The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Lazy Afternoon

The song of the day for Thursday, August 6, 2026, is “Lazy Afternoon.”

About This Song

“Lazy Afternoon” was written by Jerome Moross and John LaTouche for the 1954 musical The Golden Apple. The musical uses mythological Greek characters from Ulysses but is set in the state of Washington (at Mount Olympia, of course) in the United States. This song, as well as the entire score, is quite beautiful.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Lazy Afternoon” on June 27, 1957, for The Beat of My Heart. Bennett invited many notable percussionists to play on the recordings; Chico Hamilton played for “Lazy Afternoon.” Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

“Lazy Afternoon,” as well as The Beat of My Heart is available on Apple Music

Here’s the recording of “Lazy Afternoon” from the original cast album of The Golden Apple. It’s sung by Kaye Ballard, who played Helen in the production.

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Song of the Day: Lazy Afternoon

The song of the day for Saturday, June 27, 2026, is “Lazy Afternoon.”

About This Song

“Lazy Afternoon” was written by Jerome Moross and John Latouche for the 1954 musical The Golden Apple, which uses mythological Greek characters from Ulysses but is set in the state of Washington (at Mount Olympia, of course) in the United States. This song, as well as the entire score, is quite beautiful.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Lazy Afternoon” on June 27, 1957, for his third album, The Beat of My Heart. For this album, Bennett and Ralph Sharon (who wrote the arrangement) invited percussionists to play on the album. For “Lazy Afternoon,” Chico Hamilton played drums.

“Lazy Afternoon,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Crazy Rhythm

The song of the day for Sunday, April 5, 2026, is “Crazy Rhythm.”

About This Song

“Crazy Rhythm” was written in 1928 by Joseph Meyer, Roger Wolfe Kahn, and Irving Caesar for the 1929 musical Here’s Howe. It’s been a popular standard since it was written and has been heavily recorded, not just by jazz and popular artists, but other genres including hillbilly. Significant recordings include those by Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Stan Getz, Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke, and Whispering Jack Smith.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Crazy Rhythm” on June 27, 1957, for The Beat of My Heart. For this album, Bennett invited guest percussionists to play; “Crazy Rhythm” features Chico Hamilton. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

“Crazy Rhythm,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available on Apple Music.

We have the first recording of “Crazy Rhythm” made by Roger Wolfe Khan and His Orchestra in 1928:

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Song of the Day: Just One of Those Things

The song of the day for Sunday, July 27, 2025, is “Just One Of Those Things.”

About This Song

“Just One Of Those Things” was written by Cole Porter for the 1935 musical Jubilee. It’s one of Porter’s most popular songs and has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra. Alec Wilder in American Popular Song spoke of the lyric as ‘a trip to the moon on gossamer wings’ and “that it seems impossible that it wasn’t sitting on his piano, waiting for Porter even before he wrote the lyric.” It has a certain literary fame as well: Holden Caulfield, in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, likes the song and notes that even the “stinking band” in the hotel lounge “couldn’t ruin it entirely.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Just One Of Those Things” on October 17, 1957, for his third album, The Beat of My Heart. Bennett used guest percussionists for this album; Chico Hamilton played drums for this recording. Ralph Sharon, who had just become Bennett’s pianist and musical director in 1957, wrote the arrangement.

“Just One Of Those Things,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Crazy Rhythm

The song of the day for Sunday, July 13, 2025, is “Crazy Rhythm.”

About This Song

“Crazy Rhythm” was written in 1928 by Joseph Meyer and Roger Wolfe Kahn, with lyrics by Irving Caesar, for the 1929 musical Here’s Howe. It’s been a popular standard since it was written and has been heavily recorded, not just by jazz and popular artists, but other genres including hillbilly. Significant recordings include those by Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Stan Getz, Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke, and Whispering Jack Smith.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Crazy Rhythm” on June 27, 1957, for The Beat of My Heart. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement. Chico Hamilton was the guest drummer for this recording.

“Crazy Rhythm,” as well as The Beat Of My Heart, is available on Apple Music.

Here is the first recording of “Crazy Rhythm” by Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Orchestra from 1929. The vocalist is Franklyn Baur.