The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Prelude to a Kiss

The song of the day for Saturday, April 29, 2023, is “Prelude to a Kiss.”

About Today

Happy Birthday to the great Duke Ellington, born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. We love you madly!

About This Song

“Prelude to a Kiss” was written in 1938 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Gordon and Irving Miss. Ted Gioia in The Jazz Standards notes that in the late 1930s, having practically invented swing music”

… at this juncture, he does the exact opposite. The Duke uses his fame and great artistic freedom to become more ambitious, more experimental, less beholden to the formulas of swing music. ‘Prelude To A Kiss’ from 1938 is a case in point.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Prelude to a Kiss” in May 1999 for his album Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool. The recording feature violinist Joel Smirnoff and was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

“Prelude to a Kiss,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool is available on Apple Music.

Here’s an early recording of today’s song:

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Song of the Day: Mood Indigo

The song of the day for Friday, April 18, 2023, is “Mood Indigo.”

About This Song

Originally titled “Dreamy Blues,” Ellington wrote this song in 1930, which is based on a theme by Barney Bigard, who is said to have learned it from his New Orleans clarinet teacher, Lorenzo Tio. Ellington wrote the song specifically for “microphone transmission” and it was first played on a 1930 radio broadcast. Audiences loved the song, and so Irving Mills wrote the lyric, changing the name of the song to “Mood Indigo.” The song has been widely recorded by instrumental and vocal artists, including Tony Bennett, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Mood Indigo” in May 1999 for his album Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool. It was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

“Mood Indigo,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: In A Sentimental Mood

The song of the day for Tuesday, April 25, 2023, is “In A Sentimental Mood.”

About This Song

One of Duke Ellington’s most beautiful melodies, “In a Sentimental Mood” was composed in 1935, with the lyrics by Manny Kurtz and Irving Mills added later. The original 1935 Ellington recording features Otto Hardwick on alto sax; Benny Goodman recorded it that same year. Though the song has always been popular and is widely recorded, the 1962 recording with Ellington and John Coltrane is considered to be one of the most notable instrumental recordings.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “In a Sentimental Mood” in May 1999 for Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool. Jorge Calandrelli wrote the arrangement.

“In A Sentimental Mood,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Ellington’s 1935 recording of “In A Sentimental Mood”

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Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean a Thing

The song of the day for Monday. April 23, 2023, is “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

About This Week

We are celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington, born in Washington, D.C. on April 29, 1899. For more information about Ellington, see Duke Ellington (on Wikipedia) and the Duke Ellington website.

About This Song

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) was written in 1931 by Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills. This song was one of the first songs to use the word “swing” in the title and this song certainly defined what it meant to swing. Ellington recorded the song with Ivie Anderson on vocals and it was an immediate hit. It has been widely recorded since it was written and the song is a lot of fun to play and listen to. Significant recordings include those by Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Gigi Gryce, Tony Bennett, and Thelonious Monk.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “It Done Mean a Thing” on May 1999 for his tribute album to Ellington: Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool, released 100 years after Ellington’s birth.

The album won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Performance.

Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool

“It Don’t Mean a Thing,” as well as is available on Apple Music.

We have two additional recordings today.

First up is the first recording of today’s song, featuring Ivy Anderson.

Next up is Louis Armstrong who recorded the song with Ellington for The Great Reunion album.

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Song of the Day: I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart

The song of the day for Monday, March 27, 2023, is “I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart.”

About This Song

“I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart” was written in 1938 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills, Henry Nemo, and John Redmond. It was a major hit for Duke Ellington, reaching #1 on the charts. In addition to his own recording that year, other recordings by Benny Goodman and Mildred Bailey were made in 1938 and were extremely popular as well. In 1952 Ellington named this song one of his eleven favorites.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart” on January 27, 1967, for the album Tony Makes It Happen! It was arranged by Marion Evans.

“I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen! is available on Apple Music.

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