The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: They All Laughed

The song of the day for Saturday, April 27, 2024, is “They All Laughed.”

About This Song

“They All Laughed” was written by George and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 Fred Astaire musical Shall We Dance.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded “They All Laughed” in 2014 for their album Cheek To Cheek. Marion Evans wrote the very fine arrangement.

“They All Laughed,” as well as Cheek To Cheek, is available on Apple Music.

Cheek To Cheek won the 57th Annual Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

We’ve got Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers performing “They All Laughed” from Shall We Dance. Ginger even sings the verse!

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Song of the Day: Let’s Face The Music And Dance

The song of the day for Sunday, December 3, 2023, is “Let’s Face The Music And Dance.”

About This Song

“Let’s Face The Music And Dance” was written by Irving Berlin for the 1936 film Follow the Fleet with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The Astaire–Rogers dance to this song is considered one of their best. It has also been recorded by singers including Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded “Let’s Face The Music And Dance” in 2014 for their album Cheek To Cheek. It was arranged by Alex Smith.

“Let’s Face The Music And Dance,” as well as Cheek To Cheek, is available on Apple Music.

And here are Fred and Ginger from the 1936 Follow The Fleet

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Song of the Day: Let Yourself Go

The song of the day for Tuesday, November 7, 2023, is “Let Yourself Go.”

About This Song

“Let Yourself Go” was written by Irving Berlin in 1936 for the movie Follow The Fleet, where it was introduced by Ginger Rogers. This song has been recorded by Fred Astaire, Kristin Chenoweth, Ella Fitzgerald, and Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Let Yourself Go” in May 1987 for his album Bennett/Berlin. Bennett did the arrangement for this recording.

“Let Yourself Go,” as well as Bennett/Berlin, is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Ginger Rogers singing today from the 1936 film Follow The Fleet:

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Song of the Day: Pick Yourself Up

The song of the day for Wednesday, August 23, 2023, is “Pick Yourself Up.”

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. It is 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” for his album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, released in 2015. It was arranged by Bill Charlap. The Bill Charlap Trio (Charlap on piano, Peter Washington on bass, Kenny Washington on drums) accompanied Bennett.

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

Here’s today’s song with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers:

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Tuesday, July 25, 2023, is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About This Song

“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for that year. Dorothy Fields was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting.

Dorothy Fields remarked:

The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.

It’s a magnificent love song that has found a strong position as a jazz standard, with recordings by Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé, and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song (in only one take, it’s said) for the 1997 movie My Best Friend’s Wedding. This recording is included in Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 2, which was included in the 2011 Complete Collection box set.

“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 2, is available on Apple Music.

We’ve also got Fred Astaire’s introduction of “The Way You Look Tonight” from Swing Time. Note that Astaire doesn’t dance to this number. Instead, he sits at the piano and sings it to Ginger Rogers.