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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

November 15, 2016 By Suzanne 1 Comment

Song of the Day: The Best Is Yet To Come

The song of the day for Wednesday, November 16, 2016 is “The Best Is Yet To Come.”

About This Song

Written in 1959 by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, some say that “The Best is Yet to Come” was written for Tony Bennett. In any case, the song is strongly identified with him and he sings it at most of his concerts. Other recordings include those by Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.

About This Version

Today’s version of “The Best Is Yet To Come” is from the 2006 album Duets: An American Classic and features Tony Bennett and Diana Krall.

The Best Is Yet to Come (with Diana Krall)

Listen to The Best Is Yet to Come (with Diana Krall) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Diana Krall · 2006


“The Best Is Yet To Come,” as well as Duets: An American Classic, is available from iTunes.

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett wishes Diana Krall the very happiest of birthdays! We saw her at the Monterey Jazz Festival a few years ago and were blown away by her artistry and talent. And we haven’t stopped listening to Wallflower since it came out.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Carolyn Leigh, Cy Coleman, Diana Krall, Duets: An American Classic, Happy Birthday Diana Krall

November 5, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Lullaby of Broadway

The song of the day for Thursday, November 5, 2015 is “Lullaby of Broadway.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Lullaby of Broadway,” was written in 1935 by Harry Warren and Al Dubin. It was introduced in the 1935 movie Gold Diggers of 1935; it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It is one of the great show biz anthems. The 1980 musical 42nd Street featured Jerry Orbach singing the song; your author had the great honor of seeing him in the role during the Broadway run.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Lullaby of Broadway,” with the Dixie Chicks, on February 4, 2006 for Duets: An American Classic. This version was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli; Bennett’s quartet of Lee Musiker (piano), Paul Langosch (bass), Gray Sargent (guitar) and Harold Jones (drums) are featured on this song, as well as the entire album.

Lullaby of Broadway (with The Chicks)

Listen to Lullaby of Broadway (with The Chicks) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, The Chicks · 2006


“Lullaby of Broadway,” as well as Duets: An American Classic, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: 2006, Al Dubin, Duets: An American Classic, Harry Warren, The Dixie Chicks

October 11, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Sing You Sinners

The song of the day for Sunday, October 11, 2015 is “Sing You Sinners.”

About This Song

“Sing You Sinners” was written in 1930 by W. Franke Harling (music) and Sam Coslow (lyrics) for the 1930 film “Honey,” starring Lillian Roth. The song was an early hit in 1950 for Tony Bennett. He sings the song regularly in concerts today.

About These Versions

We have several versions of this song. All of them are great, upbeat versions. The two earliest recordings were singles recorded in 1950 and 1955 by Marty Manning and Percy Faith, respectively. Following that we have two live version: 1962 at Carnegie Hall and 1964 at The Sahara in Las Vegas. We close with a duet from 2006 with John Legend, released on Duets: An American Classic. I like them all but I love this song a lot and don’t think I could ever be disappointed when Tony Bennett sings it: no matter when, no matter where, it swings like hell.

1950

Sing You Sinners

Listen to Sing You Sinners on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“Sing You Sinners,” as well as The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

1955

Sing You Sinners

Listen to Sing You Sinners on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“Sing You Sinners,” as well as The Columbia Singles, Vol. 4, is available from iTunes.

1962

Sing You Sinners (From "Honey") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to Sing You Sinners (From "Honey") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon & His Orchestra · 1962


“Sing You Sinners,” as well as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall, is available from iTunes.

1964

Sing You Sinners - Live at the Sahara Hotel, Las Vegas, NV - April 1964

Listen to Sing You Sinners - Live at the Sahara Hotel, Las Vegas, NV - April 1964 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1964


“Sing You Sinners,” as well as Live at The Sahara – Las Vegas 1964, is available from iTunes.

2006

Sing You Sinners (with John Legend)

Listen to Sing You Sinners (with John Legend) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, John Legend · 2006


“Sing You Sinners,” as well as Duets: An American Classic, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Duets: An American Classic, John Legend, Live at the Sahara: Las Vegas 1964, Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall

September 13, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Cold, Cold Heart

The song of the day for Sunday, September 13, 2015 is “Cold, Cold Heart.”

