The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: The Party’s Over

The song of the day for Monday, December 4, 2017 is “The Party’s Over.”

About This Song

“The Party’s Over” was written for the 1956 Broadway hit, Bells Are Ringing, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden. The song was introduced by Judy Holliday, who won the Tony award for her performance and who also appeared in the film version opposite Dean Martin.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Party’s Over” for his 1959 album Hometown, My Town. Ralph Burns did the great arrangement for this and all the other songs on this album.

The Party"s Over

Listen to The Party"s Over on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1959


“The Party’s Over,” as well as Hometown, My Town, is available from iTunes.

As an extra treat, here’s the magnificent Judy Holliday singing “The Party’s Over” from the 1960 film version of Bells Are Ringing.

About Today

I realized yesterday that I had forgotten the anniversary of the birth of one of this numbers songwriters, Adolph Green, who was born on December 2, 2014. He had a long and productive writing career with his partner Betty Comden. Together they wrote lyrics for many Broadway musicals and also had a brilliant career in Hollywood, not the least of which was their screenplay for the movie Singin’ In The Rain. Many of the songs we all know and love, like this one or “Some Other Time” were written by Comden and Green.

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Song of the Day: Make Someone Happy

The song of the day for Friday, September 22, 2017 is “Make Someone Happy.”

About This Song

“Make Someone Happy” is from the 1960 musical Do Re Mi, by Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Do Re Mi concerns a guy, a bit of a loser and a con, who goes into the jukebox business with some gangster pals. ”Make Someone Happy” was introduced by John Reardon and Nancy Dussault.

About This Version

Tony Bennett performed “Make Someone Happy” at the invitation of President Kennedy. Besides Tony and the Ralph Sharon Trio, Dave Brubeck and his group also performed. Bennett and Brubeck, with Eugene Wright and Joe Morello from Brubeck’s band, did some wonderful improvisations. The recording of that concert was long thought to be lost, but it was found in 2013 and released as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962.

“Make Someone Happy” was recorded with the Ralph Sharon Trio, featuring Billy Exiner on drums and Hal Gaylord on bass.

Make Someone Happy - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962

Listen to Make Someone Happy - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2013


“Make Someone Happy,” as well as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Just in Time

The song of the day for Monday, September 11, 2017 is “Just in Time.”

About This Song

“Just in Time” is one of the great songs from the 1956 musical Bells Are Ringing: featuring music by Jule Style and lyrics from Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The song was introduced by Judy Holliday and Sidney Chaplin. Holliday and Dean Martin sang it in the 1960 film version of Bells Are Ringing.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Just in Time” is from Bennett’s 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall, which was beautifully recorded and released as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall. Ralph Sharon arranged all of the songs for the concert and conducted the orchestra.

Just In Time (From "Bells Are Ringing") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to Just In Time (From "Bells Are Ringing") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon & His Orchestra · 1962


“Just In Time,” as well as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall–The Complete Concert, is available from iTunes.

About The Concert

Tony Bennett’s June 9, 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall is truly legendary and the resulting album is rightly regarded as one of the greatest recordings of a live concert ever made (thank you Frank Laico).

The concert came on the heels of the great success of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” which had been released to great acclaim just a few months earlier.

Though some so-called critics felt that it was too soon in Bennett’s career to play Carnegie Hall, Bennett knew it was exactly the right time. And, in fact, the concert was completely sold out in less than two weeks.

Bennett relates in his autobiography The Good Life:

When “San Francisco” was peaking in early 1962, I was invited to appear at Carnegie Hall for the first time. Carnegie Hall had never featured a “pop” singer like myself as a solo performer. It was unprecedented. To my surprise, Columbia backed me completely. Goddard said, “You’ve got to play Carnegie Hall, and we’d love to make a record out of the concert.”

…

I put everything I’d been studying for the last twenty years into practice for that show. During the fifties I’d opened with swingin’ numbers like “Sing You Sinners” or “Taking a Chance on Love,” and sometimes I didn’t grab the crowd right away like I wanted to. One night when I was hanging with Count Basie I was talking to him about this, and he said, “Why open with a closer? Start with a medium-tempo number like ‘Just In Time,’ and give the audience a chance to settle in.”

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Song of the Day: Just In Time

The song of the day for Sunday, August 13, 2017 is “Just In Time.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Just In Time,” was composed by Jule Style, with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, for the 1956 musical Bells Are Ringing. The stars of the show, Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin introduced the song. Tony Bennett recorded the song from the same year, and it was a big hit for Mr. Bennett. “The Party’s Over,” another song recorded by Mr. Bennett (Hometown, My Town in 1959) was the other major hit song from this wonderful

About This Version

Mr. Bennett has sung this song over his career, including his duet with Michael Bublé in the 2006 Duets album. But perhaps his most significant performance was never recorded. Starting on March 21, 1965, Tony Bennett marched with Martin Luther King, now-Congressman John Lewis, Ralph Bunche, Billy Eckstine, Leonard Bernstein and many, many others on the Third March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. On the evening of March 24, 1965 on a makeshift stage (created with coffins loaned by a local mortuary), a Stars for Freedom rally and concert was held. In addition to Mr. Bennett, the performers included Harry Belafonte, Frankie Laine, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter, Paul and Mary.

The documentary film Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends, contains a short clip filmed by Tony Bennett as part of a documentary about the march (approximately 21:28 in).

Bennett got up and sang Just In Time and for the American civil rights movement, it was just in time. As a result of the marches from Selma to Montgomery, President Johnson introduced and Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, major battle in the Civil Rights movement.

For today, we present Mr. Bennett’s original recording of “Just in Time,” released as single and also included on the 1962 album Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits. It was arranged by Percy Faith.

Just in Time

Listen to Just in Time on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1962


“Just In Time,” as well as Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Just In Time

The song of the day for Monday, July 24, 2017 is “Just In Time.”

About This Song

Composed by Jule Style, with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green,“Just in Time” is one of the great songs from the 1956 musical Bells Are Ringing, where it was introduced by Judy Holliday and Sidney Chaplin. Holliday and Dean Martin sang it in the 1960 film version of Bells Are Ringing.

About This Version

“Just in Time” was the second song that Bennett sang at his legendary 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall. Originally, an abbreviated version of the concert was released on four LPs, but in 1997 the complete concert was released. This wonderful concert was captured on Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall. For me, there is nothing better than Tony Bennett singing live and this concert was the first to be captured for release. Ralph Sharon arranged the songs and conducted the orchestra.

Just In Time (From "Bells Are Ringing") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to Just In Time (From "Bells Are Ringing") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon & His Orchestra · 1962


“Just In Time,” as well as Tony Bennett At Carnegie Hall, is available from iTunes.