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.