The song of the day for Wednesday, October 16, 2024, is ” Pick Yourself Up.”

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett is very happy to wish Bill Charlap a fond Happy Birthday. He was born on October 15, 1966, in New York. He is one of the great jazz pianists of this generation. His father, Moose Charlap, was a Broadway composer who wrote Peter Pan, among other musicals. His mother is Sandy Stewart, a noted cabaret artist; she and Bill did several albums together: Love Is Here To Stay (2004) and Something To Remember (2011). His wife, Renee Rosnes, is a world-class jazz pianist and is a founding member of ARTEMIS, an all-women jazz ensemble.

Bill Charlap worked with Tony Bennett for many years, starting with his 2006 studio recording of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” the second studio recording of that song and was released on Duets: An American Classic. He was the musical director, pianist, and arranger for the 2011The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. Renee Rosnes also played dual piano wth Bill in this album. He served in the same role for the 2015 Love Is Here to Stay, the duet album with Bennett and Diana Krall.

Happy Birthday to the Bill Charlap!

About This Song

“Pick Yourself Up” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (see videos later in this post). It was used in the early part of the film when Astaire pretends to not be able to dance and asks for Ginger Rogers as his dance instructor just so he can dance with her. This song has been widely recorded, including those by Nat King Cole, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Pick Yourself Up” in 2015 for his album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, with an arrangement by Bill Charlap. The Bill Charlap Trio (Charlap on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums accompanies Bennett on this recording.

” Pick Yourself Up,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available on Apple Music.

We’ve got some great videos for you today. First up is the dance numbers from Swing Time:

Swing Time, part 1

Swing Time, part 2

“Pick Yourself Up” – All-Star Jazz Collab for the Actors Fund
This video was released on June 25, 2020, to help raise donations for The Actors Fund, helping actors and musicians who could not work due to the Covid-19 shutdowns. I love this video and I love the cause.