The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Because of You

The song of the day for Thursday, November 2, 2023, is “Because of You.”

About Today

We are celebrating the birthday of k.d. lang, who was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on November 2, 1961. In fact, k.d. lang is the reason I became such a devout Tony Bennett fan. I’d been a fan of hers since her album Angel with a Lariat, released in 1987. So, when she and Tony Bennett released What a Wonderful World in 2002, I couldn’t wait to go out and buy it. I’d always liked Tony Bennett (my parents wore out If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set when I was in junior high school), but this collaboration of k.d. and Tony was just perfect. So, thank you k.d. lang, for my musical education.

About This Song

“Because Of You” was written in 1940 by Arthur Hammerstein (Oscar Hammerstein II’s uncle) and Dudley Wilkinson.

About This Version

Tony Bennett originally recorded “Because of You” on April 4, 1951, featuring an arrangement by Percy Faith. In his autobiography The Good Life, Bennett wrote about this recording:

By the spring of 1951, I was told that if I didn’t get a hit soon I’d be dropped from the label. I went into Percy’s office and he said, “In this next session you really have to deliver. We have only three songs ready, so we need another song.” I remember that he looked through a bunch of sheet music on his desk, grabbed a song, and said, “Well let’s do this one.” That song was “Because of You. I was doing a lot of dramatic singing on my early records like “Sing You Sinners” and “Boulevard,” but Percy said to me, “Just relax. Use your natural voice and sing the song.” I took his advice.

Tony and k.d. lang recorded “Because of You” on February 10, 2006, for Duets: An American Classic. Jorge Calandrelli wrote the arrangement.

“Because of You,” as well as Duets: An American Classic, is available on Apple Music.

k.d. lang spoke about Tony Bennett after his death on July 21, 2023:

I found out that Tony passed on the Friday morning. It was to be expected, of course, but as with a parent or an elderly friend, you can’t fathom that it is going to be an actuality. On Friday afternoon I got a call asking me to come to Los Angeles to record for CBS Sunday Morning. I hadn’t sung for three years. Of course I was going do it – it’s what he would have expected. But I was reluctant. I thought I should sing “What a Wonderful World” because I could pull it off easier. I put my foot down in true diva style. But when I got to LA, I heard that “Because of You” was the last song he sang, a couple of days before his passing, and that it was his first hit song. I realised: this is really important to his family. I quickly got my shit together and switched gears. It felt like it was an offering to Tony and his family.

Here’s that recording. k.d. lang’s proceeds from the recording benefit the Tony Bennett Legacy Fund.

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Song of the Day: Because Of You

The song of the day for Wednesday, July 5, 2017 is “Because Of You.”

About This Song

“Because of You” was written in 1940 by Arthur Hammerstein (Oscar’s uncle) and Dudley Wilkinson.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Because of You” on April 4, 1951. It was arranged by Percy Faith and produced by Mitch Miller. The song was Bennett’s first major hit.

Tony Bennett relates in his book The Good Life:

By the spring of 1951, I was told that if I didn’t get a hit soon I’d be dropped from the label. I went into Percy’s office and he said, “In this next session you really have to deliver. We have only three songs ready, so we need another song.” I remember that he looked through a bunch of sheet music on his desk, grabbed a song, and said, “Well, let’s do this one.” That song was “Because Of You.”

Because of You

Listen to Because of You on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“Because Of You,” as well as all of the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Because Of You

The song of the day for Saturday, February 14, 2015 is “Because Of You.”

About This Song

“Because Of You” was written in 1940 by Arthur Hammerstein (uncle to Oscar) and Dudley Wilkinson.

About This Version

How Tony Bennett came to record this song is one of my favorite stories about his early days at Columbia. I’ll let him tell it, from The Good Life:

By the spring of 1951, I was told that if I didn’t get a hit soon I’d be dropped from the label. I went into Percy’s (Percy Faith) office and he said, “In this next session you really have to deliver. We have only three songs ready, so we need another song.” I remember that he looked through a bunch of sheet music on his desk, grabbed a song, and said, “Well, let’s do this one.” That song was “Because Of You.” I was doing a lot of dramatic singing on my early records like “Sing You Sinners” and “Boulevard,” but Percy said to me, “Just relax. Use your natural voice and sing the song.” I took his advice.

When “Because Of You” was released, the record company didn’t have much confidence in me. But then something interesting started happening: the record didn’t get on the radio right away, but people were playing it on the jukeboxes so often that it started to build momentum, one nickel at a time. It was unusual for a song to become popular on jukeboxes before it got on the radio, but this one did. Listeners from all around the country began calling their local radio stations and requesting “Because Of You,” and it reached number one on Billboard magazine’s pop chart on June 23, 1951. It stayed on the chart for thirty-two weeks–ten weeks at number one. I finally had my first major hit record.

Because of You

Listen to Because of You on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“Because Of You,” as well as other early singles releases collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

About Today

I wanted to choose one of Tony Bennett’s wonderful love songs and so today we have “Because Of You.” It was his first major hit and was a favorite of young couples in the early 1950s. I’ve heard so many stories about couples who played that recording at their wedding parties. I can’t think of a nicer song for Valentine’s Day.

Because Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday, I also have a video of our song of the day. This is from Duets: An American Classic, where he sung a duet of today’s song with k.d. lang. I hope you enjoy the song and the video.

Happy Valentine’s Day from The Year of Tony Bennett.

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Song of the Day: Because Of You

The song of the day for Thursday, July 11, 2013 is “Because Of You.”

About This Song

“Because Of You” was written in 1940, with music by Dudley Wilkinson and lyrics by Arthur Hammerstein (uncle to Oscar Hammerstein). It was a moderate hit when written, but really took off in 1952 with Tony Bennett’s recording.

About This Version

“Because Of You” holds a special place in the musical history of Tony Bennett. Having been signed to contract at Columbia in 1950, by 1951 he hadn’t produced a huge hit and there was talk of dropping him from the label. He says in his autobiography The Good Life:

I went into Percy’s (Percy Faith) office and he said, “In this next session you really have to deliver. We have only three songs ready, so we need another song.” I remember that he looked through a bunch of sheet music on his desk, grabbed a song, and said, “Well, let’s do this one.” That song was “Because Of You.” I was doing a lot of dramatic singing on my early records … but Percy said to me, “Just relax. Use your natural voice and sing the song,” I took his advice.

And what great advice that was. The record didn’t start out getting a lot of airplay. It did, however, get a lot jukebox plays and so a groundswell of popularity began for this recording and the calls came pouring in to the DJs at the radio stations to play “Because of You.”

.. it reached number one on Billboard magazine’s pop chart on June 23, 1951. It stayed on the chart for thirty-two weeks–ten weeks at number one. I finally had my first major hit record.

I have no doubt that Tony Bennett would have become the legend he is today even if “Because of You” had not been picked up off the desk that day. That said, it was an amazing bit of good fortune that Percy Faith did pick it up that day. “Because of You” sold a million copies and firmly cemented Tony Bennett as a star.

Today’s version is, of course, the original version from 1951. It sounds as fresh and wonderful as if it had been recorded this year.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4DTO96EvOW9JT6OIUNFpZW
“Because Of You,” as well as the The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes. This volume of the Columbia single also includes other great early singles including “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “Sing You Sinners,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” and a heart-breakingly beautiful version of “While We’re Young.”