The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: But Beautiful

The song of the day for Monday, August 5, 2013 is “But Beautiful.”

About This Song

I said last week that couldn’t resist a Jimmy Van Heusen song and that goes double when the song is “But Beautiful.” Written with lyricist Johnny Burke, “But Beautiful” was written for the Bing Crosby – Bob Hope 1947 movie The Road To Rio, where it was introduced by Bing Crosby. It’s one of those songs where both the lyric and the tune are exemplary. Burke starts off by exploring the concept love in a series of contrasting emotions: “funny or sad,” “quiet or mad,” “tearful or gay” and so on, but concluding with “but beautiful.” And indeed in a love song for adults, those contrasts almost always exist.

“But Beautiful” is one of Van Heusen’s most popular songs, with recordings by Tex Beneke, Nat King Cole, Johnny Hartman and Billie Holiday. It was a favorite instrumental for Bill Evans.

About This Version

Today’s version is from the first of two albums that Tony Bennett made with Bill Evans: the 1975 The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album. It’s a remarkable song on a remarkable album from two remarkable musicians.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0239f1wAgvbGw7pzFg5Upd
“But Beautiful,” as well as The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: All My Tomorrows

The song of the day for Thursday, August 1, 2013 is “All My Tomorrows.”

About This Song

I can’t resist a Jimmy Van Heusen song and so today’s is “All My Tomorrows.” Van Heusen wrote the song with Sammy Cahn for the 1959 Frank Sinatra movie A Hole in the Head, directed by Frank Capra. Van Heusen and Cahn won the Academy Award for Best Song that year, but for another song from the film: “High Hopes.” In any other year, “All My Tomorrows” would certainly have won an award. It’s a singer’s song.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “All My Tomorrows” in 1965 for If Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set. The arrangement is lovely; Bennett sounds wonderful against Ralph Sharon’s piano for this song. If I Ruled The World is, for this author, one of Bennett’s finest albums and this song is certainly one of the many highlights. To be truthful, the album comes very close to being a perfect experience.

http://open.spotify.com/track/77FBZJrodMtpxyM2NxPKc7
“All My Tomorrows,” as well the album If I Ruled the World: Songs For the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Oh! You Crazy Moon

The song of the day for Sunday, June 30, 2013 is “Oh! You Crazy Moon.”

About This Song

“Oh! You Crazy Moon” was written Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke in 1939. This song has been recorded by Mel Tormé, Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker and Rebecca Kilgore.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song for one of my favorite albums, When Lights Are Low, where he was accompanied by only the excellent Ralph Sharon Trio, with Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums joining Sharon’s piano.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0IUJqVq9rqvX6WzVrUzWyh
“Oh! You Crazy Moon,” as well as the remastered When Lights Are Low album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: But Beautiful

The song of the day for Tuesday, June 18, 2103 is “But Beautiful.”

About But Beautiful

“But Beautiful” was written in 1947 by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was written for the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby Road To Rio, which also starred Dorothy Lamour.  The light touch with a Brazilian theme of the performance in the film might not have predicted its inclusion as one the great jazz standards; it ranks at #133 on the Jazz Standards website. Both Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby recorded  “But Beautiful” in 1948. Its jazz beginnings were from instrumentalists; it was recorded in 1947 by Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis with later recordings by Stan Getz and Lionel Hampton. The jazz vocal versions soon followed, with recordings by Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne and Johnny Hartman. Bill Evans played  “But Beautiful” frequently starting in 1974; it was an inspired choice for Bill Evans’ and Tony Bennett’s first album.

About This Version

We pick this song today as it was one of the highlights of the Tony Bennett concert we attended on Saturday, June 15. Accompanied by Gray Sargent on guitar, Bennett perfectly referenced the intensity and yearning of his 1975 recording with  Bill Evans from their first album.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3iBFz5Y4c2t0zjzdjJmijc
“But Beautiful,” as well as the original The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, is available from iTunes. The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings, which also contains additional takes of several songs, is also available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: All My Tomorrows

The song of the day for Saturday, February 9, 2013, is All My Tomorrows.

About All My Tomorrows

This song was written for the 1959 film A Hole In The Head by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen. This film, directed by Frank Capra, starred Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson and Eleanor Parker.  Cahn and Van Heusen won the Academy Award for Best Music and for Best Song, though the song that won was High Hopes and not All My Tomorrows.

About This Version

Last evening, I was listening to one of my favorite Tony Bennett albums, If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set. This song really reached out to me, and so I thought I’d feature it.  It’s not Tony’s most famous recording, but it’s a lovely song, with a very nice arrangement by Don Costa and the usual great piano work from Ralph Sharon, and Bennett sings it perfectly.

All My Tomorrows

Tony Bennett · If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set · Song · 1965

All My Tomorrows, as well as the full If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

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