The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

The song of the day for December 16, 2024, the third day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, is “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.”

About This Song

“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie. The song had a spectacular debut. It was first sung on Eddie Cantor’s radio show in November 1934. On the day after the broadcast, there were 100,000 orders for the sheet music; by Christmas, over 400,000 copies had been sold.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” in June 1967 for his album Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album. It was arranged by Robert Farnon.

“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” as well as Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album is available on Apple Music.

Tony Bennett recorded “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” with The Count Basie Band for the 2008 album A Swingin’ Christmas. I’m unsure where or when this video was made, but I think it was at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Bergen, New Jersey.

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Song of the Day: You Go To My Head

The song of the day for Friday, February 22, 2024, is “You Go To My Head.”

About This Song

“You Go To My Head” was written in 1938 by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, the same songwriting team that gave us “Santa Claus is Coming To Town.” “You Go to My Head” is a well-respected popular song. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder called it “a phenomenon” and “a minor masterpiece.” Al Gioia in The Jazz Standards notes that “this song comes closer than any tune I know to capturing in musical form the feeling of losing control.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “You Go To My Head” in June 1992, for his album Perfectly Frank, his album in tribute to Frank Sinatra. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon.

“You Go To My Head,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town

The song of the day for December 17, 2023, the fifth day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, is “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town.”

About This Song

“Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” was written in 1934 by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie and it had a spectacular debut. The song was first sung on Eddie Cantor’s radio show in November 1934. On the day after the broadcast, there were 100,000 orders for the sheet music; by Christmas, over 400,000 copies of the sheet music had been sold.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” in June 1967 for his album Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album. Robert Farnon wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

“Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town,” as well as Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: You Go To My Head

The song of the day for Tuesday, June 6, 2023, is “You Go To My Head.”

About This Song

“You Got To My Head” was written in 1938 by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, the same songwriting team that gave us “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” Alec Wilder called “You Got To My Head” “a phenomenon” and “a minor masterpiece.” Al Gioia in The Jazz Standards notes that “this song comes closer than any tune I know to capturing in musical form the feeling of losing control.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “You Go To My Head” on October 14, 1957. It was an outtake for the original release of The Beat of My Heart in 1957, but was included on the 1997 re-release of the album. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon. The Beat of My Heart featured a number of percussionists as guest artists; in addition to Bennett’s regular drummer Billy Exiner, Sabu and Candido were featured on this recording.

“You Go To My Head,” as well as The Beat of My Heart is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Santa Claus is Coming to Town

The song of the day for December 15, 2022, the second day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, is “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

About This Song

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” was written in 1934 by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie. The song had a spectacular debut. The song was first sung on Eddie Cantor’s radio show in November 1934. On the day after the broadcast, there were 100,000 orders for the sheet music; by Christmas, over 400,000 copies of the sheet music had been sold.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” in 2004 and released it in 2008 for A Swingin’ Christmas. It was arranged by Bill Holman and features Andy Snitzer on alto sax. The album features The Count Basie Big Band.

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” as well as A Swingin’ Christmas is available on Apple Music.