The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: That Old Black Magic

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 28, 2015 is “That Old Black Magic.”

About This Song

One of the great songs by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, “That Old Black Magic” was written in 1942 and first recorded by Glenn Miller. It was also used in the 1942 movie Star Spangled Rhythm. It’s been recorded many times and used in several films, including the 1956 film Bus Stop, where it was sung by Marilyn Monroe.

About This Version

While Tony Bennett has recorded “That Old Black Magic” several times, our version today is the first, recorded in 1962 for his unreleased album On The Glory Road. The album was made available in the 2011 Complete Collection box set and is now, thankfully, also available on iTunes. The song was arranged and conducted by Ralph Sharon.

About Today

For months now, I’d had a disc on reserve at Netflix: a 1965 Bell Telephone Hour special on the music of Harold Arlen. There were some really wonderful moments: Leslie Uggams and the Duke Ellington Orchestra were outstanding. But, for the most part, the songs were poorly arranged and there were some questionable dance numbers. So, today I return to some Harold Arlen sung by a master: Tony Bennett. And yes, I will confess to featuring two Harold Arlen songs in three days. But I can never get enough of the music of Harold Arlen, especially sung by Tony Bennett.

That Old Black Magic

Listen to That Old Black Magic on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1962


“That Old Black Magic,” as well as On The Glory Road, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Harlem Butterfly

The song of the day for Monday, January 12, 2015 is “Harlem Butterfly.”

About This Song

Johnny Mercer wrote both the music and the lyrics for “Harlem Butterfly” in 1956. It’s been a favorite of jazz singers since. The song was widely associated with the singer Maxine Sullivan.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Harlem Butterfly” in 1971 for the album With Love. The song, as well as the entire album, was arranged by Robert Farnon and was recorded in London.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2GOLIyC0aJJS8iWM7uvWTV
“Harlem Butterfly,” as well as the album With Love, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Wanna Be Around

The song of the day for Saturday, December 6, 2014 is “I Wanna Be Around.”

About This Song

“I Wanna Be Around” was written in 1959 by Johnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstedt. Ms. Vimmerstedt, a housewife from Ohio, was a huge Johnny Mercer fan. A line came to her: “I wanna be around to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart.” She thought it sounded a like Johnny Mercer and so she sent it to him. And the rest, as they say, is history. Mercer wrote the melody himself and completed the lyrics. He paid Ms. Vimmerstedt 50% of the royalties, which were considerable, as the song was a huge hit.

About This Version

Mercer offered the song to Tony Bennett, who recorded it in 1962 and released it on his 1963 album I Wanna Be Around. It was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning. The recording is a real classic.

About Today

Once again, it’s Saturday and once again, it’s time for a video. Today, we offer the video of Tony Bennett and Bono recording this song for Duets: An American Classic. We wish Bono a very speedy recovery from his bicycle accident from last month.

I Wanna Be Around...

Listen to I Wanna Be Around... on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1963


“I Wanna Be Around,” as well the album of the same name, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I’m Way Ahead of the Game

The song of the day for Friday, November 28, 2014 is “I’m Way Ahead of the Game.”

About This Song

This song was written by Robert Emmett Dolan (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) for the 1964 musical Foxy, based on the play Volpone. The production was not a success and only ran for 72 performances. This song, however, is quite lovely.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song for his 1964 appearance at The Sahara in Las Vegas. The concert was taped, but was not released publicly until the 2011 Complete Collection box set. It is now available on iTunes as well.

I"m Way Ahead of the Game - Live at the Sahara Hotel, Las Vegas, NV - April 1964

Listen to I"m Way Ahead of the Game - Live at the Sahara Hotel, Las Vegas, NV - April 1964 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1964


“I’m Way Ahead of the Game,” as well as Tony Bennett: Live at the Sahara, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: One For My Baby (and One More For the Road)

The song of the day for Friday, November 21, 2014 is “One For My Baby.”

About This Song

“One For The Road” was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1943 film The Sky’s The Limit, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. Harold Arlen called this song one of his “tapeworms” as at 48 bars, it was longer than the standard 32 bar popular song. Alec Wilder, in American Popular Song, says that “the honors must go the lyric. … Just imagine having the acuity and courage to start a song, as Mercer does, with ‘It’s a quarter to three!'”

About This Version

While Tony Bennett has recorded this song several times, I’m a big fan of this 1992 version from his album Perfectly Frank. Just Tony Bennett and his quartet … terrific.

About Today

We pick up the story of Johnny Mercer in 1935 as he relocated to Hollywood. He socialized frequently with his now-friend Bing Crosby and a new circle of Crosby’s friends. His first big hit in Hollywood was “I’m an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande,” written in 1936. At that point, his career really took off and he was much in demand as a lyricist, penning songs including “Too Marvelous For Words,” “Hooray for Hollywood” and “Jeepers Creepers,” which earned him his first Oscar nomination.

Quite prolific, he was also writing songs for the big orchestras, such as “And The Angels Sing” for Benny Goodman followed soon by “Day In, Day Out” and “Fools Rush In.” At one point in 1939, he had 5 of the top 10 songs on Your Hit Parade. He had just turned 30 years old.

And then he met Harold Arlen; the two were an incredible pair. Their first hit was “Blues in the Night” followed by “One For My Baby” and “That Old Black Magic.” Frank Sinatra was recording his songs and he and Arlen wrote a Broadway musical St. Louis Woman with Pearl Bailey. He paired up with Harry Warren to write the score for the 1946 film The Harvey Girls, which starred Judy Garland. The song “On The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe” won Mercer the first of four Academy Awards for best song.

By the mid-1940s, Mercer was easily the top lyricist in Hollywood. He had also developed a tendency to drink heavily.

… To Be Continued …

One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)

Listen to One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1992


“One For My Baby,” as well as the album Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.