The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Laura

The song of the day for Sunday, November 10, 2013 is “Laura.”

About This Song

“Laura” was written for the 1944 film of the same name, which starred Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb and Dana Andrews. The music was written by David Raksin and lyrics were added later by Johnny Mercer. Raksin was a noted film composer who wrote “The Bad and the Beautiful,” which Bill Evans played as a solo on his and Tony’s album Together Again. “Laura” is jazz standard, ranking #35 on the jazz standards.com website. In 1945, the year the film was released, there were five different recordings, with Woody Herman’s version gaining million-seller status. Over the years, “Laura” has been recorded by artists including Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine, Ella Fitzgerald and many others, including Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Laura” at the famed CBS 30th Street Studio in New York on this day in 1959. At the same session, he also recorded “Autumn Leaves,” “Speak Low” and “Tenderly.” The album was arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol and has a lush orchestral sound that suits the song selection very well. As an aside, Bucky Pizzarelli played guitar at this session. You can read more about the session here.

“Laura” appeared on Tony Bennett’s 1960 album To My Wonderful One, his eighth album at Columbia.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6A7vt75OqxDCsEWvvqgoCf
“Laura,” as well as the album To My Wonderful One, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: You Must Believe In Spring

The song of the day for Friday, April 5, 2013 is You Must Believe in Spring.

About This Song

You Must Believe In Spring was written by Michel Legrand for the 1967 film musical The Young Girls of Rochefort, with lyrics by the film’s director, Jacques Demy. The English lyrics were written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s and Bill Evans’ second album, Together Again, released in 1977 on Tony’s Improv label.

Alan and Marilyn Bergman said this in the liner notes for 2003 Concord Records CD release of Together Again:

When you write a song, it’s because you have something you want to say. When you finish it, you hope you’ve said what you meant. Where you hear it sung, there are those magical rare times when it’s what you meant and more. When we heard Tony and Bill’s interpretation of You Must Believe in Spring, we knew it was one of those times.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1CiaNBNMmszRQyyWETsAFa
You Must Believe in Spring, as well as the remastered Together Again album, is available from iTunes.

And, because someone from Kiev searched for this song today on Google and found this site as a result, we present Bill Evans’ wonderful piano solo of The Bad and the Beautiful by David Raskin;  this is Alternate Take #1.

The Bad and The Beautiful (alternate take 1)

Listen to The Bad and The Beautiful (alternate take 1) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 2009

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Song of the Day: But Beautiful

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 6, 2013 is But Beautiful.

About But Beautiful

Written for Road to Rio in 1947, a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road movie, But Beautiful was written by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was introduced by Bing Crosby in the movie. Other notable recordings include those by Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Hartmann, Billy Holiday and Shirley Horn.

About This Version

But Beautiful was a favorite of Bill Evans; he had recorded it live with Stan Getz at the 1974 Laren International Jazz Festival; the recording from the festival was released as an album in 1996.

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded this song for their first album, The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album. All I know is that as a Tony Bennett fan and a jazz piano fan, it doesn’t get any better than their two albums, at least for me.

But Beautiful

Bill Evans, Tony Bennett · The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings · Song · 2009

But Beautiful, as well as The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings compilation, is available from iTunes. This compilation album includes an excellent selection of alternate takes and is well worth listening to.

As a little something extra today, we also present Evan’s piano-only recording from their second album: The Bad And The Beautiful, the David Raskin theme song from the 1952 movie of the same name, starring Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner.

The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003

Listen to The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 2009

Not everyone knows that Tony Bennett is the one who insisted that The Bad And The Beautiful solo be used as the first song on their second album, Together Again. It’s all about the music. Always, for both artists.

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Song of the Day: But Beautiful

The song of the day for Thursday, January 17, 2013 is But Beautiful.

About But Beautiful

Originally written for the 1947 film Road To Rio, But Beautiful was written by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced in the film by Bing Crosby. It found great popularity as jazz ballad, with recordings by Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Johnny Hartman, and Shirley Horn, among others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded this song in 1975 for their first album,The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album. Bill Evans had recorded the song with Stan Getz in 1974 at the Laren (Holland) International Jazz Festival; an album, with the same name, was released posthumously in 1996.  Mr. Bennett often sings this song in concert.

But Beautiful

Bill Evans, Tony Bennett · The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album (Expanded Edition) · Song · 1975

But Beautiful, as well as the full The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album, is available from iTunes.

Readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of the work that Tony Bennett and Bill Evans did on their two albums. On their second album, Together Again, they included a piano solo The Bad And The Beautiful, which I have always liked. A few weeks ago, the film showed up on Turner Classic Movies and I so watched it, for the first time. It’s a bit of a melodrama, but it has a terrific cast (Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, Barry Sullivan and many more) and its theme song, by David Raskin, is used throughout. Here’s But Beautiful, here from the The Complete Tony Bennett Bill Evans Recordings set from Fantasy / Concord. Note that this set contains a good selection of alternate takes from the Together Again session.

The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003

Listen to The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 2009

The Bad and the Beautiful, as well as the full Together Again album, is available from iTunes.