The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Blue Velvet

The Year of Tony Bennett wishes k.d. lang a very happy birthday and features her duet with Tony Bennett, Blue Velvet, as the song of the day for November 2, 2012.

About Blue Velvet

Blue Velvet was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris. Although Tony Bennett did not record the song first, his 1951 recording, arranged by Percy Faith, was the first recording of the song that was a hit.  Tony Bennett’s version of the song was used several films, including The Last Picture Show and Raging Bull. The song also inspired David Lynch’s 1986 film Blue Velvet, which starred Isabella Rossellini.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang sang Blue Velvet for the 2011 Duets II. This version was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

And again, a very happy birthday to k.d. lang!

 

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Song of the Day: Exactly Like You

The Song of the Day for October 29, 2012 is Exactly Like You.

About Exactly Like You

Exactly Like You was written for the 1930 Broadway show Lew Leslie’s International Review by Jimmy McHugh, with lyrics by Dorothy Fields.  They also wrote On The Sunny Side Of The Street for the same show. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and went on to become a jazz and popular standard. It has been recorded by everyone from Cab Calloway to Frank Sinatra to Django Reinhardt and Anita O’Day.

About This Version

Exactly Like You is the first track on Tony Bennett’s and k.d. lang’s celebration of the songs of Louis Armstrong, A Wonderful World. The album won the  2003 Grammy award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

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Blue Velvet

Tony and kd lang have collaborated on several occasions: A Wonderful World, Playing With My Friends and both Duets albums. Here is a video of them singing–beautifully– Blue Velvet, from Duets II. Their voices match perfectly on everything they sing together.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3i2F7eKoKQ]

They also did an interview with NPR in 2002 when A Wonderful World was released. Click here to listen.