The song of the day for Sunday, November 2, 2025, is “Because Of You.”
About Today
The Year of Tony Bennett is pleased to honor k.d. lang on her birthday, November 2. She sang with Tony Bennett on Tony Bennett: MTV Unplugged, A Wonderful World, Playin’ With My Friends, Duets: An American Classic, and Duets II.
About This Song
“Because Of You” was written in 1940 by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson. Tony Bennett first recorded it in 1951 and it was a major hit.
Bennett tells this story about that 1951 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 [Percy Faith] office and he said, “In this next session you really have to deliver. We have 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.
About This Version
Tony Bennett 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.
Duets: An American Classic won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
On the Sunday after Tony Bennett died on July 21, 2023, k.d. lang sang “Because Of You” as a tribute to him on CBS Sunday Morning.