The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: A Sleepin’ Bee

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 18, 2026, is “A Sleepin’ Bee.”

About This Song

“A Sleepin’ Bee” was written by Harold Arlen and Truman Capote for the 1954 musical House of Flowers, based on the Truman Capote novella. Set in Haiti, the production featured a trio of steel drummers (more precisely known as pannists) from Trinidad.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon recorded “A Sleepin’ Bee” on October 28, 1959, for their album Tony Sings For Two, released in 1961. The album used just voice and piano; no other instruments were used. They came to the session with a briefcase of music; they’d pick a song, set the key, and record in just one or two takes. They recorded 16 songs at that session, 12 of which were released on Tony Sings For Two.

“A Sleepin’ Bee,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

The song of the day for Tuesday, February 17i, 2026, is “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road).”

About This Song

“One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1943 film The Sky’s The Limit, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. Harold Arlen called this song one of his “tapeworms” as at 48 bars, it was longer than the standard 32 bar popular song. Alec Wilder, in American Popular Song, says that “the honors must go the lyric. Just imagine having the acuity and courage to start a song, as Mercer does, with ‘It’s a quarter to three!’.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” in June 1992 for Perfectly Frank, his tribute to Frank Sinatra. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

“One For My Baby (And One More For The Road),” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available on Apple Music.

We have Sinatra’s 1958 recording of “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” from Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely, with an arrangement by Nelson Riddle.

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Song of the Day: Ill Wind (You’re Blowin’ Me No Good)

The song of the day for Monday, February 16, 2026, is “Ill Wind (You’re Blowin’ Me No Good).”

About This Song

“Ill Wind (You’re Blowin’ Me No Good)” was written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler in 1934 for their last show at the Cotton Club, where it was sung by Adelaide Hall. This song has been recorded by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton, Audra McDonald, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Ill Wind (You’re Blowin’ Me No Good)” in June 1996 for Tony Bennett On Holiday, released in 1997. Jorge Calandrelli wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

Tony Bennett On Holiday won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

“Ill Wind (You’re Blowin’ Me No Good),” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Billie Holiday‘s 1956 recording of “Ill Wind (You’re Blowin’ Me No Good)” from All Or Nothing At All.

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Song of the Day: That Old Black Magic

The song of the day for Sunday, February 15, 2026,is “That Old Black Magic.”

About Today

The great Harold Arlen was born 121 years ago on February 15, 1905. We’ll be celebrating Harold Arlen all week.

About This Song

“That Old Black Magic” was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1942 film Star Spangled Rhythm. This song has been widely recorded, starting with Glenn, Miller’s 1942 recording. Other significant recordings include those by Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Sammy Davis Jr., and many more. It was used in several films, including the 1952 movie Bus Stop, where it was sung by Marilyn Monroe.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “That Old Black Magic” live on August 28, 1962, in Washington, D.C. President John F. Kennedy had invited The Dave Brubeck Quartet and Tony Bennett, with Ralph Sharon Trio to perform for that year’s White House Presidential Scholars, which consisted of college-age students who wanted to serve their country. The concert was originally to be held in The White House Rose Garden, but wwas moved to The Mall, near the Washington Monument in order to accommodate the expected larger audience.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet played a set, followed by a set by Tony Bennett. After that, Tony Bennett joined Dave Brubeck, Eugene Wright, and Joe Morello for a short improv session, which included “That Old Black Magic.”

The full concert was recorded by Columbia Records. However, the concert tapes were lost somewhere in the Columbia archives, and were only found after Brubeck’s death on December 5, 2012. Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions was released on May 28, 2013.

“That Old Black Magic,” as well as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Friday, February 6, 2026, is “The Man That Got Away.”

About Today

Tony Sings For Two was released 65 years ago on February 6, 1961. The tracks on the album were recorded a year and four months earlier. Why it took so long to release the album is anyone’s guess, but my money’s on Mitch Miller.

Bennett wrote in his autobiography, The Good Life.

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 at 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.

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away” was written by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin for Judy Garland in the 1954 version of A Star Is Born, with James Mason. Her performance of the song is legendary in film history, with 27 takes in three days, three separate sessions, and two different directors. The filmed scene is brilliant and made the song a huge hit for Garland, who sang it in most of her concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Man That Got Away” on October 28, 1959, for his 1961 album Tony Sings For Two.

“The Man That Got Away,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available on Apple Music.

Here is Judy Garland singing “The Man That Got Away” from Tony Sings For Two.

Here are some links to two outtakes of “The Man That Got Away.”

Judy Garland - "The Man That Got Away" - October 27, 1953 - 1st Take

October 27, 1953: The first of three days of reshooting "The Man That Got Away" for "A Star Is Born." The original version shot on October 20 featured Judy in a pink blouse. For these three days of reshooting, she was filmed in a brown dress designed by Mary Ann Nyberg.

Judy Garland - The Man That Got Away - October 20, 1953

October 20, 1953: "A Star Is Born" filming continued with the shooting of the first version of "The Man That Got Away." The song was shot utilizing two different systems. First up was the new process, CinemaScope, which was the first version shot, This filming went from 2:30 p.m.