The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: You’re All the The World To Me

The Song of the Day for August 30, 2012 is You’re All The World To Me.

About You’re All The World To Me

You’re All The World To Me was written in 1950 by Burton Lane (music) and Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics). It premiered in the 1951 Royal Wedding,starring Fred Astaire, who introduced the song in the famous “dancing on the ceiling” scene.

About This Version

This version is from Tony Bennett’s 1993 Stepping Out, his tribute to Fred Astaire.

A Special Treat

Here’s the famous dance from Royal Wedding. Note that the entire number is done in a single take. The entire set of the room and the camera was attached to an axis  rotated through the number. It was a revolutionary effect that was used in later films, including 2001: A Space Odyssey and most recently, Inception.

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Song of the Day: One For My Baby

The Song of the Day is One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

About One For My Baby

The Song of the Day for August 22, 2012 is one of the great American songs, written by Harold Arlen (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics). One For My Baby was written for movie The Sky’s The Limit (1943) and was introduced by Fred Astaire. Like most songs by either Arlen or Mercer, this song has been recorded many, many times by American singers ranging from Astaire to Lena Horne to Lou Rawls to Iggy Pop to Willie Nelson.

About This Version

Of all the singers identified with this song, Frank Sinatra is most associated with One For My Baby. He recorded it several times, starting in 1943 and ending in 1993 for his Duets album. Tony Bennett recorded as a single in 1957. Today’s version is from his sublime album Perfectly Frank, his tribute to his great friend Frank Sinatra.