The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Tony Live! It Amazes Me

The song of the day for Saturday, July 25, 2020, is “It Amazes Me.”

About This Song

“It Amazes Me,” written in 1958, is one of the non-theatrical popular songs by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh. Liza Minnelli recorded this song when she was only eighteen years old on her first album. It has also been recorded by Bill Evans, George Shearing, and Cleo Laine.

About This Version

Tony Bennett sang “It Amazes Me” in his 1994 live performance on MTV Unplugged. The Ralph Sharon Trio accompanied Mr. Bennett, with Sharon on piano, Doug Richeson on bass, and Clayton Cameron on drums.

“It Amazes Me,” as well as MTV Unplugged, is available from Apple Music.

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Tony Live! Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Saturday, July 11, 2020, is “Old Devil Moon.”

About Today

Tony Live moves to 1994 and one of Tony Bennett’s greatest triumphs: His live appearance on MTV Unplugged on April 12, 1994. The performance was a huge hit, for both MTV and Bennett. The concert album MTV Unplugged not only won Bennett the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance but also the coveted award for Album of the Year.

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written by for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song, he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

“Old Devil Moon,” as well as MTVUnplugged, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: I Concentrate On You

The song of the day for Friday, June 22, 2018 is “I Concentrate On You.”

About This Song

Cole Porter wrote “I Concentrate On You” in 1940 for the film Broadway Melody of 1940. It’s one of Porter’s best songs, with recordings by Fred Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington and Judy Garland among others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Concentrate On You” in 1993 for his album of songs sung or danced by Fred Astaire, Steppin’ Out. The Ralph Sharon Trio, with Doug Richeson on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums, sounds fantastic and the arrangement by Sharon and Bennett is first-rate. This entire album is a real joy.

I Concentrate on You

Listen to I Concentrate on You on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1993


“I Concentrate On You,” as well as Steppin’ Out, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: It Amazes Me

The song of the day for Thursday, June 14, 2018 is “It Amazes Me.”

About This Song

Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh wrote “It Amazes Me” in 1958. Liza Minnelli recorded this song when she was only eighteen years old on her first album. It has also been recorded by Bill Evans, George Shearing and Cleo Laine.

About This Version

Tony Bennett sang this version of “It Amazes Me” on April 12, 1994 on his MTV Unplugged performance. The album MTV Unplugged not only won the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance but also for Album Of The Year. And it is a hell of an album. Bennett was backed by The Ralph Sharon Trio, which featured Sharon on piano, Doug Richeson on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums.

It Amazes Me - Live at Sony Studios, New York City, NY - April 1994

Listen to It Amazes Me - Live at Sony Studios, New York City, NY - April 1994 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1994


“It Amazes Me,” as well as MTV Unplugged, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Tony Bennett sang “It Amazes Me” at his concert last week in Portland, but it’s not for that reason alone that I chose this song.

Cy Coleman, who composed this song as well as other hits for Tony Bennett, was born on June 14, 1929 in New York. He was a child prodigy who gave recitals at Steinway and Carnegie hall starting at the age of six. He formed a jazz trio as a young man, but soon found his way to popular music and Broadway scores. He wrote many songs with lyricist Carolyn Leigh, although their relationship was rocky for as long as it lasted. He later partnered with Dorothy Fields, with who he wrote Sweet Charity and Seesaw. Coleman later wrote On The Twentieth Century, Barnum and City of Angels, among others. Coleman died of a heart attack on November 18, 2004.

We honor Cy Coleman on the anniversary of his birth. Thanks for the great songs.

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Song of the Day: Body and Soul

The song of the day for Friday, September 29, 2017 is “Body and Soul.”

About This Song

“Body and Soul” was written in 1930, with music by Johnny Green and lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton.

Ted Gioia, in his book The Jazz Standards, says that Body and Soul “is the granddaddy of jazz ballads, the quintessential torch song, and the ultimate measuring rod for tenor sax players of all generations. Even in the new millennium, this 1930 composition continues to serve as the cornerstone of the repertoire.” Louis Armstrong recorded the song first, followed in the 1930s by recordings from primarily white society bands, such as those led by Paul Whiteman. That said, some early recordings by jazz artists including Benny Goodman and especially Art Tatum started to cement this song as a serious jazz standard. However, the Coleman Hawkins recording from 1939 is widely acknowledged to have made the song a true jazz standard. The Hawkins recording was followed by great jazz recordings by Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Art Pepper, Dave Brubeck and many more. Fine vocal recordings include those by Billie Holiday and Tony Bennett.

About This Version

I know that I feature this song fairly often, but I feel that I owe you all an apology. I almost always play either the version from Astoria: Portrait of the Artist or the duet version with Amy Winehouse from Duets II. I realised just now that I’ve ignored this exquisite recording of “Body and Soul” from the 1994 MTV Unplugged performance. It’s a gorgeous arrangement by Ralph Sharon and features bassist Doug Richeson.

Body and Soul - Live Version

Listen to Body and Soul - Live Version on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1994


“Body and Soul,” as well as MTV Unplugged, is available from iTunes.