The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Body and Soul

The song of the day for Sunday, September 14, 2014 is “Body and Soul.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Body and Soul,” was written in 1930, with music by Johnny Green and lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton. Ted Gioia, in his book The Jazz Standards, says that Body and Soul “is the granddaddy of jazz ballads, the quintessential torch song, and the ultimate measuring rod for tenor sax players of all generations. Even in the new millennium, this 1930 composition continues to serve as the cornerstone of the repertoire.” Louis Armstrong recorded the song first, followed in the 1930s by recordings from primarily white society bands, such as those led by Paul Whiteman. That said, some early recordings by jazz artists including Benny Goodman and especially Art Tatum started to cement this song as a serious jazz standard (in fact, it’s rated #1 on the jazzstandards.com website). However, the Coleman Hawkins recording from 1939 is widely acknowledged to have made the song a true jazz standard. The Hawkins recording was followed by great jazz recordings by Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Art Pepper, Dave Brubeck and many more. Fine vocal recordings include those by Billie Holiday and Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Today’s version is the 2011 duet of “Body and Soul” with Amy Winehouse. It was arranged and conducted by Jorge Calandrelli and recorded in London at Abbey Road Studios. This was the last song that Amy recorded; she died just a few weeks after their session. The recording won the Grammy award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

About Today

Today would have been Amy Winehouse’s 31st birthday. She died from alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011. Every time I listen to her music, I am filled with sadness over all the music she never got to make and gratitude for the music she did make.

For more information about Amy’s legacy, please visit amywinehouse.com. Her parents have created the Amy Winehouse Foundation to help combat the misuse of drugs and alcohol on young people. You can learn more about the foundation at amywinehousefoundation.org.

Body and Soul

Listen to Body and Soul on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Amy Winehouse · 2011


“Body and Soul,” as well as the album Duets II, is available from iTunes.

And here’s the wonderful video of Tony and Amy recording “Body and Soul.”

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Song of the Day: I Cover the Waterfront

The song of the day for Friday, August 22, 2014 is “I Cover The Waterfront.”

About This Song

Today’s song was composed by Johnny Green with lyrics by Edward Heyman (the same songwriting team that gave us “Body and Soul”). “I Cover the Waterfront” was inspired by the 1932 novel of the same name by Max Miller, which was also made into a film and re-scored just prior to release to include the Johnny Green song. It has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and even John Lee Hooker.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Cover The Waterfront” for his 1959 theme album about his home city: Hometown, My Town. The album was arranged and conducted by Ralph Burns; I love the arrangements: they are so evocative of New York in the late 1950s. This is one of my favorite of Bennett’s early albums.

I Cover The Waterfront

Listen to I Cover The Waterfront on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1959


“I Cover The Waterfront,” as well as the album Hometown, My Town, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: When I Fall In Love

The song of the day for Wednesday, June 11, 2014 is “When I Fall In Love.”

About This Song

“When I Fall In Love” was written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in the 1952 movie One Minute To Zero. The first recording was released in April 1952 by Jeri Southern and was arranged and conducted by the composer, Victor Young. However, the first real hit of the song was the 1952 recording by Doris Day. Other notable recordings include those by Nat King Cole, Etta Jones, Tom Jones and, of course, Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Today’s song is from the album In Person! With Count Basie and His Orchestra, released in 1959. It was his second album with Basie, the first, Basie/Bennett, also released that same year.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1iqN4Q3ZaoADUxrEe8X1XI
“When I Fall In Love,” as well as the album In Person! With Count Basie and His Orchestra, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Cover The Waterfront

The song of the day for Monday, April 28, 2014 is “I Cover The Waterfront.”

About This Song

“I Cover The Waterfront” was written in 1933 by Johnny Green and Edward Heyman (both of whom also wrote “Body and Soul”). The song was inspired by the 1932 novel of the same name by Max Miller, which was also made into a film and re-scored just prior to release to include the Johnny Green song. It has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and even John Lee Hooker.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s wonderful autobiographical album about New York City: Hometown, My Town. The song, as well as the entire album, was arranged by Ralph Burns. The big band for the album included Ralph Sharon, Al Cohn, Urbie Green, Al Caiola and Eddie Costa, among others.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1hRgHX7uk5EsS9voflbyfg
“I Cover The Waterfront,” as well as the album Hometown, My Town, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Body and Soul

The song of the day for Saturday, January 18, 2014 is “Body and Soul.”

About This Song

“Body and Soul” was written in 1930 by Johnny Green, with lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton. The song was originally written for Gertrude Lawrence, the British actress and singer. It was introduced in the United States in 1930 in a Broadway revue called Three’s a Crowd.

The importance of “Body and Soul” as a jazz standard is unsurpassed; it ranks #1 on the jazz standards.com website. It has been recorded by the greats of jazz: Coleman Hawkins, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Bill Evans, John Coltrane among many others.

About This Version

One might think that Tony Bennett has sung “Body and Soul” for decades, but his first released recording of this song wasn’t made until 1989, for the 1990 album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist. In 1994, he sung this song on MTV Unplugged, which not only won the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Performance but also Album of the Year. His next recording, the duet with Amy Winehouse for Duets II, won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance; Duets II won the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. I would hazard a guess that this song has been very good for Mr. Bennett.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6yqbGOlhxaX8iVLkpIoPHd
“Body and Soul,” as well as Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes.

And as it’s YouTube Saturday, The Year of Tony Bennett is pleased to present this video of Tony Bennett and the late Amy Winehouse singing their Grammy Award-winning duet of “Body and Soul.”