The song of the day for Wednesday, June 5, 2013, is “Solitude.”

About This Song

“Solitude” was written by Duke Ellington in 1934, with lyrics by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills. One of his masterpieces, Ellington is said to have written this song in twenty minutes at the recording session, as they were on number short (Ted Gioia in Jazz Standards).   It’s a very strong song for both vocalists and instrumentalists. Ellington made over a hundred recordings of this song. Other great recordings include those by Paul Robeson, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Billy Eckstine.

About This Version

Today’s version is one my favorite numbers from his 1962 Carnegie Hall concert. It starts slow and quiet and builds steadily to the finish. Tony Bennett has said that he probably has sung this song more often than other, even “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” It was a popular request from his early (even pre-World War II) days as a singing waiter.

http://open.spotify.com/track/66xcBH2f8VNVIcwP0HRFPe
Solitude, as well as the entire Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall concert album, is available from iTunes.

The song of the day for Monday, March 11, 2013 is Solitude.

About This Song

(In My) Solitude was written in 1934 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills. The song was, literally, written at the recording session the day it was first recorded. It is one of his most beloved songs; Ellington recorded it many more times and played it in most of his concerts.

One of Ellington’s most beloved songs, it’s been recorded by many significant artists including Paul Robeson, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone.

About This Version

I have been listening to a lot of Tony Bennett live recordings the past few days and this song from his 1962 Carnegie Hall concert is a favorite. It comes about half-way through the second part of the performance, though he shows no tiredness throughout this incredible 44 song concert. But it does come after a group of up-tempo songs and you can feel the audience hanging, rapt, on each word of the song. It’s really quite wonderful. The audience loved it and so do I.

http://open.spotify.com/track/66xcBH2f8VNVIcwP0HRFPe
Solitude, as well as the full Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall album, is available from iTunes.