The song of the day for Monday, August 25, 2014 is “So Long, Big Time!”

About This Song

Today’s song was composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Dory Langdon, who was married to Andre Previn at the time. Tony Bennett made the first recording of “So Long, Big Time!” It was also recorded by Finnish singer Carola Christina Standertskjöld-Liemola, who used the professional name Carola.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “So Long, Big Time!” on September 17, 1963 at the CBS 30th Street Studio. The arrangement is by Marty Manning and was conducted by Harold Arlen. It was recorded for Bennett’s 1964 album The Many Moods of Tony, produced by Ernie Altschuler.

“So Long Big Time!” as well as the album The Many Moods of Tony, is available from iTunes.

And even though it’s not Saturday, I have a video for you. This was recorded live at the CBS 30th Street Studio of the recording session of today’s song. The conductor is the composer Harold Arlen … look for his beautiful smile 2:08 and 2:22 … pure joy.