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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

February 11, 2014 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Moonglow

The song of the day for February 11, 2014 is “Moonglow.”

About This Song

“Moonglow” was written in 1933, with music by Will Hudson and Irving Mills and lyrics by Eddie DeLange. It was first recorded by Joe Venuti. 1934 saw recordings by Ethel Waters and Benny Goodman and His Orchestra and the song has been part of the jazz canon ever since. The song became popular again in 1955 when it was used in the movie Picnic, which starred William Holden and Kim Novac, who danced to this song in the film. You can view a video of this scene from Picnic on YouTube.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Moonglow” is from the MTV Unplugged concert and features Tony Bennett in a duet with k.d. lang. This performance was the first time they sang together, and they’ve been singing together ever since.

We are pleased to choose this song today in honor of k.d. lang’s Broadway debut in After Midnight. For more information about her appearance in After Midnight, see k.d. lang Hits The Big White Way on this blog.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0Mgg7hAuhRg9MbPpHpY9sb
“Moonglow,” as well as the MTV Unplugged album, is available from iTunes.

And even though it’s not yet YouTube Saturday, we have a video of their performance from the concert.

Filed Under: About His Collaborators, Song of the Day Tagged With: kd lang, MTV Unplugged

October 30, 2012 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Because Of You

The Song of the Day for October 30, 2012 is Because Of You.

About Because Of You

Because Of You was written in 1940 by Arthur Hammerstein with lyrics by Dudley Wilkinson. The song was used in the 1951 film I Was An American Spy. Tony Bennett recorded this song in 1951 and it was his first major hit record. Mr. Bennett relates this story in his autobiography, The Good Life:

By the spring of 1951, I was told that if I didn’t get a hit soon I’d be dropped from the label. I went into Percy’s (Percy Faith) office and he said, “In this next session you really have to deliver. We have only three songs ready, so we need another song.” I remember that he looked through a bunch of sheet music on his desk, grabbed a song, and said, “Well, let’s do this one.” That song was “Because of You.” I was doing a lot of dramatic singing on my early records like “Sing You Sinners” and “Boulevard,” but Percy said to me, “Just relax. Use your natural voice and sing the song.” I took his advice.

When “Because of You” was released, the record company didn’t have much confidence in me. But then something interesting started happening; the record didn’t get on the radio right away, but people were playing it on jukeboxes so often that it started to build momentum, one nickel at a time. It was unusual for a song to become popular on jukeboxes before it got on the radio, but this one did. Listeners from all around the country began calling their local radio stations and requesting “Because of You,” and it reached number one on Billboard magazine’s pop chart on June 23, 1951. It stayed on the chart for thirty-two weeks-ten weeks at number one. I finally had my first major hit record. It was amazing. Everywhere I went that summer I heard the song blaring from car radios, and record stores set up speakers outside and played the song to attract customers. My family was thrilled, of course, and couldn’t stop telling me how proud they were that I had made it. It was wonderful.

Because Of You is one of Tony Bennett’s most beloved songs.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang recorded this duet for Tony Bennett Duets – An American Classic. It’s really beautiful to hear these two wonderful singers, who are obviously so closely attuned to each other, sing this beautiful love song. The song is exquisitely orchestrated by Jorge Callandrelli and features the quartet of Lee Musiker (p), Gray Sargent (g), Paul Langosch (b) and Harold Jones (d).

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Arthur Hammerstein, Dudley Wilkinson, Gray Sargent, Harold Jones, Jorge Callandrelli, kd lang, Lee Musiker, Paul Langosch

October 28, 2012 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

k.d. lang week

In recognition of her upcoming birthday on November 2, The Year of Tony Bennett is very pleased to announce k.d. lang week.

I have been a fan of k.d. lang since the 1987 Angel With A Lariat, the cassette of which was permanently lodged in my car stereo for many months. The release the next year of Shadowland, produced by Owen Bradley and featuring guest performances with Loretta Lynn and Kitty Wells, was a more typical country album than Angel With A Lariat and, for me, told me that this punk cowgirl from Canada was a real performer to be reckoned with. Her 1989 album Absolute Torch and Twang won her a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and further introduced her to American audiences.

For this author, the song that made me a permanent fan of hers was her 1990 recording of So In Love for Red Hot + Blue, an album of Cole Porter songs sung by popular artists from several genres (the album was an AIDS fundraiser), was the first time I heard her sing from the American songbook. Along with the brilliantly directed and conceived video for the song, I knew then that I wanted to hear her sing more jazz and songs from the songbook. I got my wish with Constant Craving in 1992, for which she won another very well-deserved Grammy, this time for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

In 1994, she appeared as a guest on Tony Bennett’s MTV Unplugged television show, where they performed their first duet, Moonglow. They have sung together ever since, including their work on Playing With My Friends, their album A Wonderful World, Duets and Duets II. We will be featuring their songs all week as songs of the day all week on The Year of Tony Bennett.

She is currently touring with her band, the Siss Boom Bang.

The writers at the Year of Tony Bennett also welcome her to our home town on Portland.

I don’t know how Tony Bennett and k.d. lang found each other back in 1994, but I am profoundly grateful that they did, as their music together is really magical.

Filed Under: About His Collaborators Tagged With: kd lang, kd lang week

October 28, 2012 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Moonglow

The Song of the Day for October 28, 2012 is Moonglow.

About Moonglow

Moonglow was written in 1933 by Will Hudson, with lyrics by Eddie DeLange. It was first recorded by Joe Venuti, followed quickly with recordings by Ethel Waters and Benny Goodman. The Benny Goodman version was used in the films The Aviator and The Fabulous Baker Boys.

About This Version

This week is k.d. lang week at The Year of Tony Bennett. We celebrate her as an artist in own right and a collaborator of Mr. Bennett. She celebrates her birthday on November 2 and we will featuring their music all week.

Today’s Moonglow is from Tony Bennett’s 1994 MTV Unplugged album, on which he sang with k.d. lang for the first time. This was the first time Tony and k.d. sang together, and it was magical. With Moonglow, as well as everything else they’ve sung, their voices are perfect together.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Eddie DeLange, kd lang, Will Hudson

August 4, 2012 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

If We Never Meet Again and What A Wonderful World and Satchmo

Louis Armstrong was born on this day in 1901. In honor of Satchmo, The Year of Tony Bennett has named two songs of the day.

The song What a Wonderful World has been associated with Louis Armstrong and is beautifully sung here by Tony and kd lang on their duets album of the same name. From 2002:

Also, from the same album is the second song of the day, If We Never Meet Again, written by Horace Gerland and Louis Armstrong:

And a very happy birthday to my co-blogger, Lesley Valentine.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: If We Never Meet Again, kd lang, Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World

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