The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Keep Smiling At Trouble

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 11, 2017 is “Keep Smiling At Trouble.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Keep Smiling At Trouble,” was written in 1924, with music by Lewis Gensler and lyrics by Al Jolson and Buddy DeSylva. “Keep Smiling at Trouble” was first recorded by Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians in 1924, with vocals by his brother, Tom Waring. Other noted recordings were by Jolson, Ruby Braff, Tommy Dorsey, Della Reese and Bobby Hackett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Keep Smiling At Trouble” in 1967 for the album For Once In My Life, with a great arrangement by Ralph Burns.

Keep Smiling At Trouble (Trouble"s A Bubble)

Listen to Keep Smiling At Trouble (Trouble"s A Bubble) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967


“Keep Smiling At Trouble,” as well as For Once In My Life, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Keep Smiling At Trouble

The song of the day for Friday, August 19, 2016 is “Keep Smiling At Trouble.”

About This Song

“Keep Smiling at Trouble” was written 1924, with music by Lewis Gentler and lyrics by Al Jolson and Buddy DeSylva. It was first recorded by Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians in 1924, with vocals by his brother, Tom Waring. Other noted recordings were by Jolson, Ruby Braff, Tommy Dorsey, Della Reese and Bobby Hackett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded this song twice, once live from his recently-released album Tony Bennett Live at the Sahara: From This Moment On in 1964, and two studio recordings once in 1963 and another in 1967. It’s the 1967 recording I”m featuring today, released on For Once in My Life with a great arrangement by Ralph Burns, whose work for Tony Bennett I really love. If you have any doubts, listen to Hometown, My Town from 1959.

Keep Smiling At Trouble (Trouble"s A Bubble)

Listen to Keep Smiling At Trouble (Trouble"s A Bubble) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967


“Keep Smiling At Trouble,” as well as For Once In My Life, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Look For The Silver Lining

The song of the day for is “Look For The Silver Lining.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Look For The Silver Lining,” was written by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva. It was written in 1919 for the musical Zip, Goes A Million, which was not a successful production, and published in 1920 and reused in the more popular show Sally, where it was introduced by Marilyn Miller. Other recordings include those by Judy Garland, Chet Baker and Margaret Whiting.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded today’s song with Bill Charlap for their Grammy-winning album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. It’s such a lovely song.

Look For the Silver Lining

Tony Bennett, Bill Charlap · The Silver Lining - The Songs of Jerome Kern · Song · 2015


“Look For The Silver Lining,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Our Saturday video …

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Song of the Day: Look For The Silver Lining

The song of the day for Saturday, January 2, 2106 is “Look For The Silver Lining.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Look For The Silver Lining,” was written by Jerome Kern (songwriter of the month for January 2016) with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva. It was written in 1919 for the musical Zip, Goes A Million, which was not a successful production, and published in 1920 and reused in the more popular show Sally, where it was introduced by Marilyn Miller. Other recordings include those by Judy Garland, Chet Baker and Margaret Whiting.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap used “Look For The Silver Lining” as the title song for their 2015 album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern.

Look For the Silver Lining

Tony Bennett, Bill Charlap · The Silver Lining - The Songs of Jerome Kern · Song · 2015


“Look For The Silver Lining,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Look For The Silver Lining

The song of the day for Saturday, September 26, 2015 is “Look For The Silver Lining.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Look For The Silver Lining,” was written in 1919 by Jerome Kern (music) and Buddy DeSylva (lyrics) for the musical Zip, Goes a Million and used again the following year for another musical called Sally. This song has been widely recorded over the years and is one of those songs that many know and can even sing a bit of, though may know the composer.

About This Version

Today marked the release of The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern with Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap. I’m with the Buffalo News: this album is damn near perfect. And, as luck would have it, Bill Charlap will be appearing at the Newport, Oregon Jazz Festival next weekend with his wife, the pianist Renee Rosnes, Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums. We can hardly wait!

I love how this song ends the album, where Bennett and Charlap have explored great emotional depth–“The Way You Look Tonight” and Make Believe” for example–with this sweet and positive song. It carries this writer to a lovely place after a complete listen to the album.

Look For the Silver Lining

Tony Bennett, Bill Charlap · The Silver Lining - The Songs of Jerome Kern · Song · 2015


“Look For The Silver Lining,” as well as Look For The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Today is Saturday and I’m happy to present this video of Tony Bennett singing today’s song, with Bill Charlap.

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