The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Take The Moment

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 11, 2015 is “Take The Moment.”

About This Song

“Take The Moment” is from the 1965 Broadway musical Do I Heart a Waltz? and was written by Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim. The production was troubled from the start. Hammerstein passed away as the writing of piece was started. Stephen Sondheim was a protegé of Hammerstein and was asked by Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book, and Mary Rodgers, daughter of Richard Rodgers, to write the lyrics. Richard Rodgers and Sondheim did not mesh and their working relationship was not happy for either artist.

About This Version

This is Tony Bennett only recording of “Take The Moment.” It was recorded in January, 1965 for the February, 2015 album of the month: If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set. Like all the songs on this album, it was arranged by Don Costa.

Take The Moment

Tony Bennett · If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set · Song · 1965

“Take The Moment,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Love Scene

The song of the day for Tuesday, February 10, 2015 is “Love Scene.”

About This Song

“Love Scene,” which is also known as “Making That Scene,” was written by Duke Ellington around 1964, with lyrics by Marshall Barer.

About This Version

I am not sure, but I think that this recording of “Love Scene” by Tony Bennett may be the first recording of this song. Ellington recorded this song in 1966 with Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops Orchestra (I used to love to watch their specials on PBS), but I cannot locate references to any other recording of this song.

Love Scene

Tony Bennett · If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set · Song · 1965


“Love Scene,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: If I Ruled The World

The song of the day for Saturday, February 7, 2015 is “If I Ruled The World.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “If I Ruled The World, ” was written by Cyril Ornadel and Leslie Bricusse for the 1963 West End musical Pickwick, based on Dicken’s The Pickwick Papers. Harry Secombe, the British actor, originated the role of Pickwick and his version of this song charted at #18 in the UK. The production opened in New York in 1965 on Broadway. Tony Bennett’s was one of the earliest American recordings and the song reached #34 on the US pop singles charts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “If I Ruled The World” in 1965 for If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set, our album of the month. As the world tour goes, we move from Brazil to London.

In his autobiography The Good Life, Bennett relates:

I had the honor of singing “If I Ruled The World” at a command performance for the Queen Mother of England. After the song, Bobby Hackett, who was playing with me at that time, leaned over to me and whispered, “What do you mean ‘if’?”

Exactly.

If I Ruled the World

Tony Bennett · If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set · Song · 1965

“If I Ruled The World,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Yes, it’s Saturday and it’s our day for a video. I was able to find this video of Tony Bennett singing today’s song on television in 1966. I hope you enjoy it!

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Song of the Day: How Insensitive

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 5, 2015 is “How Insensitive.”

About This Song

“How Insensitive” (known as “Insensatez” in the original Portuguese) was written in 1963 by Antonio Carlos Jobim, with the Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. Norman Gimbel wrote the English lyrics. The melody was based on Frédéric Chopin’s Prelude No.4. Interestingly, “insensatez” in Portuguese is typically translated as folly or absurdity.

This song has been widely recorded, including a very fine early recording with Jobim and Stan Getz for their 1963 album Jazz Samba Encore and the Astrud Gilberto and João Gilberto recording. American singers include Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, Diana Krall and many, many more.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “How Insensitive” in 1965. It is the third song on the album, following “Fly Me To The Moon” Arranged by Don Costa, the recording features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums) and also features Al Cohn on tenor sax. It’s a perfect bossa nova song.

How Insensitive

Tony Bennett · If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set · Song · 1965


“How Insensitive,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Tuesday, February 3, 2015 is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About This Song

“Fly Me To The Moon,” written by Bart Howard in 1954, was originally titled “In Other Words,” but the song was not doing that well, in spite of several recordings. In 1962, Howard renamed the song to “Fly Me To The Moon,” and the song began to catch on. Tony Bennett’s 1965 recording for If I Ruled The World was a big hit for Bennett. There have been many recordings of the song, including those by Frank Sinatra, Kaye Ballard and many more. However, Bart Howard told Bennett that his 1965 recording was “the definitive performance of this song.”

About This Version

In our examination of If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, we travel from Rio de Janeiro to the Moon. Tony Bennett has only recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” once, but this recording is so perfect, how could one possibly top it?

I attended my first Tony Bennett concert in September, 2007 at the beautiful Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington. I had purchased my tickets late and when I did, the only tickets that remained were in the so-called mezzanine, but what I would definitely call a balcony. In any case, the concert was wonderful and I was having a great time. What I did not know then was that when Tony Bennett sings in especially good theaters with very fine acoustics, he will put down his microphone and sing, with just Gray Sargent accompanying him on guitar, “Fly Me To The Moon.” Even back in the balcony, I heard every single word and note as clearly as can be. It was one of the most magical moments I had ever experienced in a theater. I’ve heard him do this several times since and it’s thrilling each time.

Fly Me To The Moon

Tony Bennett · If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set · Song · 1965

“Fly Me To The Moon,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.