The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: What Good Does It Do

The song of the day for Friday, January 9, 2025, is “What Good Does It Do.”

About This Song

“What Good Does It Do” was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1957 Broadway musical Jamaica which starred Lena Horne and Ricardo Montálban; the principal dancer was Alvin Ailey. Yarburg had been blacklisted during the McCarthy period and was unable to work in film or TV from 1951 to 1962. Fortunately, producer David Merrick and Broadway welcomed Yarburg. Jamaica was nominated for major Tony Awards, including Best Musical, all the acting nominations, and both scenic and costume design, though it lost to The Music Man.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “What Good Does It Do” on August 18, 1960, for his album Tony Bennett Sings a String of Harold Arlen. The album was arranged and conducted by Glenn Osser.

“What Good Does It Do,” as well as Tony Bennett Sings a String of Harold Arlen, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: It’s Only a Paper Moon

The song of the day for Thursday, January 34, 2025, is “It’s Only a Paper Moon.”

About This Song

“It’s Only a Paper Moon” was composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose. The song was originally written for an unsuccessful play called The Great Magoo, it song was used in the 1933 movie Take a Chance. Paul Whiteman recorded it that year. There were two very fine recordings in the 1940s by Ella Fitzgerald and Nat “King” Cole, which sealed the popularity of the song. Since that time, it has been a popular jazz favorite that has been widely recorded.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “It’s Only a Paper Moon” in June 1998 for his album for children, The Playground. He was accompanied by the Ralph Sharon Quartet, featuring Sharon on piano, Gray Sargent on guitar, Paul Langosch on bass, and Clayton Cameron on drums.

“It’s Only a Paper Moon,” as well as The Playground, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Last Night When We Were Young

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 22, 2025, is “Last Night When We Were Young.”

About This Song

“Last Night When We Were Young” was written in 1935 by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. Harold Arlen considered “Last Night When We Were Young” to be one of his favorite songs. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder calls it a “most remarkable and beautiful song … (that) goes far beyond the boundaries of popular music.” Harburg has said that he doesn’t know exactly where the title came from but that “the juxtaposition of those two phrases is almost a whole world of philosophy.” All in all, it’s a very beautiful and introspective song that is much beloved by singers. Frank Sinatra included on his album In The Wee Small Hours. It has also been recorded by Judy Garland, Mel Tormé, Carmen McRae, and Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Last Night When We Were Young” in June 1992 for his album Perfectly Frank. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon, who led the Ralph Sharon Trio that accompanied Bennett for Perfectly Frank, featuring Sharon on piano, Paul Langosch on bass, and Joe LaBarbera on drums.

Perfectly Frank won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

“Last Night When We Were Young,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available on Apple Music.

Yip Harburg spoke about “Last Night When We Were Young” on his 1979 appearance on They Write The Songs:

E.Y Yip Harburg Television Special 1979

Wizard Of Oz lyricist did this wonderful one hour show in 1979, where he talked about his years at MGM and of course Judy Garland, This is several clips I edited together in which she was mentioned! I make no cliam to copyright! just a video from my personal collection!

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Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 21, 2025, is “Over The Rainbow.”

About Yip Harburg

We’re continuing our examinations of lyricists with Yip Harburg. He was born in New York City on April 8, 1898, and was named Isidore Hochberg. His parents, Lewis and Mary Hochberg, were Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jews from Russia. He later changed his name to Edgar Yipsel Harburg, called Yip for short. He attended high school and befriended another student, Ira Gershwin, and they shared a love of Gilbert and Sullivan and worked together on the school paper. After college, marriage, and two children, he wrote light verse for newspapers and co-owned an appliance company that went bankrupt following the stock market crash of 1929. At that time, Ira and Yip decided that Harburg should start writing song lyrics. “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” was one of his earliest songs. On the basis of that song, he was offered a contract with Paramount Studios, where he worked with Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Jerome Kern, Jule Styne, and Burton Lane. He also wrote lyrics for several Broadway musicals, including Bloomer Girl and Finian’s Rainbow.

Harburg was also a social activist and a member of the Socialist Party. Even though he was not a communist, he was blacklisted from 1950 until 1962, unable to work in Hollywood films, television, and radio.

Yip Harburg died in an automobile accident on Sunset Boulevard on March 5, 1981, at the age of 84. It was determined that he had suffered a heart attack while stopped at a red light.

About This Song

“Over The Rainbow” was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

Probably the most widely known of all Harburg’s songs, “Over The Rainbow” is from The Wizard Of Oz. Interestingly, the producers wanted to cut the song from the film, as they felt it slowed down the movie. Thankfully, the preview audiences preferred the movie with the song. “Over The Rainbow” ranked as the #1 song of the 20th century per the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment of the Arts. The song has always been closely associated with Judy Garland. In a letter to Harold Arlen, Judy Garland wrote that the song “…has become part of my life. It’s so symbolic of everybody’s dreams and wishes that I’m sure that’s why some people get tears in their eyes when they hear it. I’ve sung it thousands of times and it’s still the song that’s closest to my heart.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Over The Rainbow” on August 15, 1960, for his album Tony Bennett Sings a String of Harold Arlen, released in 1961. Glenn Osser wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

“Over The Rainbow,” as well as Tony Bennett Sings a String of Harold Arlen, is available on Apple Music.

In 1979, Yip Harburg appeared on a television program called They Write the Songs. He talked about his career and sang “Over The Rainbow.”

Here’s an extended version of Harburg’s appearance on They Write the Songs.

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Song of the Day: Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe

The song of the day for Sunday, January 19, 2025, is “Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe.”

About This Song

“Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe” was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1943 film of the Broadway musical Cabin in the Sky, starring Ethel Waters and Eddie Anderson.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe” on October 28, 1959, Tony Sings For Two, released in 1961.

In The Good Life: The Autobiography of Tony Bennett, Bennett wrote about the session:

I always wanted to be unpredictable, and so for my next project, I decided to go in the opposite direction from the big orchestral albums I’d been doing lately and cut an intimate piano-vocal album with Ralph Sharon. We booked time in the studio and pored through music books, trying one tune after another. The arrangements were spontaneous, and we finished each song in one or two takes. In one afternoon we laid down sixteen tunes—which must be some kind of record—twelve of which made it onto the album, which became 1961’s Tony Sings for Two, Mitch Miller showed up at the start of these sessions, furious that I was really going through with it. When he saw that there was no dissuading me, he turned to Frank Laico and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.” Tony Sings for Two turned out to be one of my finest records ever.

“Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available on Apple Music.