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: 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: Pennies From Heaven

The song of the day for Monday, February 18, 2013 is Pennies From Heaven.

About Pennies From Heaven

Pennies From Heaven was written in 1936 by Arthur Johnston, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the film of the same name in 1936. This recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004.

It was a popular song during the Great Depression and remains popular to this day with jazz and popular singers including Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s 1959 album In Person! with the Count Basie Orchestra. Originally intended as a live album, engineering difficulties caused fake audience applause to be spliced into the original vinyl record; the re-released CD is free of this artifice. What remains is a wonderful recording of a very fine song by Bennett with the Count Basie Orchestra. It is also a reminder of how truly wonderful it is when singers sing the verse.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6fq9zlFcvgcOKkZqOzgfMs
Pennies From Heaven, as well as the full In Person! album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: But Beautiful

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 6, 2013 is But Beautiful.

About But Beautiful

Written for Road to Rio in 1947, a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road movie, But Beautiful was written by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was introduced by Bing Crosby in the movie. Other notable recordings include those by Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Hartmann, Billy Holiday and Shirley Horn.

About This Version

But Beautiful was a favorite of Bill Evans; he had recorded it live with Stan Getz at the 1974 Laren International Jazz Festival; the recording from the festival was released as an album in 1996.

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded this song for their first album, The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album. All I know is that as a Tony Bennett fan and a jazz piano fan, it doesn’t get any better than their two albums, at least for me.

But Beautiful

Bill Evans, Tony Bennett · The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings · Song · 2009

But Beautiful, as well as The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings compilation, is available from iTunes. This compilation album includes an excellent selection of alternate takes and is well worth listening to.

As a little something extra today, we also present Evan’s piano-only recording from their second album: The Bad And The Beautiful, the David Raskin theme song from the 1952 movie of the same name, starring Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner.

The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003

Listen to The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 2009

Not everyone knows that Tony Bennett is the one who insisted that The Bad And The Beautiful solo be used as the first song on their second album, Together Again. It’s all about the music. Always, for both artists.