The song of the day for Tuesday, February 2, 2016 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

“Because Of You” was the first song of Tony Bennett’s to reach #1 on the Billboard charts. In his autobiography, The Good Life, Mr. Bennett relates this story:

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.

“Because Of You” became Tony Bennett’s first hit song. It started getting a lot of play on jukeboxes and the momentum grew and it became popular on radio as well.

Listeners from all around the country began calling local radio stations and requesting “Because Of You,” and it reached number one on the 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.

The song was recorded on April 4, 1951. It was arranged and conducted by Percy Faith and produced by Mitch Miller.

The song of the day for Saturday, October 31, 2015 is “Because Of You.”

About This Song

“Because of You” was written in 1940 by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson. Recorded in 1951, it was Tony Bennett’s first huge hit.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Because of You” in April 1951. He was at a crossroads with Columbia at the time; he needed a hit and soon or else he might be dropped from the label. He was in Percy Faith’s office prior to that April recording session; they had three songs planned and needed a fourth. Faith picked up the sheet music off his desk and suggested they add it to the session. Percy gave him the best possible advice: “Just relax. Use your natural voice and sing the song.”

The song became a huge hit: not because the radio stations were pushing it, but because the public had discovered it on jukeboxes and loved it. Released on April 30, 1951, it reached number one on the Billboard chart on June 23, 1951 and stayed on the chart for 32 weeks–ten of those weeks at number one.

About Today

Today’s video is Tony Bennett and k.d. lang singing a duet of “Because of You” from the 2006 album Duets: An American Classic.