The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: It Only Happens When I Dance With You

The song of the day for Thursday, May 21, 2015 is “It Only Happens When I Dance With You.”

About This Song

“It Only Happens When I Dance With You” is one of the many fine songs that Irving Berlin wrote for the 1948 film Easter Parade, which starred Fred Astaire and Judy Garland.

About This Version

After a series of uptempo songs, “It Only Happens When I Dance With You” is a lovely ballad, sung with great tenderness. It’s a very nice Irving Berlin song: no artifice, just genuine emotion.

It Only Happens When I Dance with You

Listen to It Only Happens When I Dance with You on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1993


“It Only Happens When I Dance With You,” as well as Steppin’ Out, is available from iTunes.

I have two videos of today’s song, both from Easter Parade. The first is Fred Astaire singing the today’s song and dancing with Ann Miller.

Ann Miller leaves him for greener pastures and Fred Astaire seeks out a new partner, Judy Garland, who sings this song for Astaire (after falling in love with him first).

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Song of the Day: Steppin’ Out With My Baby

The song of the day for May 1, 2015 is “Steppin’ Out With My Baby.”

About This Song

“Steppin’ Out With My Baby” was written by Irving Berlin for the 1948 film musical Easter Parade, which starred Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. The score of Easter Parade won the Academy Award for Best Original Music Score.

About This Version

This is the opening song on our album of the month, “Steppin’ Out.” Bennett also sang this song on his Grammy Award winning MTV Unplugged concert album, as well as with Christine Aguilera on Viva Duets in 2012.

Steppin" out with My Baby

Listen to Steppin" out with My Baby on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1993


“Steppin’ Out With My Baby,” as well as Steppin’ Out, is available from iTunes.

Here’s Mr. Astaire in an edited (alas) version of this song from Easter Parade.

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Song of the Day: Steppin’ Out With My Baby

The song of the day for Sunday, January 26, 2014 is “Steppin’ Out With My Baby.”

About This Song

“Steppin’ Out With My Baby” was written by Irving Berlin for the 1948 movie Easter Parade, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. The song has been widely recorded by many jazz and popular singers, though today it is strongly associated with Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” is from Tony Bennett’s 1994 MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett album, as presented live on MTV. On this album, Bennett is accompanied by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Doug Richeson on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums. Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon did all of the arrangements for the album.

MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett not only won Tony Bennett the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, but took the coveted Album of the Year Grammy award.

The Year of Tony Bennett wishes Mr. Bennett the very best of luck at tonight’s Grammy Awards, where Viva Duets is nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0m8gkoSVEsZFNa6n3zBPhl
“Steppin’ Out With My Baby,” as well as the MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Steppin’ Out With My Baby

Today, we celebrate one of America’s greatest composers, Irving Berlin, who was born on May 11, 1888 in Temun, Russia as Israel Baline. His family emigrated to America in 1893 to escape the systemic persecution of Jews in Russia at that time. He started working as a singer at the age of 14 and was a singing waiter by 1906. In 1907, he wrote the lyrics for his first published song, Marie From Sunny Italy. His name was misspelled as “I. Berlin” on the sheet music, and from then on he was Irving Berlin. His first major hit came in 1911 with Alexander’s Ragtime Band. He was a self-taught pianist who never learned to read music and could only play in one key: F-sharp. Needless to say, this proved no obstacle to one of the greatest songwriting careers in American history.

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Berlin’s music has been a part of American life, from his wonderful film musicals such as Top Hat, Holiday Inn and Easter Parade to his hit Broadway shows such as Annie Get Your Gun and Call Me Madam to the songs that we have been singing for decades like There’s No Business Like Show Business, God Bless America, and perhaps the greatest Christmas song ever written, White Christmas.

In honor of Irving Berlin, the song of the day for Saturday, May 11, 2013 is Steppin’ Out With My Baby.

About This Song

Like many of Irving Berlin’s songs written for film, Steppin’ Out With My Baby was introduced by Fred Astaire. Berlin wrote the song for the 1948 Easter Parade, in which Astaire co-starred with Judy Garland.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Bennett’s 1994 MTV Unplugged concert. Bennett often sings Steppin’ Out With My Baby in concerts and features his quartet generously in those performances of this song. It seems to me that he has a great time singing this song, and we’re happy to provide this live version today.

http://open.spotify.com/track/31TTqEhhp9SK7qLNqW5EZs
Steppin’ Out With My Baby, as well as the full MTV Unplugged album, is available from iTunes.

And, since it’s Saturday, here’s Fred Astaire in another Berlin tune from Easter Parade: Drum Crazy, filmed in a toy store.