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

We celebrate Harold Arlen week today, February 13, 2013 with That Old Black Magic as the song of the day.

About That Old Black Magic

Written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, That Old Black Magic was written in 1942 and used in the 1943 film Star Spangled Rhythm, where it was introduced by Vera Zorina and Johnnie Johnston.

Star_Spangled_Rhythm_film_poster

This song has been very popular since it was first written, starting with the 1942 version by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Other significant recordings are by Margaret Whiting, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. Marilyn Monroe sang the song in the 1956 Bus Stop.

About This Version

Today’s version is from 1962, with the Dave Brubeck Quartet: Dave Brubeck (piano), Paul Desmond (alto sax), Eugene Wright (bass) and Joe Morello (drums).

That Old Black Magic

Tony Bennett · Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 1 · Song · 2012

That Old Black Magic, as well as Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Volume 1, 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 Monday, February 11, 2013 is One For My Baby (And One More For The Road).

About One For My Baby

This song was written for the 1943 Fred Astaire film, The Sky’s The Limit by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and was introduced by Astaire.

Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer
Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer

Harold Arlen considered this song one of his top two compositions (the other being Last Night When We Were Young). It’s not the standard 32-bar structure, but instead run 48 bars; Arlen sometimes called it one of his “tapeworms” because it kind of wanders along. The Mercer lyrics are some of his best. No stranger to bars, Mercer is said to have written the lyrics on a napkin while sitting at the bar  P.J. Clarke’s in New York.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded this song several times in his career: as a single in 1956 and with John Mayer on Duets II in 2011. Two wonderful live performances have been recorded as well: his legendary 1962 Carnegie Hall Concert and the recently available 1964 Live At The Sahara: From This Moment On.

Today’s version is from his 1992 album, Perfectly Frank.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3dq31zC7KlxVhnFInGbQBd
One For My Baby, as well as the full Perfectly Frank album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Out Of This World

The song of the day for Friday, January 18, 2013 is Out Of This World.

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About Out Of This World

This song was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1945 film of the same name. The song was introduced in the movie by Bing Crosby, though Mr. Crosby dubbed the voice of the main character played by Eddie Bracken.

It became a jazz standard and has been recorded by John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, and Mel Tormé, among others.

About This Version

This version was recorded by Tony Bennett in 1964 with an extraordinary group of jazz musicians: Stan Getz (tenor saxophone), Ron Carter (bass), Herbie Hancock (piano) and Elvin Jones (drums). Several other songs were recorded in the same session and several are included on this Rarities disc, including Day Dream, Danny Boy, and Just Friends. The compilation album Jazz, released in 1987 by Columbia Records, contains these and other jazz recordings made by Mr. Bennett, from the late 1950s and 1960s.

Out of This World

Tony Bennett · Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 1 · Song · 2012

Out Of This World, as well as Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights: Volume 1, is available at iTunes.

Jazz is available from Amazon and other CD retailers.

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Song of the Day: Blues In The Night

The song of the day for Friday, December 7, 2012 is Blues In The Night.

About Blues In The Night

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 exceptional blues lyrics.

About This Version

We have previously featured Tony Bennett’s first recording of this song, from his 1957 The Beat of My Heart. If you haven’t spent any time with The Beat Of My Heart, well, I’ll just say that this album, conceived by Tony Bennett, is remarkable and worthy of your attention.  That said, Tony Bennett first sung this song while serving in the Army in the European Theater, with the 225th Regiment Band. Alas, no recording of the song exists.

This version is from the 2001 Playin’ With My Friends: Bennett Sings The Blues. This album was precursor to the series of Duets albums containing some duets with singers including Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, B.B. King, k.d. lang and Ray Charles.

Blues in the Night, as well as the album Playin’ With My Friends is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

We conclude Johnny Mercer Week at the Year of Tony Bennett with one of my favorite songs. The Song of the Day for Saturday, November 24, 2012, is Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive.

We have enjoyed featuring a few of the great Johnny Mercer songs performed by Tony Bennett this week. We hope you have enjoyed it as well.

About Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

This wonderfully happy song was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer and was published in 1944. The song immediately became popular and was heavily recorded in the first months after publication by artists including Bing Crosby with The Andrews Sisters, Kay Kyser and Artie Shaw.

I grew up hearing this song. I have memories of my Mom singing this song and have loved it for many decades now. I think it’s one of the happiest songs ever written.

About This Version

This version is from Tony Bennett’s delightful children’s album from 1998, The Playground.  Also featured on this album is Kermit the Frog and Elmo from Sesame Street.  Mr. Bennett recorded this song with the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Gray Sargent (guitar), Paul Langosch (bass) and Clayton Cameron (drums). As always, there is some wonderful guitar work by Gray Sargent.