The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: The Right To Love

The song of the day for is “The Right To Love.”

About This Song

“The Right To Love,” originally named “Reflections,” was written in 1963 by Lalo Schifrin and was recorded as an instrumental with Stan Getz for his album Reflections. Gene Lees wrote the lyrics, at the suggestion of Tony Bennett, who made it an anthem for marginalized love; originally associated with interracial relationships and now embraced by LGBTQ+ community.

“The Right to Love,” consistently year to year, ranks in top five songs searched for on this site. The vast majority of those searches come from public school URLs.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Right To Love” on February 18, 1965, for If I Ruled the World: Songs For the Jet Set. Don Costa wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

“The Right To Love,” as well as If I Ruled the World: Songs For the Jet Set, is available on Apple Music.

We have Peggy Lee‘s recording of today’s song from her 1964 album In The Name of Love.

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Song of the Day: New York, New York

The song of the day for Tuesday, September 15, 2026, is “New York, New York.”

About This Song

“New York, New York” was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb for Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film New York, New York, starring Robert DeNiro and Liza Minnelli.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra recorded “New York, New York” in 1993 for Frank Sinatra: Duets, using Don Costa‘s original 1997 arrangement for Sinatra’s Trilogy: Past, Present, Future.

“New York, New York,” as well as Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights Vol 2, is available on Apple Music.

Liza Minnelli, who acted in Scorsese’s film New York, New York, made the first recording of today’s song. Ralph Burns wrote the arrangement and conducted. Here’s that recording.

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Song of the Day: Two By Two

The song of the day for Tuesday, September 1, 2026, is “Two By Two.”

About This Song

“Two By Two” was written by Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim for their 1965 musical Do I Hear a Waltz.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Two By Two” on February 19, 1965 for If I Ruled the World: Songs For The Jet Set. Don Costa wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

“Two By Two,” as well as If I Ruled the World: Songs For the Jet Set, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: New York, New York

The song of the day for Wednesday, June 24, 2026, “New York, New York.”

About This Song

“New York, New York” was written by in 1977 by John Kander and Fred Ebb for the 1977 film New York, New York, directed by Martin Scorsese. Liza Minelli performed the song in the film. Frank Sinatra recorded it in 1979 for his 1980 album Trilogy: Past Present Future.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra recorded “New York, New York” in 1993 for Frank Sinatra: Duets. Don Costa wrote the arrangement.

“New York, New York,” as well as Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights,Vol. 2, is available on Apple Music.

We are pleased to include Liza Minnelli’s performance of “New York, New York” from the film:

We are also pleased to include Sinatra’s first recording of the song that became so closely identified with him.

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To the Moon

The song of the day for Monday, June 1, 2026, is “Fly Me To the Moon.”

About This Song

“Fly Me To the Moon” was written in 1954 by Bart Howard, who was born 111 years ago on June 1, 1915. The song was originally titled “In Other Words,” but the song was not doing that well, in spite of several recordings. In 1962, Howard renamed the song to “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 February 18, 1965, for If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set. Don Costa wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

“Fly Me To the Moon,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set, is available on Apple Music.

We also have a video of Tony Bennett singing “Fly Me To the Moon,” featuring Joel Smirnoff on violin (Smirnoff also played violin on Bennett’s 1999 album Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool). The video is from the 1988 television special Tony Bennett Live by Request: An All-Star Tribute.