The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Get Happy

The song of the day for Sunday, December 1, 2013 is “Get Happy.”

About This Song

“Get Happy” was written by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Ted Koehler, in 1930 for The Nine-Fifteen Revue, where it was introduced by Ruth Etting. It was the first song that Arlen and Koehler wrote together. Even though written in 1930, “Get Happy” may be best known by its performance by Judy Garland in the 1950 musical film Summer Stock. In addition to several recordings by Judy Garland, other recordings of this song include those by Frank Sinatra, Johnny Dankworth, Ella Fitzgerald, June Christy and Rufus Wainwright.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded this song for his 1968 album Yesterday I Heard the Rain; it was arranged and conducted by Torrie Zito. The Torrie Zito arrangement was used for Bennett’s 1971 concert album Get Happy with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Robert Farnon.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4ft0sAHcZ1Znf00yiTbFk8
“Get Happy,” as well as the album Yesterday I Heard The Rain, is available from iTunes.

And here’s Miss Judy Garland, performing “Get Happy” from Summer Stock:

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Song of the Day: Out Of This World

The song of the day for Monday, November 18, 2013 is “Out Of This World.”

About This Song

“Out Of This World” was written in 1944 by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was introduced in the 1945 movie Out Of This World, where Bing Crosby dubbed the voice Eddie Bracken for the singing of this song. This song is favorite of singers including Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney and Jo Stafford.

Alec Wilder, in his book American Popular Song, notes that this song is somewhat unusual, as it has no verse, as was customary for most popular songs written at that time. He says that “it is a very strong song, with splendid support in a John Mercer lyric.”

We choose this song today to celebrate the birth of John Herndon Mercer, on this day in 1909. Mercer is, without a doubt, one of America’s finest lyricists and his work, especially that with Harold Arlen, is beyond compare.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded Out of This World twice: first in 1960 for the album Alone Together and again in 1967 for For Once In My Life. Both are versions are outstanding. Today’s version is from 1967, arranged and conducted by Marion Evans.

Our hat is off to the great Johnny Mercer and all of the wonderful songs he gave us.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1lbNdANp7StpkibXrAMjbi
“Out Of This World,” as well as the album For Once In My Life,” is available from iTunes and Amazon.

Note: All links are to The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography.

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Song of the Day: So Long, Big Time!

The song of the day for Saturday, November 16, 2013 is “So Long, Big Time!”

About This Song

Harold Arlen wrote “So Long, Big Time!” in 1963, with lyrics by Dory Langdon Previn. It’s one Arlen’s later songs, but it’s unmistakably written by Harold Arlen. Today’s version by Tony Bennett appears to be the first recording of “So Long, Big Time!” Bill Evans recorded it with Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund and his trio in 1964 for his album Waltz For Debby, which you can listen to on Spotify.

About This Version

I’ve never hidden my affection for the music of Harold Arlen. And having presented one Harold Arlen song earlier in the week (Wednesday’s “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”), I can’t resist digging deeper. Tony Bennett recorded “So Long, Big Time!” in September, 1963 for the 1964 album The Many Moods of Tony.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3KjtHoSOKmduvJYnYnhoW3
“So Long, Big Time!” as well as the album The Many Moods of Tony, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

And today’s video is one of my very favorites; it captures some of the recording session in 1963 when Tony Bennett recorded “So Long, Big Time” in the famed CBS 30th Street Studio, with Harold Arlen conducting the orchestra. The smile on Arlen’s face at the transition from the bridge into the second chorus (2:09) is absolutely genuine and beautiful.

This video is excerpted from the Arlen documentary, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, which is available for purchase from Amazon and for DVD rental from Netflix.

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Song of the Day: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

The song of the day for Tuesday, November 13, 2013 is “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.”

About This Song

“Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” was written by Harold Arlen (music) and Ted Koehler (lyrics) in 1931 for The Cotton Club. Early on, it was recorded by Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway. Other noted recordings include this one by Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. George Harrison recorded it for his last album, Brainwashed.

About This Version

My readers know about my love of Harold Arlen and it’s been a while since I’ve featured a Harold Arlen song. Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s 1964 album Who Can I Turn To, produced by Ernie Altschuler. The album was arranged and conducted by George Siravo and features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0w2zSgxWS1fwSkA4dNwWnq
“Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” as well as the album Who Can I Turn To, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: That Old Black Magic

The song of the day for Wednesday, October 3, 2013 is “That Old Black Magic.”

About This Song

“That Old Black Magic” was written in 1942 by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1942 movie Star Spangled Rhythm. The first recording was by Glen Miller (with “A Pink Cocktail For a Blue Lady” on the flip side), which was followed with recordings by many great artists, including Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland and even Johnny Mercer. Marilyn Monroe sang the song in the film version of Bus Stop in 1956.

About This Version

Today’s version is from the recently released Bennett & Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962. The tape from this concert had been lost in the vaults at Columbia for years, though “That Old Black Magic” had been released in 1971 on Dave Brubeck Summit Sessions. The tape was located in the classical music section at Sony last December and was released as an album in May, 2013 and was number one on the jazz charts for several months; even today it’s still number four for jazz vocals.

This song was a short improv session with Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Eugene Wright and Joe Morello. The four songs they did that August night in 1962 are really glorious and bear for repeated listening.

It’s a Harold Arlen kind of week.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0NTxPntOPk44Boyl985eAV
“That Old Black Magic,” as well as Bennett & Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962, is available from iTunes and amazon.com.