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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

October 20, 2020 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Begin the Beguine

The song of the day for Wednesday, October 21, 2020, is “Begin the Beguine.”

About This Song

“Begin the Beguine” was written by Cole Porter for the 1935 musical Jubilee. The song has an unusual structure, having a 108 measure length, as opposed to the standard 32-bar structure of most popular music. One of the earliest popular recordings was Artie Shaw’s instrumental in 1938.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Begin the Beguine” 63 years ago today, on October 21, 1967, for his album The Beat of My Heart. This song was not included on the original album but was added to the first CD release. The recording was arranged by Ralph Sharon. For The Beat of My Heart, Bennett invited drummers and percussionists to participate in the recordings for the album; this song featured drummer Jo Jones.

“Begin the Beguine,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Cole Porter, Jo Jones, Ralph Sharon, The Beat of My Heart, Tony Bennett

September 2, 2017 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Blues in the Night

The song of the day for Saturday, September 2, 2017 is “Blues in the Night.”

About This Song

“Blues in the Night” was written in 1941 for the film of the same name by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. Arlen wrote the music first and wrote a true blues song. Johnny Mercer, who later wrote the lyrics, drew on his southern heritage to write the exceptional blues lyrics.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Blues in the Night” in 1957 for his album The Beat of My Heart, which was arranged by both Bennett and Ralph Sharon. The featured percussionist for this song was Jo Jones.

Blues In The Night

Blues In The Night, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“Blues in the Night,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Here’s today’s song, from the 1941 film Blues in the Night.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Harold Arlen, Jo Jones, Johnny Mercer, Ralph Sharon, The Beat of My Heart, Tony Bennett

June 11, 2016 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Begin The Beguine

The song of the day for Saturday, June 11, 2016 is “Begin The Beguine.”

About This Song

One of Cole Porter’s most popular songs, “Begin the Beguine” is from the 1935 musical Jubilee. The song has an unusual structure, having a 108 measure length, as opposed to the standard 32-bar structure of most popular music. One of the earliest popular recordings was Artie Shaw’s instrumental in 1938. The middle eastern style of the song is well-served by Shaw’s clarinet solo.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Begin the Beguine” in 1957, with an arrangement by Ralph Sharon; the recording features drummer Jo Jones. The song was originally omitted from Bennett’s album The Beat of My Heart, but was added to the first CD release.

Begin The Beguine

Begin The Beguine, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“Begin The Beguine,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Our first video today is from the movie Broadway Melody of 1940 and features the great Fred Astaire and the great Eleanor Powell dancing to our song of the day.

I was a pretty serious clarinet player in high school and adored both Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. I think Shaw’s recording of “Begin the Beguine” is a real masterpiece, so here’s an extra video today.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Jo Jones, Jubilee, Ralph Sharon, The Beat of My Heart

May 31, 2014 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Begin The Beguine

The song of the day for Saturday, May 31, 2014 is “Begin The Beguine.”

About This Song

One of Cole Porter’s most popular songs, “Begin the Beguine” is from the 1935 musical Jubilee. The song has an unusual structure, having a 108 measure length, as opposed to the standard 32-bar structure of most popular music. One of the earliest popular recordings was Artie Shaw’s instrumental in 1938. The middle eastern style of the song is well-served by Shaw’s clarinet solo.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Begin the Beguine” is Tony Bennett’s first recording of the song, from The Beat of My Heart, released in 1957. The album, Bennett’s third 12″ LP, featured percussionists from the world over to the studio. This song features the drummer Jo Jones, Ralph Sharon on piano, Eddie Costa on vibes, Eddie Safranski on bass and Robert Alexander, Ziskind Lieb, Kai Winding and James Dahl on trombone.

Even though the album was produced by Mitch Miller, it was devised and conceived entirely by Bennett and Ralph Sharon.

Begin The Beguine

Begin The Beguine, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“Begin The Beguine,” as well as the album The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

For today’s video, we’re doing a bit of a departure in showing a video of Artie Shaw and His Orchestra playing “Begin The Beguine.” Maybe it’s because I used play the clarinet, but I’ve always had real soft spot for Artie Shaw’s version of this Cole Porter song. This recording is from 1938.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Artie Shaw, Cole Porter, Jo Jones, Ralph Sharon

January 14, 2014 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Blues in the Night

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 14, 2014 is “Blues in the Night.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Blues in the Night,” was written by Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1941 film of the same name. I actually managed to catch this movie on Turner Classic Movies a few months ago; it’s not the world’s greatest film by any means, but the score was incredible, thanks mainly to this wonderful song. Harold Arlen wrote a perfect blues song and Mercer’s lyrics are legendary. The famous first lines of the lyric “My mama done tole me, when I was in knee pants” was just a scribble in a margin on one of the pages of Mercer’s notes while he was working on the lyric. Arlen saw this scribble and suggested that Mercer start with those lines. He said it was the few times he ever suggested any words to Mercer.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s third album The Beat of My Heart, released in 1957. In that same year, Tony Bennett auditioned an English jazz pianist named Ralph Sharon and hired him immediately. Sharon encouraged Bennett to continue to explore his interest and love of performing jazz. Tony Bennett came up with the idea of spotlighting rhythm songs and inviting the world’s great percussionists to join him. Sharon and Bennett worked out the songs and arc of the album while they were on the road. Upon returning to New York, the recordings began, with percussionists including Jo Jones, Chico Hamilton, Art Blakey, Candido, Sabu and Bennett’s regular drummer, Billy Exiner. With great arrangements by Sharon and great performances from all the artists, The Beat of My Heart, along with his first album Cloud 7, secured Tony Bennett’s reputation as a jazz singer. The album was not only a success with the listening public, but was all very well received by the jazz critics.

“Blues in the Night” features the great Jo Jones on drums.


“Blues in the Night,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Blues in the Night, Harold Arlen, Jo Jones, Johnny Mercer, Ralph Sharon, The Beat of My Heart

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