The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Blues In The Night

The song of the day for Saturday, May 22, 2021, is “Blues In The Night.”

About This Song

“Blues In The Night” was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1941 movie Blues In The Night. 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. Bennett invited drummers and percussionists from all over to play on this album. Jo Jones is featured in this song.

Blues In The Night

Listen to Blues In The Night on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1957

“Blues In The Night,” as well as The Beat Of My Heart, is available from Apple Music.

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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.

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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

Listen to Blues In The Night on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1957


“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.

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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

Listen to Begin The Beguine on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1957


“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.

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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.

http://open.spotify.com/track/5isGgjYCh3pjzbdicSeLBU
“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.