The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Thursday, September 17, 2020, is “The Man That Got Away.”

About Today

Today we are celebrating Ralph Sharon, on the anniversary of his birth on September 17, 1923. Sharon was born in London and emigrated to the United States in 1954. He served as Tony Bennett’s pianist and musical director for many years.

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away” was written by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin for Judy Garland to sing in the 1954 film A Star Is Born. Her performance of the song is legendary in film history, with 27 takes in three days, three separate sessions, and two different directors. The filmed scene is brilliant and made the song a huge hit for Garland, who sang it in most of her concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon recorded “The Man That Got Away” in 1959. They booked the studio for the day. Sharon brought a briefcase of sheet music and they leafed through the music, picked songs that they liked, and recorded them in one or two takes. The result was the album Tony Sings For Two, released in 1961.

“The Man That Got Away,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available from Apple Music.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Wednesday, June 10, 2020, is “The Man That Got Away.”

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett is celebrating America’s greatest female entertainer–Judy Garland. Judy was born as Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She died on June 22, 1969, in London, England from an overdose of barbiturates.

We’ve got lots of extra media of Miss Garland following our customary link to Tony’s recording.

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away” was written by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin for Judy’s spectacular 1954 version of A Star Is Born, with James Mason. Her performance of the song is legendary in film history, with 27 takes in three days, three separate sessions, and two different directors. The filmed scene is brilliant and made the song a huge hit for Garland, who sang it in most of her concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Man That Got Away” in 1959, with Ralph Sharon, for the album Tony Sings For Two, released in 1961.

“The Man That Got Away,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.

Here is Judy’s performance of our song from her concert at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961:

Of course, no topic about “The Man That Got Away” would be complete without the scene from A Star Is Born:

Judy Garland had a television program, The Judy Garland Show, that ran in 1962 and 1963 on CBS. My mother and I used to watch it every Sunday night. Tony Bennett appeared on the show and they sang about the city of San Francisco:

I love seeing their affection for each other in this clip.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Get Happy

The song of the day for Monday, March 2, 2020, is “Get Happy.”

About This Song

“Get Happy” was written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler for the 1930 The Nine-Fifteen Revue, where it was introduced by Ruth Etting. Most people today are more familiar with Judy Garland’s wonderful song and dance performance in the 1950 movie Summer Stock.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Get Happy” in 1968 for his album Yesterday I Heard The Rain. The arrangement was written by Torrie Zito.

“Get Happy,” as well as Yesterday I Heard the Rain, is available from iTunes.

Here’s Judy Garland singing and dancing to “Get Happy” from the 1950 movie Summer Stock.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Tuesday, February 11, 2020, is “The Man That Got Away.”

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away,” by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin, was written for Judy Garland for the 1954 version of A Star Is Born, with James Mason. Her performance of the song is legendary in film history, with 27 takes in three days, three separate sessions, and two different directors. The filmed scene is brilliant and made the song a huge hit for Garland, who sang it in most of her concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Man That Got Away” on October 28, 1959, with Ralph Sharon. Bennett and Sharon recorded 14 songs that one day. The album, Tony Sings For Two, was released in January 1961.

“The Man That Got Away,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.

I must admit that I was so happy to see Renee Zellweger win the Academy Award for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the film Judy. In honor of Renee and Judy Garland, here’s the famous clip from A Star is Born.

By 1 Comment

Song of the Day: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The song of the day for Tuesday, December 24, 2019, is “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

About This Song

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. Hugh Martin, like your author, is from Birmingham, Alabama and, also like your author, attended Birmingham-Southern College.

It was introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 movie Meet Me In St. Louis. In a Twitter conversation in November 2012, Tony Bennett said that “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is his favorite Christmas song.

It’s my favorite Christmas song too.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in 2004 for the album A Swingin’ Christmas, which was released in 2008, The album featured The Count Basie Orchestra.

As a Judy Garland fan, I have to offer her original recording from Meet Me In St.Louis:

About Today

Boy, am I glad to be back! I wound up in the hospital once again with pneumonia. I’m over the pneumonia, but I am still recovering physically from the ordeal. I’m told this to be expected, so I’m trying to be patient. Meanwhile, I’m hobbling around on a walker, which I need right now but can’t wait to put that thing in the closet.

In order to put in new carpet and flooring in my apartment, they had to pack up all of my stuff and move it out. Except for the kitchen not being affected as it’s all off the floor, it’s like moving in all over again. I’m going to take advantage of the situation to do a little Marie Kondo. But unlike Marie, all books and music bring joy!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Subscribe to The Year of Tony Bennett

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Current Reader Favorites