The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: By Myself

The song of the day for Sunday, March 3, 2024, is “By Myself.”

About This Song

“By Myself” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the 1937 musical Between the Devil, where it was introduced by Jack Buchanan. Another great Schwartz-Dietz song from Between the Devil was “I See Your Face Before Me.” This song was used in the 1953 Fred Astaire film, The Band Wagon.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “By Myself” on November 3, 1958, for his album Hometown, My Town, which was released in 1959. Ralph Burns arranged the song and conducted the orchestra.

“By Myself,” as well as Hometown, My Town, is available on Apple Music.

I came across a video of Judy Garland singing “By Myself” in 1964 for her television show. She brings down the house with this performance.

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Song of the Day: The Man That Got Away

The song of the day for Saturday, February 17, 2024, is “The Man That Got Away.”

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, 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, for his album with Ralph Sharon, Tony Sings For Two, released in 1962.

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

And here’s Judy Garland from A Star Is Born:

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Song of the Day: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The song of the day for Saturday, December 23, 2023, the tenth day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, is “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

About This Song

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was written by Hugh Martin in 1943 for the film Meet Me In St. Louis, where it was introduced by Judy Garland. In a Twitter conversation in November 2012, Tony Bennett said that “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is his favorite Christmas song.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in 2004 for his second Christmas album, A Swingin’Christmas, which was released in 2008.

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” as well as A Swingin’ Christmas is available on Apple Music.

Here is Judy Garland singing today’s song to a very young Margaret O’Brien from the 1944 Meet Me In St. Louis.

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Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Monday, August 14, 2023, is “Over The Rainbow.”

About This Song

“Over The Rainbow” was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.

Interestingly, the producers wanted to cut the song from the film, as they felt it slowed down the movie. Thankfully, the preview audiences preferred the movie with the song. “Over The Rainbow” ranked as the #1 song of the 20th century per the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment of the Arts.

The song has always been closely associated with Judy Garland. In a letter to Harold Arlen, Judy Garland wrote that the song “…has become part of my life. It’s so symbolic of everybody’s dreams and wishes that I’m sure that’s why some people get tears in their eyes when they hear it. I’ve sung it thousands of times and it’s still the song that’s closest to my heart.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Over The Rainbow” in July 1995 for his album Here’s To The Ladies, consisting of songs associated with some of America’s finest female vocalists. It was arranged and conducted by Bill Holman. This song is, of course, for Judy Garland.

“Over The Rainbow,” as well as Here’s To The Ladies is available on Apple Music.

In 1979, Yip Harburg appeared on a television program called They Write The Songs and sang this beautiful version of “Over The Rainbow.”

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Song of the Day: I Left My Heart In San Francisco

The song of the day for Thursday, August 3, 2023, is “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.”

About Today

Tony Bennett would have reached his 97th birthday on August 3, 2023. In addition to Mr. Bennett’s birthday, George Cory (composer of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”) was born on August 3, 1920.

I can think of no better song of the day than “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” for today.

About This Song

“I Left My Heart In San Francisco” was written in 1953 by George Cory and Douglass Cross. The two songwriters had given Ralph Sharon, Bennett’s musical director, a copy of their song, which he put in a drawer and mostly forgot about. In 1961, Sharon was packing for a road trip with Bennett, which would end at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, and thought the song might be a nice song for the locals in the city by the bay. Well, it was well-received in San Francisco and went on to be Tony Bennett’s biggest hit and won two Grammy Awards (Album of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male).

In 2018, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant”.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” in 1962 and it remained his only studio recording of the song. In 2006, he felt it was time for another studio recording. He enlisted Bill Charlap and recorded it again on his 2006 album Duets: An American Classic.

“I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” as well as Duets: An American Classic is available on Apple Music.

I have several videos for today. First up is from Bill Charlap, who was interviewed by Kaitlan Collins on CNN immediately following his death on July 21, 2023:

Bill Charlap also recorded this piano solo in memory of Tony Bennett:

7.6K views · 546 reactions | Tony Bennett | In loving memory of an icon of popular song, a singular artist, and my friend. Tony Bennett is a part of every note that I play for the rest of my life. | By Bill Charlap | Facebook

In loving memory of an icon of popular song, a singular artist, and my friend. Tony Bennett is a part of every note that I play for the rest of my life.

In 1963, Tony Bennett appeared on the Judy Garland Show and sang what many, including me, consider his best recording of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”

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