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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

April 1, 2025 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Skylark

The song of the day for Tuesday, March 31, 2025, is “Skylark.”

About This Song

“Skylark” was written by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer in 1941. Johnny Mercer is said to have worked on the lyrics for “Skylark” for over a year. The song and the lyrics are outstanding, and it easily became a jazz and popular standard. It’s also believed that Buick named its new car Skylark in 1953, due to the popularity of the song.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon recorded”Skylark” on October 28, 1959, at the session for their album Tony Sings For Two. Due to space constraints, “Skylark” was not included on the initial CD release; it was added for the 1995 CD release of the album.

“Skylark,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer, Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett, Tony Sings for Two

November 22, 2024 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Skylark

The song of the day for Friday, November 33, 2024, is “Skylark.”

About Today

We’re remembering Hoagy Carmichael today, who was born in Indiana on November 22, 1899.

About This Song

“Skylark” was written in 1941 by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer. Mercer is said to have worked on the lyrics for “Skylark” for over a year. It is also said that he wrote the lyrics to express his feelings for Judy Garland, with whom he had been involved. Whether true or not, the song and the lyrics are outstanding and it easily became a jazz and popular standard.

About This Version

Tony Bennett, accompanied by just Ralph Sharon, recorded “Skylark” on October 28, 1959, for his album Tony Sings For Two.

“Skylark,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Happy Birthday Hoagy Carmichael, Hoagy Carmichael, Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett

November 21, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Skylark

The song of the day for Wednesday, November 22, 2003, is “Skylark.”

About Today

We are celebrating songwriter Hoagy Carmichael on the anniversary of his birth on November 22, 1899, in Bloomington, Indiana. Carmichael composed several hundred songs, including 50 that achieved hit record status. He is best known for composing four of the most-recorded American songs of all time: “Stardust” (lyrics by Mitchell Parish), “Georgia on My Mind” (lyrics by Stuart Gorrell), “The Nearness of You” (lyrics by Ned Washington), and “Heart and Soul” (lyrics by Frank Loesser). He also collaborated with lyricist Johnny Mercer on “Lazybones” and “Skylark”. Carmichael’s “Ole Buttermilk Sky” was an Academy Award nominee in 1946, from Canyon Passage, in which he co-starred as a musician riding a mule. “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening”, with lyrics by Mercer, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1951.

About This Song

“Skylark” was written in 1941 by Hoagy Carmichael, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Mercer is said to have worked on the lyrics for “Skylark” over a year. He also wrote the lyrics to express his feelings for Judy Garland, with whom he had been involved. Whether true or not, the song and the lyrics are outstanding and easily became a jazz and popular standard.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Skylark” on October 28, 1959, for the album Tony Sings For Two, which Bennett made with Ralph Sharon and no other musicians. “Skylark” was not included in the original LP release of the album, but was added to the 1995 CD re-release.

“Skylark,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Happy Birthday Hoagy Carmichael, Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer, Ralph Shron, Tony Bennett, Tony Sings for Two

August 25, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Skylark

The song of the day for Saturday, August 26, 2023, is “Skylark.”

About This Song

“Skylark” was written in 1941 by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer. Mercer is said to have worked on the lyrics for “Skylark” over a year. It is also said that he wrote the lyrics to express his feelings for Judy Garland, with whom he had been involved. Whether true or not, the song and the lyrics are outstanding and it easily became a jazz and popular standard.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Skylark” on October 28, 1959, with Ralph Sharon, for the album Tony Sings For Two, released in 1961. Tony Bennett tells this story about the album in his autobiography, The Good Life:

I always wanted to be unpredictable, and so for my next project, I decided to go in the opposite direction from the big orchestral albums I’d been doing lately and cut an intimate piano-vocal album with Ralph Sharon. We booked time at the studio and pored through music books, trying one tune after another. The arrangements were spontaneous, and we finished each song in one or two takes. In one afternoon we laid down sixteen tunes—which must be some kind of record—twelve of which made is onto the album, which became 1961’s Tony Sings For Two. Mitch Miller showed up at the start of these sessions, furious that I was really going through with it. When he saw that there was no dissuading me, he turned to Frank Laico and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.” Tony Sings For Two turned out to be one of my finest records ever.

“Skylark,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer, Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett, Tony Sings for Two

July 2, 2021 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Skylark

The song of the day for Saturday, July 3, 2021, is “Skylark.”

About This Song

“Skylark” was written in 1941 by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer. Mercer is said to have worked on the lyrics for “Skylark” for a full year. It is also said that he wrote the lyrics to express his feelings for Judy Garland, with whom he had been involved. Whether true or not, the song and the lyrics are outstanding and it easily became a jazz and popular standard, with many fine recordings.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Skylark” with Ralph Sharon at the session for the 1961 album Tony Sings For Two. The song was omitted from the original LP, but was included on the 1995 CD release of the album.

Skylark

Tony Bennett · Tony Sings For Two · Song · 1961

“Skylark,” as well as Tony Sings For Two is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer, Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett, Tony Sings for Two

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