The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Undecided Blues

The song of the day for Tuesday, March 5, 2024, is “Undecided Blues.”

About This Song

“Undecided Blues” was written in 1941 by blues shouter Jimmy Rushing (also known as Five-by-Five, due to his stature). Rushing was born in Oklahoma City into a musical family; his father was a trumpet player and his mother was a singer. He started his career as an itinerant blues singer in the early 1920s. He sang with Jelly Roll Morton and other early jazz orchestras before joining the Bennie Moten band in 1929. When Moten died in 1935, he joined the Count Basie Orchestra, which was his home for many years. Rushing, with the Count Basie Orchestra, first recorded “Undecided Blues” in 1941.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Undecided Blues” in May 2001 for his album Playin’ With My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues. Rob Mathes wrote the arrangement and Gray Sargent, a member of the Ralph Sharon Quartet, was featured on guitar.

“Undecided Blues,” as well as Playin’ With My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues

The song of the day for Tuesday, June 13, 2023, is “I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues.”

About This Song

“I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues” was written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler for the 1932 Broadway show, Earl Carroll’s Vanities. It has been a blues and jazz standard ever since. Notable recordings include those by Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lean Horne, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bonnie Raitt recorded “I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues” in May 2001 for the album Playin’ With My Friends. They were accompanied by The Ralph Sharon Quartet (Sharon on piano; Gray Sargent on guitar; Paul Langosch on bass; and Cameron Clayton on drums), Mike Melvoin on the Hammond B3 organ, and Harry Allen on saxophone.

“I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues,” as well as Playin’ With My Friends is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: But Beautiful

The song of the day for Friday, March 3, 2023, is “But Beautiful.”

About This Song

“But Beautiful” was written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke for Bing Crosby to sing in the 1947 movie The Road to Rio. The song has been widely recorded, including recordings by Bill Evans, Johnny Hartman, Billie Holiday, Gregory Porter, Frank Sinatra, Nat Cole, and Bill Evans and Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded “But Beautiful” in 2014 for their album Cheek To Cheek. The arrangement was written by Jorge Calandrelli. The recording features Gray Sargent on guitar.

“But Beautiful,” as well as Cheek To Cheek is available on Apple Music.

Here’s the video from the studio recording of today’s song:

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Song of the Day: In A Mellow Tone

The song of the day for Friday, January 27, 2021, is “In A Mellow Tone.”

About This Song

“In A Mellow Tone” was written in 1939 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Milt Gabler. It was based on the 1917 song “Rose Room” by Art Hickman and Harry Williams. The song is a favorite of both vocal and instrumental jazz performers, including Tony Bennett, Paul Gonsalves, Oscar Peterson, Coleman Hawkins, Ella Fitzgerald, and Annie Ross.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “In A Mellow Tone” in May 1999 for Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, with an arrangement by Ralph Burns. The recording gives everyone in the quartet a chance to shine: Ralph Sharon, piano; Gray Sargent, guitar; Paul Langosch, bass; and Clayton Cameron, drums. Wynton Marsalis is featured on trumpet.

“In A Mellow Tone,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool is available on Apple Music.

We’ve got Ellington’s 1958 instrumental recording of today’s song, from his album Blues In Orbit. Featured musicians include Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, and Sam Woodyard.

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Song of the Day: Prelude To A Kiss

The song of the day for Thursday, January 26, 2023, is “Prelude To A Kiss.”

About This Song

“Prelude To A Kiss” was written in 1938 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Gordon and Irving Mills. Ted Gioia in The Jazz Standards notes that in the late 1930s, having practically invented swing music:

… at this juncture he does the exact opposite. The Duke uses his fame and great artistic freedom to become more ambitious, more experimental, less beholden to the formulas of swing music. … ‘Prelude To A Kiss’ from 1938 is a case in point.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Prelude To A Kiss” in May 1999 for Bennett Sings Ellington Hot & Cool. Featured on this recording are Gray Sargent on guitar and Joel Smirnoff on violin.

“Prelude To A Kiss,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Ellington’s first recording of “Prelude To A Kiss,” an instrumental, featuring the impeccable Johnny Hodges:

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