The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Yesterdays

The song of the day for Friday, July 17, 2026, is “Yesterdays.”

About This Song

“Yesterdays” was written for the 1933 Broadway musical Roberta, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Otto Harbach. The song was introduced by Irene Dunne. The cast of the Broadway production also featured Bob Hope, George Murphy, Sidney Greenstreet and Fred MacMurray. One of Kern’s best outings, Roberta also introduced “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “Let’s Begin.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett’s version of “Yesterdays” is from the 1966 album A Time To Love., though this recording is from 1964. It has a wonderful arrangement by Ralph Sharon and features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Sharon on piano, Billy Exiner on drums and Hal Gaylord on bass.

“Yesterdays,” as well as A Time For Love, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Wednesday, July 15, 2026, is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About Today

We are very happy to celebrate the great Dorothy Fields on the anniversary of her birth on July 15, 1904. She was born into a prominent show business family. Her father, Lew Fields, was a successful theatrical producer. Her brother Joseph was a writer and producer; her other brother, Herbert, was a writer who collaborated with Dorothy.

She had a remarkable career as librettist and lyricist, starting in 1928, writing with Jimmy McHugh on Blackbirds on Broadway; the pair continued to work on several Cotton Club shows. In the 1930s, she began working on films, especially Jerome Kern. She returned to Broadway shows, writing librettos for Stars in Your Eyes and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn with Arthur Schwartz. Dorothy, with her brother Herbert, wrote the book for Irving Berlin‘s Annie Get Your Gun. In the 1960s, she wrote lyrics for Sweet Charity and Seesaw with Cy Coleman.

Her career lasted for 48 years and in that time she won Tony, Oscar, and Grammy Awards. She was the first woman to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

About This Song

“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film Swing Time; the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the year. Dorothy Fields remarked “The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.” Dorothy Fields was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting. It’s a magnificent love song that has found a strong position as a jazz standard, with recordings by Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé, and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song in only one take for the 1997 movie My Best Friend’s Wedding. This recording is included in Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 2, which was included in the 2011 Complete Collection box set.

“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 2, is available from iTunes.

I’ve included a video of a podcast from David Armstrong’s BROADWAY NATION, Dorothy Fields & the Women Who Invented Broadway.” In addition to Dorothy Fields, the video also looks at Betty Comden, Mary Rodgers, Bella Spewack, and Carolyn Leigh. It’s a bit long at 33 minutes, but well worth watching, so please save the link.

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Song of the Day: The Song is You

The song of the day for Sunday, July 12, 2026, is “The Song is You.”

About Today

Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was born on July 12, 1895 in Harlem. He is mostly known as a lyricist, but was also a librettist, theatrical producer, and musical theater director. Even though he was born to a prominent theatrical family, his father did not want his son to pursue theatre as a career; thus Hammerstein attended Columbia University to study law. After his father died, he began perform in and write for the school’s Varsity shows. In his early years, he collaborated with songwriters, such as Jerome Kern, with whom he wrote the 1927 musical Show Boat. He is best known for his work with Richard Rodgers, beginning with the revolutionary 1943 musical Oklahoma! (which ran for 2,212 performances, closing in 1948), followed by the 1945 Carousel, which ran for 890 performances. In his work with Richard Rodgers, they won 34 Tony Awards, fifteen Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes (for Oklahoma! and South Pacific), and two Grammy Awards.

Note that Oscar Hammerstein is the only person named Oscar to receive an Oscar from the Academy Awards.

Hammerstein is also known as a mentor to Stephen Sondheim, who was a friend Hammerstein’s son James. Sondheim had written a musical while in high school, called By George! Sondheim asked Hammerstein to critique his show as if Sondheim was a professional. Thus began a years-long mentorship that lasted until Hammerstein’s death in 1960.

If interested, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization is a great place to start and learn more about Oscar Hammerstein.

About This Song

“The Song is You” was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for their 1932 musical Music in the Air. Alec Wilder wrote in American Popular Song that the song “attempts too dramatic a statement on too small a stage […] it suggests a grander voice than that usually associated with popular theater music”, but that it nonetheless possesses a “superior quality” as a composition, with a “masterful” release containing “brilliant” harmony and melody.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Song is You” for his 2015 album with Bill Charlap, The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern.  Bennett was accompanied by Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes on dual pianos for this song.

“The Song is You,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: I’m Old Fashioned

The song of the day for Wednesday, June 17, 2026 is “I’m Old Fashioned.”

About This Song

“I’m Old Fashioned” was written by Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer for the 1942 film You Were Never Lovelier, starring Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth. Astaire recorded the song first, in 1942 with John Scott Trotter and his orchestra. Other significant recordings include those by Blossom Dearie, Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, John Coltrane, and Susannah McCorkle.

About This Version

Tony Bennett, with The Bill Charlap Trio, recorded “I’m Old Fashioned” in 2015 for The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. Bill Charlap wrote the arrangement and led his trio on piano. The trio includes Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums.

The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern won the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Album.

“I’m Old Fashioned,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available on Apple Music.

Here are Fred AStaire and Rita Hayworth performing “I’m Old Fashioned” from You Were Never Lovelier.

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Song of the Day: All The Things You Are

The song of the day for Sunday, June 7, 2026, is “All The Things You Are.”

About This Song

“All the Things You Are” was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1939 musical Very Warm For May. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder considers it to be one of Kern’s finest songs and with good reason. It’s a beautiful tune and Hammerstein’s lyrics are excellent.

About This Version

Tony Bennett performed “All the Things You Are” live on June 9, 1962, at Carnegie Hall; the album Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall was released in August 1962. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

“All The Things You Are,” as well as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall, is available on Apple Music.

In researching today’s song, I came across an episode of Marian McPartland‘s Piano Jazz with Stephen Sondheim, where Sondheim analyzes and deconstructs “All the Things You Are.” There’s a fair amount of music theory in the discussion, but I think you might enjoy it.