The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: On The Sunny Side Of The Street

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 14, 2015 is “On The Sunny Side Of The Street.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “On The Sunny Side Of The Street,” was written in 1930 by two of America’s greatest songwriters: Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields. It was introduced in Lew Leslie’s International Revue. “On The Sunny Side Of The Street” was one of the first in a series of cheerful songs to try to cheer people up over the Great Depression. It has proven popular with singers, who love the wonderful Fields lyric, and jazz players, who love McHugh’s swingy tune.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “On The Sunny Side Of The Street” in 1967 for his album Tony Makes It Happen! The arrangement is by the great Marion Evans who is, in this author’s opinion, one of the greatest arrangers and orchestrators of the American songbook. He arranged Bennett’s latest album, Cheek to Cheek, with Lady Gaga.

On the Sunny Side of the Street

Listen to On the Sunny Side of the Street on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967

“On The Sunny Side Of The Street,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Can’t Get Out Of This Mood

The song of the day for Wednesday, December 24, 2014 is “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood.”

About This Song

Today’s song was written in 1942, with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Frank Loesser. “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood” was written for the wartime musical, Seven Day’s Leave. This torch song was introduced in the movie by Ginny Simms, with the Freddy Martin Orchestra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood” in 1967 for the album Tony Makes It Happen! The wonderful arrangement is by the great Marion Evans; the album was produced by Howard Roberts.

Can"t Get Out Of This Mood

Listen to Can"t Get Out Of This Mood on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1967


“Can’t Get Out Of This Mood,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Can’t Give You Anything But Love

The song of the day for Saturday, October 11, 2014 is “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.”

About This Song

“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” was composed by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields for the 1928 revue Blackbirds of 1928, produced by Lew Leslie. The song was the first big hit for this songwriting pair. It has been a widely recorded jazz and popular standard, with recordings by Ukelele Ike, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Anita O’Day and many others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” in 1950, which was released as single, and again in 1956 for his second full-length album, Tony. Our sister site, The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography, has Spotify links to both of those recordings (as well as a really cool picture of the cover from the original sheet music). Today’s version is from his newest album with Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek. Once again, we congratulate both of these artists on the success of their new album!

About Today

It’s Saturday once again, which means that we hope you have a little extra time in your day to watch a video. Today’s video is Tony and Lady Gaga singing today’s song.

I Can"t Give You Anything But Love

Listen to I Can"t Give You Anything But Love on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga · 2014


“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” as well as the album Cheek To Cheek, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Can’t Give You Anything But Love

The song of the day for Saturday, August 30, 2014 is “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.”

About This Song

“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” was written by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields for the revue Blackbirds of 1928, produced by Lew Leslie. The song was the first big hit for this songwriting pair. It has been a widely recorded jazz and popular standard, with recordings by Ukelele Ike, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Anita O’Day and many others.

About This Version

Today’s version was recorded on April 17, 1950 at Tony Bennett’s first recording session for Columbia. Also recorded at that session were “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “I Wanna Be Loved.” All were arranged and conducted by Marty Manning. You can read more about this session at our sister site, The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography.

I Can"t Give You Anything But Love

Listen to I Can"t Give You Anything But Love on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011

“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” is one of the songs featured on the upcoming Tony Bennett / Lady Gaga album: Cheek To Cheek. We’re quite happy to show their video of today’s song as our Saturday YouTube.

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Song of the Day: Can’t Get Out Of This Mood

The song of the day for Tuesday, July 15, 2014 is “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood.”

About This Song

Today’s song was composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Frank Loesser for the 1942 wartime musical, Seven Day’s Leave. This torch song was introduced in the movie by Ginny Simms, with the Freddy Martin Orchestra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song for his 1967 album Tony Makes It Happen!. The album was arranged by the very talented Marion Evans and the orchestrations are excellent; this song is a great example of Evans’ work. The strings are just right and the trombone solo is fantastic. Oh, and Tony Bennett is as good as it gets on this song.

http://open.spotify.com/track/5GqhWBdSSvgPp82stuEh9Z
“Can’t Get Out Of This Mood,” as well Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.