Johnny Mercer Archives | Page 69 of 69 | The Year of Tony Bennett

The Song of the Day is One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

About One For My Baby

The Song of the Day for August 22, 2012 is one of the great American songs, written by Harold Arlen (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics). One For My Baby was written for movie The Sky’s The Limit (1943) and was introduced by Fred Astaire. Like most songs by either Arlen or Mercer, this song has been recorded many, many times by American singers ranging from Astaire to Lena Horne to Lou Rawls to Iggy Pop to Willie Nelson.

About This Version

Of all the singers identified with this song, Frank Sinatra is most associated with One For My Baby. He recorded it several times, starting in 1943 and ending in 1993 for his Duets album. Tony Bennett recorded as a single in 1957. Today’s version is from his sublime album Perfectly Frank, his tribute to his great friend Frank Sinatra.

The Song of the Day for August 13, 2012 is I Remember You. Let’s see: Favorite album by favorite artist, singing a song by a favorite songwriter.

About I Remember You

I Remember You was written in 1941 by Victor L. Schertzinger (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics). It was introduced by Dorothy Lamour in The Fleet’s In, released in 1942, directed by Mr. Schertzinger. It’s a jazz standard and has been recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, Julie Christy, Jeri Southern, and Ella Fitzgerald.

About This Version

This version was recorded for The Art of Romance (which may be my favorite Tony Bennett studio album), released in 2004. Accompanying Tony on this album was the quartet of Lee Musiker, Paul Langosch, Gray Sargent, and Clayton Cameron. Johnny Mandel arranged the song and conducted the orchestra.