August 30, 2024, is “Laura.”

About This Song

“Laura” was written in 1944 by David Raksin and Johnny Mercer for the film of the same name, starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. Raksin was known as a film composer (he also wrote the title song for The Bad and the Beautiful, which is included on the Bill Evans-Tony Bennett album Together Again), and his compositions are often jazz standards. “Laura” has been recorded many times, by both singers and instrumentalists.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Laura” on November 29, 1959, for the album To My Wonderful One, released in 1960. It was arranged by Frank DeVol. On a side note, Bucky Pizzarelli played guitar on this album.

“Laura,” as well as To My Wonderful One, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Honeysuckle Rose

The song of the day for Monday, January 8, 2024, is “Honeysuckle Rose.”

About This Song

“Honeysuckle Rose” was written in 1929 by Thomas “Fats” Waller and Andy Razaf. It’s one of Waller’s better-known songs and for good reason. The tune is very well written and Razaf’s lyrics are delightful. Waller recorded the song in 1934 and that recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The song has been recorded steadily throughout the years, including the one by Lena Horne in 1963.

Tony Bennett and Lena Horne did a show together in 1973 on Broadway. You can read more about here; the article includes a video of the show that they made in England after the Broadway run.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Honeysuckle Rose” in July 1995 for Here’s To The Ladies. For this album, Bennett recorded songs associated with some of the best female singers in the 20th century, including Barbra Streisand, Doris Day, Margaret Whiting, and many more. This song was chosen in honor of Lena Horne. Jorge Calandrelli wrote the arrangements and conducted the orchestra.

“Honeysuckle Rose,” as well as Here’s To The Ladies, is available on Apple Music.

We’ve got a special treat today! John and Bucky Pizzarelli performing “Honeysuckle Rose” in 2002 at the MAC (Manhatten Association of Cabarets) Awards, followed by “Route 66.” Guitar playing doesn’t get any better than this.

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Song of the Day: Manhattan

The song of the day for Monday, September 11, 2023, is “Manhattan.”

About This Song

“Manhattan” was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1925 for the Garrick Gaieties, where it was introduced by Sterling Holloway. The song made its first film appearance the following year in a short entitled Makers of Melody. The song has remained popular up to today and is frequently recorded by jazz and popular singers. In addition to Bennett’s recording, “Manhattan” has been recorded by Blossom Dearie, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé, and Dinah Washington. It is often used in films, including Silent Movie, Mighty Aphrodite, and The English Patient.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Manhattan” in July 1973. The recording was released in 1976 on Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs.

Playing with Bennett on this album was the Ruby Braff/George Barnes Quartet, consisting of Braff on trumpet, Barnes and Wayne Wright on guitar, and John Guiffrida on bass. In his autobiography The Good Life, Bennett fills us in this quartet:

My main focus in late 1973 became the brilliant trumpet playing of Ruby Braff. I’d known Ruby since 1951 when I first played Chicago. Ruby heard George Barnes and Bucky Pizzarelli playing at the St. Regis Hotel in New York, and he sat in with the two guitarists. He loved the way that combination sounded and suggested to George that they start a group. When I heard about this group, I had to check them out. I thought they were great, and Ruby said to me, “Why don’t you come and sing a couple of tunes with us, and relax for a while, you know?”

I liked the groove I got into with this intimate group so much that I did two special concerts at Alice Tully Hall in New York. Ruby and George played the first half instrumentally, and then I came out and sang with them–two entire evenings of Rodgers and Hart. Two weeks later I recorded twenty-four Rodgers and Hart with Ruby and George, with Frank Laico as engineer.

“Manhattan,” as well as Tony Bennett Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook, is available on Apple Music.