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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

April 12, 2016 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Ain’t Misbehavin’

The song of the day for Wednesday, April 13, 2016 is “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”

About This Song

“Ain’t Misbehaving'” was composed in 1929 by Thomas “Fats” Waller and Harry Brooks with lyrics by Andy Razaf, for the 1929 musical revue Hot Chocolates, staged at Connie’s Inn in Harlem. Andy Razaf, the lyricist, says that Waller wrote the entire song in just 45 minutes. It has become one of Waller’s most well-known songs, perhaps due to the wildly successful Broadway musical revue Ain’t Misbehaving, which opened in 1978 (which your author had the great pleasure of seeing with the original cast).

About This Version

Tony Bennett’s only studio recording of “Ain’t Misbehaving'” was made in 1964 for his album When Lights Are Low. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon.

Ain"t Misbehavin"

Listen to Ain"t Misbehavin" on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1964.


“Ain’t Misbehavin’,” as well as When Lights Are Low, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Welty_Eudora_640x360

We are featuring “Ain’t Misbehaving'” in honor of the Mississippi author Eudora Welty, who was born in Jackson Mississippi on April 13, 1909. I had the great fortune to meet Eudora Welty in 1979, when I worked at New Stage Theater in Jackson and quite accidentally lived directly across the street in the house she grew up in and next door to the elementary school she attended. Welty, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for her novel The Optimist’s Daughter, loved jazz and especially loved the music of Fats Waller. One of her earliest and most famous short stories, Powerhouse, was based on Fats Waller. For all these reasons, and more, I am pleased to honor the great Eudora Welty by featuring one of her favorite songs.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Andy Razaf, Eudora Welty, Fats Waller, Hot Chocolates, When Lights Are Low

November 30, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Mood Indigo

The song of the day for Monday, November 30, 2015 is “Mood Indigo.”

About This Song

Originally titled “Dreamy Blues,” Ellington wrote this song in 1930, which is based on a theme by Barney Bigard, who is said to have learned it from his New Orleans clarinet teacher, Lorenzo Tio. Ellington wrote the song specifically for “microphone transmission” and it was first played on a 1930 radio broadcast. Audiences loved the song, and so Irving Mills wrote the lyric, changing the name of the song to “Mood Indigo.” The song has been widely recorded by instrumental and vocal artists, including Tony Bennett, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Mood Indigo” in 1999 for his tribute album to Duke Ellington, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool. It was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

Mood Indigo

Listen to Mood Indigo on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1999.


“Mood Indigo,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, is available from iTunes.

About Today

You may have noticed that we have been playing a lot of Ellington lately. About six weeks ago, I picked up a book called Meanwhile There Are Letters, the Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald. I came to the book as a fan of Eudora Welty, whom I had met in the late 1970s when I lived in Jackson, Mississippi. Welty and the mystery writer Ross Macdonald were fans of each other and began exchanging letters in 1970 until Macdonald’s death from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. In writing these letters, Welty and Macdonald fell in love, though because Macdonald was married and because Welty was a lady, that love remained in their letters. As I said, I entered the book as a fan of Welty and along the way became a fan of Ross Macdonald. Ross loved jazz, as did Eudora, and he especially loved Duke Ellington’s music. And so I’m in a Duke Ellington kind of mood.

If any of you are interested in Ross Macdonald, I’ve started a website on him and his novels at seekingrossmacdonald.com. It’s not nearly complete, but you might find it interesting.

Oh, and a news flash: the 4th Annual Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas will start on December 14.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington, Eudora Welty, Irving Mills, Ross Macdonald

October 17, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Blues in the Night

The song of the day for

About This Song

“Blues in the Night” was written in 1941 for the film of the same name by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. Arlen wrote the music first and wrote a true blues song. Johnny Mercer, who later wrote the lyrics, drew on his southern heritage to write the exceptional blues lyrics.

In addition to our love for the music of Tony Bennett, we are big fans of the writer Kenneth Millar–whose pen name was Ross MacDonald–and this was his favorite song. Millar was true jazz fan and loved the American songbook. In a letter to his friend Eudora Welty, who had just seen a review of George Gershwin songs at the New Stage Theater in Jackson, Mississippi (where your author was the resident set and lighting designer once upon time), he wrote

I’m glad to hear of the celebration of Gershwin. He and Cole Porter and Ellington were the great celebrators and deserve to be celebrated. The other night, for the first time in three years (since Linda [his daughter] died) I got out some Ellington records and played them.

An author of hard-boiled crime novels after my own heart.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “Blues in the Night” in 1957 for his second jazz album The Beat of My Heart. This song features the great Chico Hamilton on drums. The Beat of My Heart was conceived and devised by Bennett and Ralph Sharon, who arranged and conducted.


“Blues in the Night,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

About Today

For our Saturday video, we present this clip from the film Blues In The Night.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Eudora Welty, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Kenneth Millar, Ralph Sharon, Ross Macdonald

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