The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Tuesday, May 31, 2022, is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song, he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Old Devil Moon” on August 6, 1954 for his first LP album, Cloud 7. After four years of recording pop singles, Cloud 7 was Bennett’s declaration that he was a jazz singer. Chuck Wayne, who played guitar on this album, arranged this song, as well as most of the rest of the songs on the album.

“Old Devil Moon,” as well as Cloud 7 is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Monday, May 2, 2022, is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song, he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Old Devil Moon” in 1967 for his album Tony Makes It Happen! This song, as well as the rest of the album, was arranged and conducted by Marion Evans.

“Old Devil Moon,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen! is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 11, 2022, is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written in 1947 by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song, he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Old Devil Moon” in 1967 for his album Tony Makes It Happen! This song, as well as the entire album, was arranged and conducted by Marion Evans, who worked with Bennett as recently as the album Love For Sale, released in 2021.

“Old Devil Moon,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen! is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: The Lady’s In Love With You

The song of the day for Saturday, January 8, 2021, is “The Lady’s In Love With You.”

About This Song

“The Lady’s In Love With You” was written by Burton Lane (music) and Frank Loesser (lyrics) for the 1939 film Some Like It Hot (not to be confused with the excellent 1959 Billy Wilder film), where it was introduced by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross. It’s been widely recorded, including those by Tony Bennett, Glenn Miller, Margaret Whiting, and Michael Feinstein.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Lady’s In Love With You” in 1967 for his album Tony Makes It Happen! It was arranged and conducted by Marion Evans, who worked with Bennett on several subsequent albums, including last year’s Love For Sale. Evans’s big band arrangements have an unmistakable sound that I love.

“The Lady’s In Love With You,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen! is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Sunday, November 14, 2021, is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song, he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

“Old Devil Moon” was the first song Tony Bennett performed for his now-legendary live performance on MTV Unplugged on April 12, 1994. Singing with The Ralph Sharon Trio (Sharon on piano, Doug Richeson on bass, and Clayton Cameron on drums), Tony Bennett was ecstatically received. The resulting album, MTV Unplugged, won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance and Album of the Year.

The performance on television and the resulting album was key to introducing Tony Bennett to a completely new audience.

“Old Devil Moon,” as well as MTV Unplugged is available on Apple Music.

We are delighted to include a video of “Old Devil Moon” from the performance.

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