The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Tuesday, October 1, 2013 is “The Man That Got Away.”

About This Song

“The Man That Got Away” is, of course, from the 1954 film A Star Is Born, starring Judy Garland and James Mason and directed by George Cukor. Originally 181 minutes long, the film was brutally cut at the insistence of the movie theater owners. It’s widely thought that the cut version cost Judy Garland the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress, which instead went to Grace Kelly for A Country Girl.

The song was written by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin and its performance in the film is extraordinary. It was filmed dozens of times, with several different sets and costumes. That said, the final result is legendary and remains one of the greatest musical performances in film.

I agree with Alec Wilder regarding this song: “This is a true Arlen song. If you are good rememberer, try to think of anyone else who might have written it. I don’t see who it could have been but Arlen.”

About This Version

Today’s version of “The Man That Got Away” is from Tony Bennett’s 1961 album Tony Sings For Two, where he is accompanied by Ralph Sharon. While many male singers changed the man to the girl or the gal that got away, Bennett records the lyrics as written, which we really appreciate. Other than Judy Garland, I think that Bennett’s recording is one of the finest of this iconic song.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2rmnQNHuDsDExyiWLam3SC
“The Man That Got Away,” as well as the album Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes and amazon.com.

And because I love it so, here’s the scene from A Star is Born:

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Song of the Day: Last Night When We Were Young

The song of the day for Friday, September 27, 2013 is “Last Night When We Were Young.”

About This Song

Written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg in 1936, “Last Night When We Were Young” may be one of the most perfect love songs ever written. Both Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg considered this their favorite of all their songs. The song had been originally written for a film called Metropolitan, but was cut before the film was released. Judy Garland recorded it for In The Good Old Summertime and Frank Sinatra recorded it for Take Me Out To The Ballgame, but it was cut from both films, mostly because it was considered “too sad.” No matter: it was a hit for both artists as well as many others, including Lawrence Tibbett, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, and even Carly Simon.

Alec Wilder, author of American Popular Song, said that:

Arlen told me that he wrote “Last Night While We Were Young” for Lawrence Tibbett. I can’t frankly imagine a less likely singer for this song. But, after all, once you have heard the Sinatra version, you can’t imagine anyone else singing it.

This is the most remarkable and beautiful song. It is one which goes far beyond the boundaries of popular music. For me, it is a concert song without a trace of trying to be it. It hasn’t any artiness about it or pretense. It’s obviously deeply felt, both by the composer and the lyricist E.Y. Harburg.

It is unlike any other Arlen song that I have heard. However, it is unmistakably his.

About This Version

I’m certainly in no position to argue with the late and great Alec Wilder, but I can definitely imagine Tony Bennett singing this song, which he does quite well on his tribute album to Frank Sinatra: Perfectly Frank. It was arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon and featured the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Paul Langosch on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums. The extraordinary engineer Frank Laico came out of retirement to engineer this album for Tony Bennett.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1qgQmCZ3fUkG2dNSYI6OvN
“Last Night When We Were Young,” as well as the album Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com.

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Remembering Judy Garland

The fabulous Judy Garland was born on June 10, 1922.

In his autobiography The Good Life, Tony Bennett remembers her:

The following year I got the chance to work with Judy Garland for the first time when she invited me to sing on her CBS television special. It was the beginning of a long and treasured friendship. Just like everyone in America, I’d fallen in love with Judy in 1939 when I saw her sing “Over the Rainbow# in The Wizard of Oz. She was always a fantastic entertainer, and like Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Durante, one of my major influences. Judy was only a few years old than me, but since she’d been a child star, I’d been her fan for my entire life.

I first met Judy in 1958 when she came backstage after my show at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and congratulated me on my performance. It was a thrill that never wore off. She was a true original, full of life and fun.

and

The last time I saw her was in London in April, 1969, when I was there doing a TV special with Count Basie. After the show, she came backstage to see me, and the last thing she said to me was, “You’re pretty good!” She died two months later. I’ve never gotten over it. She was so kind, so talented, such a dear friend. When I look back, it’s hard to believe that most of the time she was just trying to hold on for dear life.

We remember Judy Garland today with this video of Tony and Judy singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

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Song of the Day: Somewhere Over The Rainbow

As we close out Harold Arlen Week at the Year of Tony Bennett, we choose one of Arlen’s most iconic songs for the song of the day for Saturday, February 16, 2013: Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

About Somewhere Over The Rainbow

If there is one of Harold Arlen’s songs that is known world-wide by nearly everyone, it would be Somewhere Over The Rainbow from the 1939 The Wizard of Oz. Over The Rainbow, as the song is officially known, was written by Arlen and E.Y ‘Yip’ Harburg for Judy Garland to sing. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

In 2001, The Recording Industry Association of America and The National Endowment for the Arts set out to choose the top 365 songs of the 20th century for their historical significance. Somewhere Over The Rainbow was ranked number 1. The American Film Institute named it the greatest movie song of all time.

Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz
Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz

It’s interesting to note that the song was cut after a preview of the film because Louis B. Mayer and producer Mervyn LeRoy thought it slowed down the picture. It was restored in the film, thankfully, due to associate producer Arthur Freed’s insistence.

It is truly one of America’s greatest and most beloved songs.

The Year of Tony Bennett is happy to have honored the work of Harold Arlen, one of America’s greatest composers. His body of work is rich and Tony Bennett’s recordings of Arlen’s work are masterful. We have enjoyed programming the songs this week and hope you have enjoyed it as well. We would like to acknowledge the support of Arlen’s son, Sam Arlen, for our project and again would like to remind our readers that the Official Harold Arlen Website at www.haroldarlen.com is an enormously valuable resource for anyone interested in the music of the great Harold Arlen. And yes, we’ll be doing this all over again next year.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s 1995 Here’s To The Ladies, comprised of songs made famous by the great women singers of the 20th century.

http://open.spotify.com/track/5jGWwfmve3p9h26ujnEmwq
Somewhere Over The Rainbow, as well as the full Here’s To The Ladies album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

Happy Birthday, Harold Arlen! In honor of his birthday, the song of the day for February 15, 2013 is The Man That Got Away.

Harold Arlen and Tony Bennett
Harold Arlen and Tony Bennett

About The Man That Got Away

This song, one of this author’s personal favorites, was written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. (I have an iTunes playlist with a dozen different recordings of this song.) The Man That Got Away was written in 1953 for the 1954 A Star Is Born, which is one of this author’s favorite movies. Ever. The scene with Judy Garland singing the song in an after-hours bar is legendary and for good reason. There were over 40 takes filmed, with three different costumes and several different sets, from September 1953 to February 1954 with several different cameramen. The final result is glorious and is, for me, the greatest musical performance by a singer in a film, ever.

I agree with Alec Wilder regarding this song: “This is a true Arlen song. If you are good rememberer, try to think of anyone else who might have written it. I don’t see who it could have been but Arlen.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded the song for his 1961 album with Ralph Sharon, Tony Sings For Two. While many male singers changed the man to the girl or the gal that got away, Bennett records the lyrics as written, which we really appreciate. Other than Judy Garland, I think that Bennett’s recording is one of the finest for this song.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2rmnQNHuDsDExyiWLam3SC
The Man That Got Away, as well as the full Tony Sings for Two album, is available from iTunes.