The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Lost in the Stars

The song of the day for February 28, 2014 is “Lost in the Stars.”

About This Song

“Lost in the Stars” was written by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson for the 1949 musical of the same name, based on the 1948 novel by Alan Paton: Cry, the Beloved Country. Set in South Africa in an era when apartheid seemed as if it would never end, the plot concerns a black priest whose son, in a robbery attempt, kills a white man who is a friend of his father. The priest sings this song at the end of the first act, in a complete crisis of faith.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Lost in the Stars” was recorded with Count Basie and His Orchestra for the 1959 album In Person! His first version of this song was made for the 1956 album Tony. However, it’s our version today that he selected for his Forty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett box set.

http://open.spotify.com/track/32cxJYmijy4f8hzFl1OnsS
“Lost in the Stars,” as well as the album In Person! with Count Basie and His Orchestra, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Solitude

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 19, 2014 is “Solitude.”

About This Song

Duke Ellington wrote “Solitude” in 1934, with lyrics by Eddie DeLange and the ubiquitous Irving Mills. One of his masterpieces, Ellington is said to have written “Solitude” in twenty minutes at the recording session, as they were one number short (Ted Gioia in Jazz Standards). It’s a very strong song for both vocalists and instrumentalists. Ellington made over a hundred recordings of this song. Other great recordings include those by Paul Robeson, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Billy Eckstine.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Solitude” is the first version that Tony Bennett recorded. He recorded it in 1958 with the Count Basie Orchestra for the 1959 album “In Person!”

http://open.spotify.com/track/4l0u7b7x33jNwxuYt1SBdT
“Solitude,” as well as the album In Person!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Without a Song

The song of the day for Saturday, January 4, 2013 is “Without a Song.”

About This Song

“Without a Song” was written in 1929 for the musical Great Day by Vincent Youmans, with lyrics by Billy Rose and Edward Eliscu. It’s proven to be a popular song for singers including Perry Como, Nelson Eddy, Frank Sinatra and even opera singers such as Jan Peerce and Mario Lanza. It has also proven to be a favorite of jazz instrumentalists: Bill Evans recorded it for his album You Must Believe in Spring and other jazz recordings include those by Oscar Peterson, Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum and Art Blakey.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Without a Song” was Tony Bennett’s first recording of it, from his 1959 album with Count Basie and His Orchestra for the album In Person! He also sang it in 1962 for his Carnegie Hall concert.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6CPYvGblWfbJmd6f65mqW1
“Without a Song,” as well as the album In Person! with Count Basie and His Orchestra, is available from iTunes.

And with my grateful thanks to my good friend Nick (who sent the link to this video to me this afternoon) and because it’s YouTube Saturday, we have this 1959 video of Tony Bennett singing “Without a Song,” recorded in 1959. While the video quality isn’t great, Tony’s singing is remarkable.

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Song of the Day: There Will Never Be Another You

The song of the day for Sunday, December 8, 2013, is “There Will Never Be Another You.”

About This Song

“There Will Never Be Another You” was written by Harry Warren, with lyrics by Mack Gordon, for the 1942 Sonja Henie musical film Iceland. Many of the most exquisite songs in the American Songbook have come from unexpected films, including “But Beautiful” from Road to Rio and today’s song.

Today’s song has been widely recorded by artists including Chet Baker, Rosemary Clooney, Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra and Joe Williams.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s 1959 album In Person! with Count Basie and His Orchestra. Bennett’s two album with the Count Basie Orchestra (the other being Basie/Bennett) are quite wonderful and like all great music, they hold up beautifully and sound as if they could have been recorded yesterday. They are among my favorite Bennett albums.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6EPp2rr3eB93hlfchjTJNE
“There Will Be Another You,” as well as the album In Person!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Lost in the Stars

    The song of the day for Monday, October 7, 2013 is “Lost in the Stars.”

    About This Song

    “Lost in the Stars” was written by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson for the 1949 musical of the same name, based on the 1948 novel Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. The novel, and the musical, is set in apartheid South Africa. It tells the story of a black priest whose son has killed a close friend of his father, a white man. This song is sung at the end of Act One, as the priest experiences a crisis of faith.

    Lost in the Stars was Kurt Weill’s last show; he died the following year.

    About This Version

    Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s 1959 album with Count Basie: In Person! with Count Basie and His Orchestra. It is worth noting that of all the versions of “Lost in the Stars” that Bennett has recorded, this version is the one he chose for his box sets Forty/Fifty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett.

    http://open.spotify.com/track/32cxJYmijy4f8hzFl1OnsS
    “Lost in the Stars,” as well as the entire In Person! album, is available from iTunes and Amazon.