The song of the day for Wednesday, October 31, 2013 is “When In Rome.”

About This Song

“When In Rome” was written in 1964 by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh. In the year 2000, as part of his 70th birthday celebration at the Library of Congress, Stephen Sondheim chose a list of ‘Songs I Wish I Had Written (At Least in Part).’ On this list were several songs by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, most of which are songs that Tony Bennett has recorded including “When In Rome.” It’s a fine song and has been widely recorded.

By the way, in case you were wondering … Fundador is a Spanish brandy; you can check it out here. And you know how a fundador can lead to a few.

About This Version

Today’s song is from the first of the albums from Tony Bennett and Bill Evans: The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album. Some people assumed that including this song on the album was Bennett’s idea, but it was Bill Evans who wanted to use this song. Evans played the song often and recorded it as well. It speaks to Cy Coleman’s background as a jazz piano performer that his compositions are written in a way that encourage jazz improvisation over a good, solid tune.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0z8NAX4UK2KxwvIUSvetdb
“When In Rome,” as well as The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album, is available from iTunes and Amazon.