The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: There Will Never Be Another You

The song of the day for Friday, January 10, 2014 is “There Will Never Be Another You.”

About This Song

“There Will Never Be Another You” was written by Harry Warren, with lyrics by Mack Gordon, for the 1942 film Iceland. It’s ironic that one of Harry Warren’s most beautiful songs was written for a Sonja Henie vehicle called Iceland, starring Miss Henie and John Payne as a U.S. Marine stationed in Iceland during World War II. The song was introduced in the movie by Joan Merrill. Amazingly, this beautiful song was not nominated for an Academy Award. No matter. The song has become a serious jazz standard and has had many fine recordings, including Bennett’s 1959 recording with Count Basie and his 1962 improvisation with Dave Brubeck at the White House Sessions. Other significant recordings include those by Lionel Hampton, Chet Baker, Nat King Cole and Sonny Rollins.

About This Version

Today’s version of “There Will Never Be Another You” is from the recently-released Bennett/Brubeck The White House Sessions, Live 1962. My previous post on this site was to announce that Tony Bennett has been named the Best Male Jazz Vocalist for 2013 by the readers of Jazz Times and I want to feature one of his finer jazz performances. Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck improvising: jazz doesn’t get much better.

http://open.spotify.com/track/43Nhohs8pPUMtF534R5tvA
“There Will Never Be Another You,” as well as Bennett/Brubeck The White House Sessions, Live 1962, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

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Song of the Day: There Will Never Be Another You

The song of the day for Sunday, December 8, 2013, is “There Will Never Be Another You.”

About This Song

“There Will Never Be Another You” was written by Harry Warren, with lyrics by Mack Gordon, for the 1942 Sonja Henie musical film Iceland. Many of the most exquisite songs in the American Songbook have come from unexpected films, including “But Beautiful” from Road to Rio and today’s song.

Today’s song has been widely recorded by artists including Chet Baker, Rosemary Clooney, Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra and Joe Williams.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s 1959 album In Person! with Count Basie and His Orchestra. Bennett’s two album with the Count Basie Orchestra (the other being Basie/Bennett) are quite wonderful and like all great music, they hold up beautifully and sound as if they could have been recorded yesterday. They are among my favorite Bennett albums.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6EPp2rr3eB93hlfchjTJNE
“There Will Be Another You,” as well as the album In Person!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Jeepers Creepers

The song of the day for Monday, November 4, 2013 is “Jeepers Creepers.”

About This Song

“Jeepers Creepers” was written by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer for the 1938 movie Going Places. Louis Armstrong introduced the song in the movie and continued to sing it throughout his career. In the movie, Armstrong portrays the trainer for a racehorse, who can only be calmed when by hearing the song “Jeepers Creepers” played on the trumpet.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s 1959 album with the Count Basie Orchestra, Basie/Bennett. The Year of Tony Bennett thinks this is a good song to get us all up and going on a Monday. This song, as well as the entire album, was arranged by Ralph Sharon and produced by Teddy Reig.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4IhBcazBOrGm8CHegL1uiT
“Jeepers Creepers,” as well as the Basie/Bennett album, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

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Song of the Day: The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

The song of the day for Sunday, August 18, 2013 is “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

About This Song

“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” was written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin in 1933 for the movie Moulin Rouge. The song was introduced in the film by Constance Bennett. The song was recorded in the mid 1930s by Ted Weems and His Orchestra, Bing Crosby and many others, as well as an Art Tatum piano solo version from the mid 1950s.

About This Version

“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” has a special place in the musical landscape of Tony Bennett’s career. In October 1949, Tony Bennett with his friend and musical director Tony Tamburello, recorded a demo record at Leslie Records with two songs: “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “Crazy Rhythm.” Mitch Miller, who had just become the head of “pop singles” division at Columbia Records heard “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and immediately decided to sign the young singer to a contract with Columbia. Bennett recorded the song at his first recording session for Columbia in April 1950 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today’s version was recorded some forty years after that first recording for Tony Bennett’s 1990 album Astoria: The Portrait of the Artist. This version, arranged by Jorge Calandrelli, is a quieter and more modern interpretation of this song, with a more introspective emotional arc that the early version. Like all the songs on this very fine album, it’s well worth a listen.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2GoFkLZ0SoqTLD9jN2qgIQ
“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” as well as the album Astoria: The Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: With Plenty of Money and You

The song of the day for Wednesday, June 26, 2013 is “With Plenty of Money and You.”

About This Song

“With Plenty of Money and You” was written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin for the movie Gold Diggers of 1937. Originally, Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg were slated to write all the songs for the movie, but Busby Berkeley wasn’t happy with the songs for the productions numbers and so he added Warren and Dubin. The final score for the movie includes songs by both songwriting teams.

About This Version

This swinging song is from Bennett’s widely-hailed 1959 album with the Count Basie Orchestra: Basie/Bennett, originally released on the Roulette label, which handled Basie’s albums. They got together again in 1959 for In Person!, this time from Columbia. Both albums are terrific.

http://open.spotify.com/track/7G5L3XC5LMcReydpXlxHov
“With Plenty of Money and You,” as well as the entire remastered Strike Up The Band album, is available from iTunes.

And, if you’re interested, here’s Dick Powell singing this song from the film:

With Plenty Of Money And You - Gold Diggers Of 1937

Listen to With Plenty Of Money And You - Gold Diggers Of 1937 on Spotify. Song · Dick Powell · 2005

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