The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Playlist of the Week: Tony Sings Johnny Mercer

The playlist of the week for May 26, 2019, is Tony Sings Johnny Mercer.

Some of Tony’s finest recordings have been of songs with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Here are a few of my favorites:

Tony Sings Johnny Mercer

Tony Bennett has always admired lyrics written by Johnny Mercer.

To learn more about one of these songs, click on its link.

Day In, Day Out, composed by Rube Bloom
Skylark, composed by Hoagy Carmichael
I Thought About You, composed by Jimmy Van Heusen
Laura, composed by David Raksin
I Remember You, composed by Victor Schertzinger
One For My Baby (and One More For the Road), composed by Harold Arlen
That Old Black Magic, composed by Harold Arlen
I Wanna Be Around, addtional lyrics by Sadie Vimmerstedt, composed by Johnny Mercer
Trav’lin’ Light, composed by Trummy Young and Jimmy Mundy

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Song of the Day: Laura

The song of the day for Saturday, March 23, 2019, is “Laura.”

About This Song

“Laura” was written by David Raksin, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for the 1944 film of the same name, starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. Raksin was known as a film composer (he also wrote the title song for The Bad and the Beautiful, which is included on the Bill Evans-Tony Bennett album Together Again); his compositions are often jazz standards. “Laura” has been recorded many times, by both singers and instrumentalists.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Laura” in 1959 for his 1960 album To My Wonderful One. Frank DeVol wrote the arrangement.

Laura – 2011 Remaster

Laura – 2011 Remaster, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“Laura,” as well as To My Wonderful One, is available from iTunes.

About Today

We’re taking a bit of a departure from our regular Saturday video. Today we have the original trailer for the film Laura, which features an instrumental version of today’s song throughout. Keep an eye out for a very young Vincent Price.

Laura | #TBT Trailer | 20th Century FOX

TBT Today is 110th birthday of Otto Preminger, director of 1940s film noir classic “Laura.” This gripping and lushly photographed film noir, one of the most acclaimed mystery thrillers of all time, is a must-own classic on Blu-ray™.

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Song of the Day: Make Someone Happy

The song of the day for Tuesday, April 17, 2018 is “Make Someone Happy.”

About This Song

“Make Someone Happy” was written in 1960 for the Broadway musical Do Re Mi, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden too. Do Re Mi, which starred Phil Silvers, concerns a guy, a bit of a loser and a con, who goes into the jukebox business with some gangster pals. ”Make Someone Happy” was introduced by John Reardon and Nancy Dussault.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “Make Someone Happy” in 1976 for their second album, Together Again, released in 1977.

Make Someone Happy - Remastered 2003

Listen to Make Someone Happy - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 1977


“Make Someone Happy,” as well as Together Again, is available from iTunes.

Also from the same album is a piano solo by Bill Evans of the theme from The Bad and The Beautiful, one of my favorite movies about Hollywood. It was released in 1953 and had one hell of a cast: Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell and Barry Sullivan, among many others. The film, including this song, was scored by David Raksin. Vincente Minnelli directed.

The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003

Listen to The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 1977

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Song of the Day: Laura

The song of the day for Friday, January 12, 2018 is “Laura.”

About This Song

“Laura” was written by David Raksin, with lyrics from Johnny Mercer, for the 1944 film of the same name, starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. Raksin was known as a film composer (he also wrote the title song for The Bad and the Beautiful, which is included on the Bill Evans-Tony Bennett album Together Again), his compositions are often jazz standards. “Laura” has been recorded many times, by both singers and instrumentalists.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Laura” in 1959 for the album To My Wonderful One, released in 1960. Frank DeVol did the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

Laura

Tony Bennett · To My Wonderful One · Song · 1960


“Laura,” as well as To My Wonderful One, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Laura

The song of the day for Tuesday, October 25, 2016 is “Laura.”

About This Song

“Laura” was written for the 1944 film of the same name, starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. David Raksin was known as a film composer (he also wrote the title song for The Bad and the Beautiful, which is included on the Bill Evans-Tony Bennett album Together Again), his compositions are often jazz standards. “Laura” has been recorded many times, by both singers and instrumentalists. Note that the Johnny Mercer lyrics came later and weren’t used in the film. In fact, Mercer wrote the lyrics without having ever seen the film!

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Laura” in 1959 for his album To My Wonderful One. The arrangement is by Frank DeVol.

Laura

Tony Bennett · To My Wonderful One · Song · 1960


“Laura,” as well as To My Wonderful One, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Today is one of those days where two of my passions come together. I am a big fan of the writer Ross Macdonald and noir detective fiction in general and am part of a group on Facebook devoted to that. This morning, someone posted a picture of Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews from the film Laura. I figured “Laura had to be the song of the day.