The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: It Amazes Me

The song of the day for Saturday, August 3, 2013 is “It Amazes Me.”

About This Song

“It Amazes Me” was written by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh in 1958. While Coleman and Leigh composed the scores for a number of very good Broadway musicals, including Sweet Charity, they also wrote many stand-alone songs, including this one.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “It Amazes Me” in 1958 for Long Ago and Far Away. However, today’s version is from his 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall.

While I was driving home from the office this evening, I was listening to the Carnegie Hall concert on the car stereo. At a long stop light, “It Amazes Me” began to play and it was as if I was really hearing it for the first time. This happens to us every so often; a song that we listened to and loved suddenly sounds completely new, as we hear things we never heard before. And what I heard this afternoon was a perfect performance of a very fine song.

More and more I am struck by Bennett’s perfect diction and phrasing and this is so evident in “It Amazes Me.” We hear each word perfectly, but it’s not forced, it grows out of the performance and is so natural. (My true test for any singer is “The Man That Got Away” and ‘tomorrow he may turn up.” For too many singers, it comes out “tomorrow he may turnip.” Bennett passes this test with flying colors, even at the emotional dramatic peak of the song.)

Aided by a subtle and lovely arrangement by Ralph Sharon, I hear the amazement and wonder and awe in this delivery. And it speaks to the great versatility of the performer Tony Bennett. He can deliver big, emotional dramatic songs and I love those. But equally I love this side: the precise, quiet delivery where each note, each syllable, each phrase is perfect … and still with that thing that nobody else I’ve ever heard can do: singing a song so perfectly while it sounds as if it’s being written at that moment. Never rote, with all the joy of discovery of wonder in a song.

All I can say is that this song amazes me. Every time. As if it were the first time.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2WxNwCHOfSARBRGpKhFbgW
“It Amazes Me,” as well as the complete Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall concert album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: When In Rome

The song of the day for Monday, June 24, 2013 is “When In Rome.”

About This Song

“When In Rome” was written by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh in 1964.

In the year 2000, 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,” “The Best is Yet to Come,” and “The Rules of the Road.” Who am I to disagree with Stephen Sondheim and Tony Bennett? Not that I could. Not only do I love those songs, but I love how Tony Bennett sings them.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans chose “When In Rome” as one of the songs for their first album, The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album, released in 1975.

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

Here’s a brief video from the Clint Eastwood documentary “The Music Never Ends” with Tony Bennett, showing Evans and Bennett on the Tonight Show playing this song.

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Song of the Day: The Rules of the Road

The song of the day for Friday, June 21, 2013 is “The Rules of the Road.”

About This Song

I guess it goes without saying that this wonderful song by the great songwriting pair of Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh is one of my most favorite songs in the world. I can’t get enough of it and can’t go for more than a few months without naming it the song of the day.

So these are the ropes
The tricks of the trade
The rules of the road
I’m just one of the dopes
For whom they were made
I’m a fool of the road

You follow that kiss
And recklessly miss
A bend of the road
Then suddenly this
The end of the road

So love is a hoax
A glittering string
Of little white lies
But these are the jokes
That’s why they bring
The tears to your eyes

Well, love often shows a funny return.
The brighter it glows,
The longer you burn.
And lord only knows
Love has little concern for the fools of the road.

But that’s how it goes,
You live and you learn,
The rules of the road.

About This Version

Well, we’ve established that this is a favorite song of mine. But which version? The great, brassy big band version from I Left My Heart in San Francisco?  The more uptempo live performance from Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall?  I love both those versions dearly.

No, today is the quiet, more introspective with the Ralph Sharon Trio on When Lights Are Low.  So introspective, in fact, that “You’re just one of the dopes” is changed to “I’m just one of those dopes.”  This version is more like an intimate conversation. It’s a lovely arrangement and  touches the heart, with more than a tinge of regret.

The Rules Of The Road

Listen to The Rules Of The Road on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1964.

“The Rules of the Road,” as well as the entire When Lights Are Low album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Best Is Yet To Come

Cy Coleman, who composed many of our favorite Tony Bennett songs, was born on June 14, 1929. We salute Cy Coleman, who wrote one of my favorites, “The Best Is Yet To Come,” which is our song of the day for June 14, 2013.

About This Song

Cy Coleman wrote “The Best Is Yet To Come” in 1959, with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. The song is associated with both Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, who sings it regularly at his live concerts.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Bennett’s legendary Carnegie Hall concert, recorded on June 9, 1962. The arrangement by Ralph Sharon with the orchestra is pretty much perfect. Listen for the muted trumpet at the very beginning of the song with the call and response. Great!

If there is a song that we at The Year of Tony Bennett consider a theme song, it may be “The Best Is Yet To Come.”

http://open.spotify.com/track/36TDSM8QA8e1HiDydSeyjw
“The Best Is Yet To Come,” as well as the complete Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Best Is Yet To Come

The song of the day for Saturday, March 16, 2013 is The Best Is Yet To Come.

About This Song

Another great Tony Bennett song written by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, The Best Is Yet To Come was written in 1959. Some people say that the song was written for Tony Bennett, though I’ve found no evidence of that. While the song is associated with Frank Sinatra, it’s also been recorded by Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan (both in 1962), Blossom Dearie, and Ella Fitzgerald.

About This Version

If I had to pick the music from one year of Tony Bennett’s career to take with me to a desert island, it would have to be the music he recorded in 1962. In addition to the magnificent concert at Carnegie Hall, he also released his Mr. Broadway album and I Left My Heart in San Francisco. He also recorded I Wanna Be Around that same year, so I’m taking that album with me too, even though it was released in 1963. I’ve always felt that in that year it all came together: the perfection of his vocal powers; his ability and willingness to show us the emotional context of the songs he’s singing; the pure joy he seems to feel in everything he recorded that year; and the recording of some his finest material: songs that are forever associated with him and that he still sings today. Not just I Left My Heart in San Francisco, but Smile, The Rules of the Road, The Good Life and today’s song The Best Is Yet To Come and many more. Tony Bennett owned 1962. I often find myself gravitating to the songs from these albums and for good reason: they are an amazing set of songs by the greatest popular singer in the world. Then and today. And forever. Upon the release of his Complete Collection in  2011, the New York Times said: “We aren’t likely to see a recording career like this again.”  I’m certain we won’t, but we can certainly glory in all of it.

http://open.spotify.com/track/463wvwQJ7DJCvBvbvD55xz
The Best Is Yet To Come, as well as the full (and glorious) I Left My Heart in San Francisco album, is available from iTunes.

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