The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Emily

The Song of the Day for Friday, November 23, 2012 is Emily.

About Emily

Emily was written by Johnny Mercer, with lyrics by Johnny Mandel. It was the theme song for the 1964 film The Americanization of Italy, starring Julie Andrews, who introduced the song.

One my Tony Bennett Twitter fans told me this evening that this song is “…Mandel’s greatest song, and one of Mercer’s best.” I couldn’t agree more. And as we are still celebrating Johnny Mercer Week and as today is also Mr. Mandel’s birthday, I can’t think of a more perfect song for today.

About This Version

Today’s version of Emily comes from Bennett’s 1966 The Movie Song Album and was arranged and conducted by Mr. Mandel. It’s an exquisite recording; I hope you all like it as much as I do.

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Song of the Day: Skylark

As part of Johnny Mercer Week, today’s song of the day is Skylark.

About Skylark

Published in 1941, the music for Skylark was written by Hoagy Carmichael, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Coming into popularity in the early 1940s, it was widely recorded by several big bands: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra with Ray Eberle, Anita O’Day with the Gene Krupa Orchestra, and Helen Forrest with Harry James.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has only released one recording of Skylark. He recorded the song with Ralph Sharon in 1959; it was included on Tony Sings For Two, released in 1961.

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Song of the Day: One For My Baby

As part of Johnny Mercer Week at the Year of Tony Bennett, the song of the day for Wednesday, November 21, 2012 is One For My Baby.

About One For My Baby

This song is one the great songs from the American Songbook, written by two of the greats: Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1943 film musical The Sky’s The Limit and was introduced by Fred Astaire.  The song is associated with Frank Sinatra, who first recorded it in 1947.

About This Version

Today’s version is from  Tony Bennett’s 1992 Perfectly Frank album, arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon. He also performed the song in his legendary 1962 Carnegie Hall concert.

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Song of the Day: I Wanna Be Around

The Song of the Day for Monday, November 19, 2012 is I Wanna Be Around.

About I Wanna Be Around

As part of Johnny Mercer week, we feature I Wanna Be Around as the song of the day. This is one of my favorite Johnny Mercer songs and has been for many years. It’s also one of the few songs that Mercer wrote the music for, with lyrics suggested by one his fans, Sadie Vimmerstedt.  The song was released in 1959.

This song has been sung by many fine artists, including Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, James Brown and Lena Horne. But I believe that Tony Bennett has owned this song from the day he first recorded it.  Johnny Mercer stated that Tony Bennett’s recording of I Wanna Be Around was his favorite interpretation of any song he ever wrote; not just this song, but of all the songs he ever wrote. It doesn’t get much better than that. The perfect song from my very favorite singer and one of my most favorite songwriters. It’s hard to beat.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of I Wanna Be Around in October, 1962; it was released on Bennett’s 1963 album, I Wanna Be Around.  It was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning and was produced by Ernie Altschuler. Mr. Bennett sings this song  frequently in his concerts. It’s a personal favorite of this author.

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Song of the Day: That Old Black Magic

The great Johnny Mercer was born on November 18, 1909, 103 years ago. For that reason, the Song of the Day for November 18, 2012 is That Old Black Magic.

About That Old Black Magic

That Old Black Magic was written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer for the 1940 Radio Hour Broadway revue. It’s been a popular and jazz standard from the beginning, with recordings by Margaret Whiting, Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald and even Marilyn Monroe in the 1956 film Bus Stop.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded That Old Black Magic in 1962 for the unreleased album The Glory Road (this album is included in the Tony Bennett Complete Collection released in 2011). Today’s version comes from Tony’s Carnegie Hall concert in the same year.