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

On the ninth day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, the song of the day for Tuesday, December 22, 2020, 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. 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 this version of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” in 1968 for Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album. Robert Farnon wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

Santa Claus Is Comin" To Town

Listen to Santa Claus Is Comin" To Town on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1968

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

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Song of the Day: You Go To My Head

The song of the day for Tuesday, October 22, 2019, 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. Composed by 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 1992 for the album Perfectly Frank, consisting of songs associated with Frank Sinatra. Ralph Sharon did the arrangement. Mr. Bennett had previously recorded “You Go To My Head” in 1957 for The Beat of My Heart, though it wasn’t released until the 1997 CD re-release of that album.

“You Go To My Head,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

The song of the day for Tuesday, December 18, 2018, is “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”
Today is the fifth day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas.

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. 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 of the sheet music had been sold.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” with The Count Basie Big Band for the 2008 album A Swingin’ Christmas.

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” as well as A Swingin’ Christmas, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: You Go To My Head

The song of the day for Monday, December 10, 2018, is “You Go To My Head.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “You Go To My Head,” was written in 1938 by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, the same writing 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 this version of “You Go To My Head” in 1992 for his album Perfectly Frank, an album of songs often associated with Frank Sinatra. Bennett also recorded this same song in 1957 for The Beat of My Heart, though it wasn’t released until 1997 on CD re-release of the album.

You Go to My Head

You Go to My Head, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“You Go To My Head,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Santa Claus is Coming to Town

On the sixth day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, Tuesday, December 19, 2017, the song of the day is “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

About This Song

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” was written in 1934, with music by John Frederick Coots and lyrics by 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 of the sheet music had been sold.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” in 1967 for the album Snowfall, which was released in 1968. The arrangement was done by Robert Farnon.

Santa Claus Is Comin" To Town

Listen to Santa Claus Is Comin" To Town on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1968


“Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” as well as Snowfall, is available from iTunes.