The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Pick Yourself Up

The song of the day for Sunday, January 5, 2025, is “Pick Yourself Up.”

About This Song

“Pick Yourself Up” was written by Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern for the 1936 film Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers. It was used in the early part of the film when Astaire pretends to not be able to dance and asks for Ginger Rogers as his dance instructor just so he could dance with her. This song has been widely recorded, including those by Nat King Cole, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall.

About This Version

Tony Bennett, accompanied by The Bill Charlap Trio, recorded “Pick Yourself Up” in 2015 for his album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. In addition to leading the trio (Charlap on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums), Bill Charlap also wrote the arrangements and co-produced the album with Dae Bennett.

The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern won the 58th Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Album.

“Pick Yourself Up,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available on Apple Music.

We’ve got a couple of videos today. First up, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers from Swing Time:

This video is a favorite of mine. It was project of the Actors Fund to support entertainers during the COVID pandemic. Huge collection of incredibly talented people, led by Tony DeSare.

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Song of the Day: Nice Work If You Can Get It

The song of the day for Saturday, November 30, 2024, is “Nice Work If You Can Get It.”

About This Song

“Nice Work If You Can Get It” was written by George and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 movie A Damsel In Distress, starring Fred Astaire, who introduced the song. It has been widely recorded by artists including Astaire, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Love Is Here To Stay. Bill Charlap wrote the arrangement. The Bill Charlap accompanied the album with Charlap on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums.

Love Is Here To Stay won the 61st Grammy Best Traditional Pop Album Award.

“Nice Work If You Can Get It,” as well as Love Is Here To Stay, is available on Apple Music.

Here is Fred Astaire dancing to “Nice Work If You Can Get It” from A Damsel In Distress.

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Song of the Day: Life Is Beautiful

The song of the day for Friday, November 15, 2024, is “Life Is Beautiful.”

About This Song

“Life is Beautiful” was composed in 1974 by Fred Astaire, with lyrics by Tommy Wolf. While we all know Astaire as America’s greatest dancer, his career as a songwriter is not nearly as well-known. Songwriting was a love of his, though. His biographer Roy Pickard quotes Astaire on this:

I’m a frustrated songwriter and would like to have written a musical comedy score. But that’s just about the only thing I didn’t get done.

“Life is Beautiful” is not only a very well-written song but achieved great popularity as well, as it became the theme song for the Tonight Show.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Life is Beautiful” in 1975 for the album Tony Bennett Life Is Beautiful. Torrie Zito wrote the arrangement.

“Life Is Beautiful,” as well as the album Life Is Beautiful, is available on Apple Music.

Here’s a clip from the Tonight Show of Fred Astaire singing his song. I apologize for the quality, but it’s beautiful to hear Astaire sing.

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Song of the Day: Pick Yourself Up

The song of the day for Wednesday, October 16, 2024, is ” Pick Yourself Up.”

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett is very happy to wish Bill Charlap a fond Happy Birthday. He was born on October 15, 1966, in New York. He is one of the great jazz pianists of this generation. His father, Moose Charlap, was a Broadway composer who wrote Peter Pan, among other musicals. His mother is Sandy Stewart, a noted cabaret artist; she and Bill did several albums together: Love Is Here To Stay (2004) and Something To Remember (2011). His wife, Renee Rosnes, is a world-class jazz pianist and is a founding member of ARTEMIS, an all-women jazz ensemble.

Bill Charlap worked with Tony Bennett for many years, starting with his 2006 studio recording of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” the second studio recording of that song and was released on Duets: An American Classic. He was the musical director, pianist, and arranger for the 2011The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. Renee Rosnes also played dual piano wth Bill in this album. He served in the same role for the 2015 Love Is Here to Stay, the duet album with Bennett and Diana Krall.

Happy Birthday to the Bill Charlap!

About This Song

“Pick Yourself Up” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (see videos later in this post). It was used in the early part of the film when Astaire pretends to not be able to dance and asks for Ginger Rogers as his dance instructor just so he can dance with her. This song has been widely recorded, including those by Nat King Cole, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Pick Yourself Up” in 2015 for his album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, with an arrangement by Bill Charlap. The Bill Charlap Trio (Charlap on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums accompanies Bennett on this recording.

” Pick Yourself Up,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available on Apple Music.

We’ve got some great videos for you today. First up is the dance numbers from Swing Time:

Swing Time, part 1

Swing Time, part 2

“Pick Yourself Up” – All-Star Jazz Collab for the Actors Fund
This video was released on June 25, 2020, to help raise donations for The Actors Fund, helping actors and musicians who could not work due to the Covid-19 shutdowns. I love this video and I love the cause.

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Song of the Day: Top Hat, White Tie and Tails

The song of the day for Thursday, September 5, 2024, is “Top Hat, Top Hat and Tails.”

About This Song

“Top Hat, White Tie and Tails” was written by Irving Berlin for the 1935 film Top Hat, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The song was introduced by Mr. Astaire. The film is widely considered to be one of the best of the RKO Astaire and Rogers films; the American Film Institute ranked it 15th on its list of best musicals.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails” in July 1993 for album Steppin’ Out, consisting of songs introduced by Fred Astaire. It was arranged by Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon.

“Top Hat, White Tie and Tails,” as well as Steppin’ Out, is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Fred Astaire singing and dancing “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails” from Top Hat.