The song of the day for Monday, May 11, 2020, is “The Song Is Ended (But The Melody Lingers On).”
About Today
Today marks the anniversary of the birth of today’s songwriter, Irving Berlin, who was born on May 11, 1988, as Israel Isidore Beilin in Russia. When he was five, his family emigrated to New York.
Today also marks my return to blogging! I’m not out of the woods yet, but am better enough that I just had to return. I’ve really missed everyone. My state is still under shelter-in-place, which I been doing. Hope all of you are coping with the shutdowns and, most importantly, are well!
About This Song
In his book The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia, Thomas Hischak calls this song “… an Irving Berlin standard whose title has been called the theme of all popular music, a chilling number in which both the lover and the ballad that was ‘their song’ is gone; yet neither can be forgotten because they remain in one’s memory.” This song was first recorded in 1927 by Ruth Etting and has remained popular over the years with recordings by Dick Haymes, Dizzy Gillespie, Jeri Southern, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat “King” Cole, and many more.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded “The Song Is Ended” for his 1987 album of Irving Berlin songs Bennett/Berlin. Dizzy Gillespie is featured on trumpet.
“The Song Is Ended,” as well as Bennett/Berlin, is available from iTunes.