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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

August 25, 2013 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

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).

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Don Costa, Ernie Altschuler, If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, Jacques Demy, Michel Legrand, Norman Gimbel, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

April 5, 2013 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: You Must Believe In Spring

The song of the day for Friday, April 5, 2013 is You Must Believe in Spring.

About This Song

You Must Believe In Spring was written by Michel Legrand for the 1967 film musical The Young Girls of Rochefort, with lyrics by the film’s director, Jacques Demy. The English lyrics were written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s and Bill Evans’ second album, Together Again, released in 1977 on Tony’s Improv label.

Alan and Marilyn Bergman said this in the liner notes for 2003 Concord Records CD release of Together Again:

When you write a song, it’s because you have something you want to say. When you finish it, you hope you’ve said what you meant. Where you hear it sung, there are those magical rare times when it’s what you meant and more. When we heard Tony and Bill’s interpretation of You Must Believe in Spring, we knew it was one of those times.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1CiaNBNMmszRQyyWETsAFa
You Must Believe in Spring, as well as the remastered Together Again album, is available from iTunes.

And, because someone from Kiev searched for this song today on Google and found this site as a result, we present Bill Evans’ wonderful piano solo of The Bad and the Beautiful by David Raskin;  this is Alternate Take #1.

The Bad and The Beautiful (alternate take 1)

Listen to The Bad and The Beautiful (alternate take 1) on Spotify. Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · Song · 2009.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Alan Bergman, Bill Evans, David Raskin, Jacques Demy, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand, The Bad and the Beautiful

January 13, 2013 By Suzanne 1 Comment

Song of the Day: You Must Believe In Spring

The song of the day for Sunday, January 13, 2013 is You Must Believe In Spring.

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans

About You Must Believe in Spring

You Must Believe In Spring was written by Michel Legrand for the 1967 film musical The Young Girls of Rochefort, with lyrics by the film’s director, Jacques Demy. The English lyrics were written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

About This Version

You Must Believe in Spring was recorded by Tony Bennett and Bill Evans in 1976 for their second album, Together Again. Today’s version, however, is not released version. Instead, it’s an alternate take that was included on the The Complete Tony Bennett Bill Evans Recordings, specifically Take 4. This is my favorite of three versions on the complete set. I can hear the exhaustion in Bennett’s voice; he’s whispering and I hear the voice start to break a few times. But I also hear a profound plea to believe in love, even after all that has happened. The singer must believe in spring and love in spite of what feels like a place just a few steps up from despair. I love the song, but I especially love Bennett’s voice in this particular take.

You Must Believe In Spring - Alt. Tk4

Listen to You Must Believe In Spring - Alt. Tk4 on Spotify. Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · Song · 2009.

Bill Evans went on to record an album with Eddie Gomez (bass) and Eliot Zigmund (drums) featuring (and called) You Must Believe In Spring. This album, considered one of his finest later albums, was released in 1980 after Evan’s death.

You Must Believe In Spring, as well as The Complete Tony Bennett Bill Evans Recordings, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Alan Bergman, Bill Evans, Jacques Demy, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand

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