The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Wednesday, October 15, 2025, is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett is pleased to wish Bill Charlap a very happy birthday. Bill Charlap was born on October 15, 1966, in New York City. His father, Moose Charlap, was a noted Broadway composer; his mother is Sandy Stewart, a jazz and cabaret performer. The Bill Charlap Trio has released many fine albums, including Bill Charlap & Sandy Stewart: Love Is Here To Stay and Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein, which I am listening to as I write today’s post.

For more information about Bill Charlap, The Bill Charlap Trio, his recordings, and his live performances, visit his website billcharlap.com.

About This Song

“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. It was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1936 film Swing Time; the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the year. Dorothy Fields remarked:

The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.

Dorothy Fields was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting. It’s a magnificent love song that has found a strong position as a jazz standard, with recordings by Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé, and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett, accompanied by Bill Charlap, recorded “The Way You Look Tonight” in 2015 for <The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. Charlap wrote the arrangement.

The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern won the 58th Annual Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Tuesday, July 15, 2025, is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About Today

We are very happy to celebrate the great Dorothy Fields on the anniversary of her birth on July 15, 1904. She was born into a prominent show business family. Her father, Lew Fields, was a successful theatrical producer. Her brother Joseph was a writer and producer; her other brother, Herbert, was a writer who collaborated with Dorothy.

She had a remarkable career as librettist and lyricist, starting in 1928, writing with Jimmy McHugh on Blackbirds on Broadway; the pair continued to work on several Cotton Club shows. In the 1930s, she began working on films, especially Jerome Kern. She returned to Broadway shows, writing librettos for Stars in Your Eyes and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn with Arthur Schwartz. Dorothy, with her brother Herbert, wrote the book for Irving Berlin‘s Annie Get Your Gun. In the 1960s, she wrote lyrics for Sweet Charity and Seesaw with Cy Coleman.

Her career lasted for 48 years and in that time she won Tony, Oscar, and Grammy Awards. She was the first woman to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

About This Song

“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song; she was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting.

Dorothy Fields wrote 32 songs with Jerome Kern between 1935 and 1952. She wrote this about “The Way You Look Tonight.”

The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “The Way You Look Tonight” with The Ralph Sharon Trio for the 1977 movie My Best Friend’s Wedding.

“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 2, is available on Apple Music.

Tony Bennett recorded “The Way You Look Tonight” with Bill Charlap for their 2015 album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern.

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Song of the Day: Exactly Like You

The song of the day for Monday, May 12, 2025, is “Exactly Like You.”

About This Song

“Exactly Like You” was written by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields in 1930 for Lew Leslie’s International Revue, which also introduced “On The Sunny Side Of The Street.” While the reviewers were not kind to the production, the score was then, and remains still, quite noteworthy. Even though Fields’ lyrics for the song are very fine, the early recordings of the song were mostly instrumentals, such as that by Louis Armstrong. The song became popular again in 1936, with a fine recording by Benny Goodman that featured Lionel Hampton on the vibraphone, followed by the 1937 recording by Count Basie, which included the vocals by Jimmy Rushing. Later notable recordings include those by Carmen McRae (1954), Bing Crosby (1944), Patti Page (1949), Anita O’Day (1975), Nina Simone (1959) and Diana Krall (2006).

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang recorded “Exactly Like You” in May 2002 for their album A Wonderful World. Vocal arrangements were by Rob Mathes. The album was orchestrated and conducted by Peter Matz, with musical direction and arrangements by Lee Musiker.

“Exactly Like You,” as well as A Wonderful World, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Saturday, April 12, 2025, is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About This Song

“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film Swing Time, starring Fred Astaire, who introduced the song. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Lyricist Dorothy Fields remarked:

The first time Jerry played that melody for me, I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.

Fields was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting. It’s a magnificent love song that has found a strong position as a jazz standard, with recordings by Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé, and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett, accompanied by Bill Charlap on piano, recorded “The Way You Look Tonight” in 2015 for The Silver Lining: The Songs Of Jerome Kern. Bill Charlap, who produced the album, wrote the arrangement.

The Silver Lining: The Songs Of Jerome Kern won the 58th Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs Of Jerome Kern, is available on Apple Music.

We’ve got a couple of videos today:

Official VEVO video for today’s song:

And here’s the scene from Swing Time, where Fred Astaire sings today’s song:

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Monday, January 27, 2025, is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About Today

Today we are remembering Jerome Kern, who was born on January 27, 1885, in New York City.

About This Song

“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 movie Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the year. Dorothy Fields remarked “The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.” It’s a magnificent love song that has found a strong position as a jazz standard, with recordings by Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé, and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Way You Look Tonight” with The Ralph Sharon Trio in 1977 for the soundtrack of My Best Friend’s Wedding.

“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 2, is available on Apple Music.