An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
We’re driving the blues away with the Song of the Day for September 28, 2012: Shall We Dance.
Shall We Dance was written by George and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film of the same name, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The song was introduced by Fred Astaire. It’s a great number and we’re happy to present the scene from the film:
Tony Bennett recorded Shall We Dance for his tribute album to Fred Astaire, Steppin’ Out, released in 1993.
The Song of the Day for September 20, 2012 is Isn’t This a Lovely Day?
Written by Irving Berlin for 1935 film Top Hat, Isn’t This a Lovely Day? was introduced by Fred Astaire.
Tony Bennett recorded Isn’t This a Lovely Day? with the Ralph Sharon Trio for his 1987 Bennett / Berlin album. This arrangement features especially lovely piano work by Mr. Sharon.
The Song of the Day for August 30, 2012 is 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.
This version is from Tony Bennett’s 1993 Stepping Out, his tribute to Fred Astaire.
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.
The Song of the Day is One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
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.
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.