An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
According to the weather report …
New York had a high of 94
Portland Oregon, my home, had a high of 97
Dallas Texas went up to 104.
If Tony Bennett had ever recorded this song, it would have been my song of the day. Instead, you get Ella Fitzgerald.
The song of the day for Monday, June 6, 2016 is “You Showed Me The Way.”
Today’s song, “You Showed Me The Way,” was written in 1937 by Ella Fitzgerald, Chick Webb, Teddy McRae and Bud Green. Ella Fitzgerald co-wrote this song when she was just 18 years old and singing with Chick Webb at the Savoy Ballroom. The song eloquently describes her joy and gratitude for working with Webb.
Tony Bennett recorded “You Showed Me The Way” in 1995 for his album Here’s To The Ladies. In this album, Bennett chose songs associated with the great female singers of the 20th century. This song is, of course, the song he chose for his good friend Ella Fitzgerald.
The song of the day for Saturday, June 20, 2015 is “I’ve Got Five Dollars.”
Rochard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote “I’ve Got Five Dollars” for the 1931 musical America’s Sweetheart, where it was introduced by Ann Sothern (who was still using her given name of Harriette Lake) and Jack Whiting. Notable recordings include those by Ella Fitzgerald, Jeri Southern, and Tony Bennett.
I love the lyrics to this classic Depression-era song–in spite of tough times, love wins out! Bennett does a lovely job with this song.
Yes, it’s Saturday and, sorry to say, I have no video to include. So instead, I offer a selection of today’s song sung by other artists. I hope you enjoy them.
We’ll start off with Bobby Short:
And now Ella Fitzgerald:
What about some Jeri Sothern?
And this spectacular 1931 version from the Victor Arden-Phil Ohman Orchestra, with vocals from Frank Luther:
The song of the day for Monday, February 3, 2014 is “Angel Eyes.”
The local jazz station in Portland, Oregon (the hometown of The Year of Tony Bennett) introduced new program today called CineJazz, featuring jazz music from the movies. (KMHD streams live over the internet; it’s a great jazz station). CineJazz will be aired on Sundays from 3:00PM to 6:00 PM Pacific Time. One of the first songs they played was Ella Fitzgerald’s 1957 version of today’s song: “Angel Eyes.”
“Angel Eyes” was written in 1946 by Matt Dennis, with lyrics by Earl Brent. It was first recorded by a singer named Herb Jeffries, but his recording company folded and the song faded from sight. Nat “King” Cole recorded it in 1953 on the B-side with “Return To Paradise.” Also in 1953, the song was used in mystery film called Jennifer, starring Ida Lupino and Howard Duff, with the composer Dennis singing his own song.
Dennis himself credits Ella Fitzgerald for the popularity of “Angel Eyes.” She made several fine recordings, the first of which was in 1952 with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra. The 1957 recording that started us down this path is included on First Lady of Song and Ultimate Ella. In 1960, Ella Fitzgerald appeared in a film called Let No Man Write My Epitaph, which starred Shelly Winters, Burl Ives, James Darren and Jean Seberg. Fitzgerald’s character, Flora, sang several songs in the film which were released in 1990 on Intimate Ella, including “Angel Eyes.”
Frank Sinatra recorded “Angel Eyes” in 1958 for Frank Sinatra Sings Only The Lonely and his recording was quite popular as well.
Tony Bennett recorded “Angel Eyes” in 1992 for the album Perfectly Frank, which was arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon. Frank Laico, who recorded virtually all of Bennett’s songs during from the time he started at Columbia until he left the label in the early 1970s, came out of retirement to engineer this album for Tony Bennett.
http://open.spotify.com/track/4LzdqyK19bQj5BOsGakaGX
“Angel Eyes,” as well as the album Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.
I found an amazing CD at my local Starbucks today that I recommend to anyone who loves Duke Ellington.
It’s called In Grand Company. It’s a compilation of recordings made by Duke Ellington with other artists: Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and many, many more.
But the one amazing cut on this CD is It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) with Louis Armstrong. I love this song and have featured it as a song of the day here. But I’ve never heard anything as exciting as this recording with the Duke and Louis. If nothing else, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard the verse sung.
UPDATED: I found the recording of It Don’t Mean A Thing for you to listen to. If this doesn’t swing, I don’t know what does.
I don’t know how long Starbucks will have this in the stores, but I do encourage you to find this CD and give it a listen. You can also purchase it online from Starbucks. The CD also comes with a booklet with informative liner notes by Steven Stolder, who also produced this compilation for Sony Music Entertainment.
And, while you’re there, the Starbucks store has Viva Duets, if you haven’t picked up your copy yet.