The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: That Old Devil Moon

The Song of the Day for October 3, 2012 is That Old Devil Moon.

About Old Devil Moon

Old Devil Moon is from the 1949 musical, Finian’s Rainbow, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by E. Y. “Yip” Harburg. The song has been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Stan Kenton, Anita O’Day, Chet Baker, Rosemary Clooney and Margaret Whiting, among others.

About This Version

Mr. Bennett has recorded this song several times; in fact, The Year of Tony Bennett featured a recording of this song a few months ago from his 1994 MTV Unplugged album. This version is his first recording of the song, from his first LP, his 1955 jazz album Cloud 7.

He also recorded it in 1967 for Tony Makes It Happen and sang it in 1971 with the London Philharmonic for his live Get Happy album. He also sings it in concert (to my great delight) from time to time. It’s a great song, as were so many of the songs from Broadway musicals in that era.

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Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The Song of the Day for September 2, 2012 is Old Devil Moon.

About Old Devil Moon

Old Devil Moon was written for the 1947 Broadway musical, Finian’s Rainbow by Burton Lane (music) and Yip Harburg (lyrics).  It’s been very popular over the years with a wide range singers: Chet Baker, Rosemary Clooney, Billy Ekstine, Anita O’Day, Margaret Whiting, and even Miles Davis.

About This Version

Mr. Bennett has performs this song regularly at his concerts and the song is personal favorite of this author.  He first recorded this song on Cloud 7 from 1955 and several times since.

Today, we feature his live performance from the 1994 MTV Unplugged. Both of us at the Year of Tony Bennett are seeing him today at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle in front of what will likely be a pretty young audience. Enjoy.

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Song of the Day: You’re All the The World To Me

The Song of the Day for August 30, 2012 is You’re All The World To Me.

About You’re All The World To Me

You’re All The World To Me was written in 1950 by Burton Lane (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics). It premiered in the 1951 Royal Wedding,starring Fred Astaire, who introduced the song in the famous “dancing on the ceiling” scene.

About This Version

This version is from Tony Bennett’s 1993 Stepping Out, his tribute to Fred Astaire.

A Special Treat

Here’s the famous dance from Royal Wedding. Note that the entire number is done in a single take. The entire set of the room and the camera was attached to an axis  rotated through the number. It was a revolutionary effect that was used in later films, including 2001: A Space Odyssey and most recently, Inception.