The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song: What A Little Moonlight Can Do

The song of the day for Saturday, April 18, 2015 is “What A Little Moonlight Can Do.”

About This Song

This charming song was written by Harry Woods in 1934 while he was living and working in temporarily in London for a British film studio as a composer. One of the songs he wrote was “What A Little Moonlight Can Do” for a movie called Road House. Billie Holiday, with Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, recorded the song in 1935.

About This Version

This is a wonderfully cheerful and light rendition of today’s song. Sharon’s piano is quite deft and very much in period. All in all, a delightful turn.

What A Little Moonlight Can Do

Tony Bennett · Tony Bennett On Holiday: A Tribute To Billie Holiday · Song · 1997


“What A Little Moonlight Can Do,” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

About Billie Holiday’s Version

Billie Holiday recorded “What A Little Moonlight Can Do” 17 times, including recorded live concerts and television performances. Today we present her first recording from July 2, 1935 (MX B1776701) released on Brunswick. The musicians included Teddy Wilson (piano), Benny Goodman (clarinet), Ben Webster (tenor sax), Roy Eldridge (trumpet), John Truehart (guitar), John Kirby (bass) and Cozy Cole (drums).

What a Little Moonlight Can Do (with Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra)

Listen to What a Little Moonlight Can Do (with Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra) on Spotify. Song · Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson · 2015


“What A Little Moonlight Can Do,” as well as The Centennial Collection, is available from iTunes.

About Today

It’s Saturday and that means a video. Today’s video is Lady Day herself, singing “What A Little Moonlight Can Do” on a live television performance on July 10, 1958 on the Art Ford Jazz Party. Playing with Billie Holiday are Mal Waldron (piano), Buck Clayton (trumpet), Paul Quintette (alto sax), Mundell Lowe (guitar), Joe Benjamin (bass) and Jo Jones (drums).

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Song of the Day: What A Little Moonlight Can Do

The song of the day for Monday, November 10, 2014 is “What A Little Moonlight Can Do.”

About This Song

This charming song was written by Harry Woods in 1934 while he was living and working in temporarily in London for a British film studio as a composer. One of the songs he wrote was “What A Little Moonlight Can Do” for a movie called Road House. Billie Holiday, with Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, recorded the song in 1935.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “What A Little Moonlight Can Do” in 1996 for his album On Holiday, consisting of songs associated with Billie Holiday. It’s a terrific album and worth your time to explore, if you haven’t already.

What A Little Moonlight Can Do

Tony Bennett · Tony Bennett On Holiday: A Tribute To Billie Holiday · Song · 1997


“What A Little Moonlight Can Do,” as well as On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet

The song of the day for Tuesday, September 16, 2014 is “A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet.”

About This Song

Today’s song was written in 1932 by Harry Woods and Gus Kahn. This charming song was first recorded by Ruth Etting in 1932. Other significant recordings include those by Al Bowlly with the Ray Noble Orchestra, The Lennon Sisters and Nat “King” Cole.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song in 1989 for his autobiographical album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, released in 1990. He is backed by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Paul Langosch on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums. Danny Bennett produced the album, which was arranged and conducted by Jorge Calandrelli. The cover photograph on the album is the young Tony Bennett, wearing his good suit and standing in front of his home. The back cover of the album features Bennett in real time, in the same spot, wearing a good suit. If you’d like to see both photographs and other liner notes for this album, click here to view the album topic at our sister site, The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography.

A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet

Listen to A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1990


“A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet,” as well as Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: What A Little Moonlight Can Do

The song of the day for Tuesday, August 19, 2014 is “What A Little Moonlight Can Do.”

About This Song

This charming song was written by Harry Woods while he was living and working in temporarily in London for a British film studio as a composer. One of the songs he wrote was “What A Little Moonlight Can Do” for a movie called Roadhouse. Billie Holiday, with Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, recorded the song in 1935.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded today’s song in 1996 for his tribute album to Billie Holiday: Tony Bennett On Holiday. This album presents a side of Lady Day that I appreciate. Sure, we hear a lot of her soul-searching songs, but also the light, sweet and cheerful standards that she also sang to great effect, including this one. Bobby Tucker, who played piano for Billie Holiday, served as consultant for this album, which was a brilliant stroke.

One of the readers on our sister site, The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography, said that “I was surprised to discover that Tony Bennett’s tribute to Lady Day rang truer than all of the other attempts to politicize her, racialize her, or use her as a self-promotional ‘career stepping stone.'” I couldn’t agree more. It’s about the music. It always is.

Tony Bennett did the painting of Billie Holiday that is used on the cover of Tony Bennett On Holiday.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0PPOBJY0oBhGCR79a1CiVO
“What A Little Moonlight Can Do,” as well as the album Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet

The song of the day for Wednesday, September 25, 2013 is “A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet.”

About This Song

“A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet” was written in 1932 by Gus Kahn and Harry Woods. It was made popular on radio and in clubs by Vincent Lopez. The song was a big hit for Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s autobiographical 1990 album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist.

I chose today’s song as I was thinking about our wonderful weekend at the 56th Monterey Jazz Festival. In our new, upgraded seats this year, there were many wonderful people, some of whom had been coming to the festival for twenty to thirty years. This year, there was great concern about a couple who had been attending for over thirty years (25 years of which were in the same seats near us) who were not there. As a result, people who had known each other for years only from the festival, decided to exchange phone numbers and email addresses and vowed to stay in touch better. Section 150 was indeed a little street where old friends meet.

As the newcomers to section 150, we met many wonderful people, both in our section and in our favorite hang-out spot: the picnic tables near the Courtyard Stage, which featured excellent music from Judy Roberts and Greg Fishman. We handed out cards for this site and are proud to welcome one of our newest subscribers from this year’s festival — Hello Jan! We all attend Monterey Jazz for the music, but we come away not only with many wonderful music memories but new friends as well. And yes, I’m already planning for next year.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0bnJ1AqxPRBjMUXXiMzzJ1
“A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet,” as well as the album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com.

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