About This Song

The great country and western singer Hank Williams wrote “Cold, Cold Heart” in 1951. It is the classic song of love spurned is said to have its origins in an encounter that Williams had with his wife Audrey. Their marriage was in trouble, mostly because both of them were engaged in extramarital affairs. Audrey had become pregnant and had an abortion without informing Hank first. She wound up in the hospital with an infection and Hank came to visit her. It seems that he tried to kiss Audrey, but she refused to kiss him and called him “a sorry son of a bitch.” Hank later related to the governess of their children that Audrey had “a cold, cold heart.” And out of this terribly painful point in his marriage came one of his greatest songs.

About These Versions

“Cold, Cold Heart” was one of Tony Bennett’s first great hits and he has recorded it several times since. He frequently sings it in concerts. As it’s Sunday, we’re presenting several different recordings of our song. Your author finds it very interesting to listen to Mr. Bennett work with the same song at different points in his career.

1951

His first, and most famous recording was recording was made on May 31, 1951 and was arranged by Percy Faith.

Cold, Cold Heart

Listen to Cold, Cold Heart on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“Cold, Cold Heart,” as well as The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

1970

This version of “Cold, Cold Heart” is a favorite of mine. It’s just Tony and pianist John Bunch. In addition to it being a touching and quite effective arrangement of the song, Bennett also tells the story he so often tells in concert about Mitch Miller and this song. In concert, Bennett often tells the audience that he wasn’t sure about recording the song, but Mitch telling him that he had to do it, even if Mitch had to tie him to a tree. After a couple of beats, Bennett jokes “so he tied me to a tree and we made the recording.”

Cold, Cold Heart

Tony Bennett · Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 1 · Song · 2012


“Cold, Cold Heart,” as well as Rarities, Outtakes and Other Delights, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

2006

This version is from his first duets album, Duets: An American Classic with country singer Tim McGraw. It features some lovely guitar work from Gray Sargent and an arrangement by Jorge Calandrelli. It was recorded on February 15, 2006.

Cold, Cold Heart (with Tim McGraw)

Listen to Cold, Cold Heart (with Tim McGraw) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Tim McGraw · 2006


“Cold, Cold Heart,” as well as Duets: An American Classic, is available from iTunes.

2012

And, finally, is the 2006 arrangement in a duet with Vincentico from Viva Duets.

Cold, Cold Heart (with Vicentico)

Listen to Cold, Cold Heart (with Vicentico) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Vicentico · 2012


“Cold, Cold Heart,” as well as Viva Duets, is available from iTunes.

I’ll leave you with this Google “doodle” from Valentine’s Day, 2012:

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Duets: An American Classic, Gray Sargent, Hank Williams, John Bunch, Jorge Calandrelli, Mitch Miller, Viva Duets

March 7, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: I Left My Heart In San Francisco

The song of the day for Saturday, March 7, 2015 is “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.”

About This Song

“I Left My Heart In San Francisco” was written in 1953 by two homesick natives of San Francisco: George Cory and Douglass Cross. It is, of course, Tony Bennett’s signature song. It actually became that quite by accident. As Bennett’s musical director, songwriters were constantly giving Ralph Sharon copies of their songs. Cross and Cory had done that and Sharon had stuck the song in a drawer and forgotten all about it. In 1961, he and Bennett were heading out on tour, which included a stop in San Francisco at The Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill. Sharon came across the music and thought it might be a nice local number for the San Francisco audience. After a performance in Hot Springs, Arkansas, they found a piano and started to work on the song a bit. An early fan was the bartender, who said that he’d buy the first copy if they ever decided to record it. Of course, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” was a huge hit at the performance and in January, 1962, Bennett recorded it and released it on a 45 RPM record on the B-side to “Once Upon a Time.” But gradually, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” started getting all the airplay and it became a major hit for Bennett, winning him his first Grammy Award. It is his signature song and is beloved by all of his fans.

About This Version

Today we feature not the original 1962 version, but the version from 2006 that was included on Duets: An American Classic. In this version, he’s accompanied only by Bill Charlap on piano. No worries; it is a solo performance.

NPR did a nice story with Tony Bennett, Phil Ramone and Bill Charlap about the recording of this version, which you can listen to here.

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Listen to I Left My Heart in San Francisco on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2006


“I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” as well as Duets: An American Classic, is available from iTunes.

About Today

For our Saturday video, here’s Tony Bennett singing this song with Judy Garland, from her television program.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Bill Charlap, Douglass Cross, Duets: An American Classic, George Cory

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