The song of the day for Wednesday, June 29, 2016 is “Anywhere I Wander.”

About This Song

“Anywhere I Wander” was written in 1951 by Frank Loesser for the film Hans Christian Anderson, where it was introduced by Danny Kaye. It’s been recorded several times, lately quite well by Liz Calloway, who named her terrific Frank Loesser album Anywhere I Wander.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Anywhere I Wander” in 1952, released as a single that same year. The arrangement is by Percy Faith.

“Anywhere I Wander,” as well as all the singles on The Columbia Singles, Volume 2, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of Frank Loesser, who was born in New York on June 29, 1910. Loesser is noted for a remarkable string of scores for Broadway, including Guys and Dolls, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and one of my favorites: The Most Happy Fella. In his earlier years, he worked in Hollywood, but mostly as a lyricist on songs for movies with composers including Arthur Schwartz, Burton Lane and Hoagy Carmichael.