The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: The Right To Love

The song of the day for Friday, March 21, 2014 is “The Right To Love.”

About This Song

“The Right To Love” was composed by Lalo Schifrin with lyrics by Gene Lees. According to the website filmscoremonthly, this song has an interesting history. It was first recorded, without lyrics, in 1963 on an album called Reflections by Stan Getz and Lalo Schifrin. Tony Bennett liked the song from the beginning and suggested that Gene Lees write the lyrics. The resulting song is an anthem for “forbidden” love. At that time, most people associated the song with interracial relationships; in later years, it has been sung by gay singers. In addition to Bennett’s recording, this song has been recorded by Peggy Lee, Carmen McRae and k.d. lang.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Right To Love” in 1965 for his album If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set. It was arranged and conducted by Don Costa and features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums. The great Al Cohn plays tenor saxophone for this recording.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3g5Sm60hsiJQOes3RHlQqb
“The Right To Love,” as well as the album If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: All My Tomorrows

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 28, 2014 is “All My Tomorrows.”

About This Song

“All My Tomorrows” was written in 1959 by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn for the Frank Capra film A Hole in the Head, which starred Frank Sinatra. Sinatra sang the song over the credits; he also released as a single with another Van Heusen / Cahn song, “High Hopes.” This song has also been recorded by Shirley Horn and Jack Jones, as well as Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “All My Tomorrows” in 1965 for If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set. While many of the songs on this album use a full orchestra, arranged and conducted by Don Costa, today’s song features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums. It’s a beautiful arrangement, with a seeming simplicity that serves both the song and Tony Bennett’s voice perfectly.

http://open.spotify.com/track/77FBZJrodMtpxyM2NxPKc7
“All My Tomorrows,” 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: The Right To Love

The song of the day for Thursday, September 26, 2013 is “The Right To Love.”

About This Song

Today’s song was first recorded, without lyrics, in 1963 on an album called Reflections by Stan Getz and Lalo Schifrin. Tony Bennett liked the song from the beginning and suggested that Gene Lees write the lyrics. The resulting song is an anthem for “forbidden” love. At that time, most people associated the song with interracial relationships; in later years, it has been sung by gay singers. In addition to Bennett’s recording, this song has been recorded by Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, Carmen McRae and k.d. lang.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Right to Love” for his wonderful 1965 album If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set. And, as the joke goes: What do you mean, IF?

The entire album is worth a listen, if not only for today’s recording. It also contains his first recordings of “Watch What Happens” and “Fly Me To the Moon,” as well as some very nice bossa nova songs.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3g5Sm60hsiJQOes3RHlQqb
“The Right To Love,” as well as the album If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com.

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Song of the Day: Watch What Happens

The song of the day for Sunday, August 25, 2013 is “Watch What Happens.”

About This Song

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies and my digital video recorder, I watched The Umbrellas of Cherbourg for the first time this evening and knew within in a few minutes of the movie that “Watch What Happens” had to be the song of the day. The melody runs throughout the entire film. The film was released in 1964 with a marvelous score by Michel Legrand and lyrics in French by Jacques Demy, who also directed the movie. The entire film is sung-through, though it should not be considered an opera. There are no songs sung by a chorus; it’s that instead of spoken dialogue, the dialogues is sung. And it works beautifully as a film. The English lyrics for “Watch What Happens” are by Norman Gimbel.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Watch What Happens” is from Tony Bennett’s 1965 album If I Ruled the World: Songs For the Jet Set. It was arranged and conducted by Don Costa; the album was produced by Ernie Altschuler. This is one of Bennett’s finest albums and includes other great songs, including “If I Ruled the World” and “Fly Me To The Moon.”

http://open.spotify.com/track/6J1m1Bse56jNnCy7opDbXb
“Watch What Happens,” as well as the album If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com (for vinyl fans, amazon.com has a new vinyl LP rerelease of this album for sale as well).

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Sunday, August 11, 2013 is “Fly Me To The Moon.” The Year of Tony Bennett dedicates the song of the day to Eydie Gorme, who died today at the age of 84. “Fly Me To The Moon” was recorded by Eydie in 1958 for her album Eydie In Love, which was nominated for a Grammy award.

About This Song

“Fly Me To The Moon” was written by Bart Howard in 1954. The song was originally published as “In Other Wordsx” but since most people came to know it by the lyric Fly Me To The Moon, the official name was changed.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “Fly Me To The Moon” in 1965 for the album If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set. He sings it regularly in concert; in concert halls with good acoustics, he sings the song a cappella and still fills the auditorium.

If I Ruled the World

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

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

In tribute to Eydie Gorme, we present her version. Rest in Peace, Eydie.

Fly Me to Moon

Listen to Fly Me to Moon on Spotify. Song · Eydie Gormé · 2012

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