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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

April 11, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Wednesday, April 12, 2023, is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About Today

On April 12, 1994, 29 years ago today, Tony Bennett taped his legendary performance on MTV Unplugged. Not only were the ratings very good, the resulting album, Tony Bennett: MTV Unplugged won not only the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance but the coveted Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

About This Song

“Fly Me To The Moon,” written in 1954 by Bart Howard, was originally titled “In Other Words,” but the song was not doing that well despite several recordings. In 1962, Howard renamed the song “Fly Me To The Moon,” and the song began to catch on. Tony Bennett’s 1965 recording for If I Ruled The World was a big hit for Bennett. There have been many recordings of the song, including those by Frank Sinatra, Kaye Ballard, and many more. However, Bart Howard told Bennett that his 1965 recording was “the definitive performance of this song.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” on April 12, 1994. Mr. Bennett was backed by his trio: Ralph Sharon on piano, Doug Richeson on bass, and Clayton Cameron on drums.

“Fly Me To The Moon,” as well as MTV Unplugged is available on Apple Music.

Here’s the video of Bennett’s performance of “Fly Me To The Moon” from the MTV Unplugged program:

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Bart Howard, Clayton Cameron, Doug Richeson, MTV Unplugged, Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett

January 26, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: In A Mellow Tone

The song of the day for Friday, January 27, 2021, is “In A Mellow Tone.”

About This Song

“In A Mellow Tone” was written in 1939 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Milt Gabler. It was based on the 1917 song “Rose Room” by Art Hickman and Harry Williams. The song is a favorite of both vocal and instrumental jazz performers, including Tony Bennett, Paul Gonsalves, Oscar Peterson, Coleman Hawkins, Ella Fitzgerald, and Annie Ross.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “In A Mellow Tone” in May 1999 for Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, with an arrangement by Ralph Burns. The recording gives everyone in the quartet a chance to shine: Ralph Sharon, piano; Gray Sargent, guitar; Paul Langosch, bass; and Clayton Cameron, drums. Wynton Marsalis is featured on trumpet.

“In A Mellow Tone,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool is available on Apple Music.

We’ve got Ellington’s 1958 instrumental recording of today’s song, from his album Blues In Orbit. Featured musicians include Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, and Sam Woodyard.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, Blues In Orbit, Clayton Cameron, Duke Ellington, Gray Sargent, Milt Gabler, Paul Langosch, Ralph Burns, Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett, Wynton Marsalis

January 23, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean A Thing

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 24, 2023, is “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

About This Song

“It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” was written in 1930 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills. This song was one of the first songs to use the word “swing” in the title and this song certainly defined what it meant to swing. Ellington recorded the song with Ivie Anderson on vocals and it was an immediate hit. It has been widely recorded since it was written and the song is a lot of fun to play and listen to. Significant recordings include those by Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Gigi Gryce, Tony Bennett, and Thelonious Monk.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” in May 1999 for Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool. Ralph Burns did the arrangement. Clayton Cameron was exceptional on the drums for this recording.

“It Don’t Mean A Thing,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool is available on Apple Music.

We’ve got two additional recordings of “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” that you might enjoy.

Ivie Anderson on vocals on Ellington’s 1932 recording:

Next is Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington’s recording from The Great Reunion, recorded in 1963. Armstrong sings the verse, which is wonderful and almost never heard:

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, Clayton Cameron, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Ivie Anderson, Louis Armstrong, Ralph Burns, The Great Reunion, Tony Bennett

January 17, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Swinging on a Star

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 18, 2023, is “Swinging on a Star.”

About This Song

“Swinging on a Star” was written in 1944 by the songwriting team of Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke. It was written for the movie Going My Way, starring Bing Crosby, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for that year. Crosby recorded a very successful version of the song in 1944. Other recordings include those by Rosemary Clooney, Burl Ives, and Ruby Braff, among many others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Swinging on a Star” in June 1998 for his album The Playground. The Ralph Sharon Quartet accompanied Mr. Bennett on this album. In addition to Sharon on piano, the quartet featured Paul Langosch on bass; Gray Sargent on guitar; and Clayton Cameron on drums. This album marks the first time Gray Sargent recorded with Tony Bennett.

“Swinging on a Star,” as well as The Playground is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Clayton Cameron, Gray Sargent, Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke, Paul Langosch, Ralph Sharon, The Playground, Tony Bennett

January 2, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 3, 2023, is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg for the 947 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” live on April 12, 1994, for MTV Unplugged. Bennett was accompanied by his trio: Ralph Sharon on piano, Doug Richeson on bass, and Clayton Cameron on drums.

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

We have video of this performance:

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Burton Lane, Clayton Cameron, Doug Richeson, Finian's Rainbow, MTV Unplugged, Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett, Yip Harburg

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