An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
The song of the day for Tuesday, May 10, 2016 is “It Never Was You.”
“It Never Was You” was written by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson for the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday, the score of which also included “September Song.”
Tony Bennett recorded “It Never Was You” in 1961 for his album My Heart Sings. The arrangement is by Ralph Burns.
It Never Was You
Listen to It Never Was You on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1961.
The song of the day for Tuesday, September 9, 2014 is “September Song.”
“September Song,” by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson, was written for the Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday, which opened in 1938 and starred Walter Huston. Huston had requested to have a solo song in the production and so Weill and Anderson wrote “September Song” with careful attention to Huston’s limited singing skills. In spite of a limited range, the poignant quality of the lyrics and the charming tune make for a quite pleasant song that has found great popularity among singers, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and even Lou Reed.
Tony Bennett recorded “September Song” in 1959 for the album To My Wonderful One, released in 1960. The album was arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol and produced by Mitch Miller and Al Ham. In addition to today’s song, this album has several other great songs by Bennett including “Speak Low,” “Last Night When We Were Young,” “Laura” and “April in Paris.” The entire album is well worth a listen.
September Song
Listen to September Song on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1960.
The song of the day for Sunday, September 1, 2013 is “September Song.”
“September Song” was written by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson for the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday. The song was introduced in the musical by Walter Huston. The song has been widely sung since it was written, with significant recordings by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, in addition to Tony Bennett’s fine recording.
Tony Bennett recorded “September Song” for his 1960 album To My Wonderful One. He also included this recording on the Forty (and Fifty) Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett box sets. In the liner notes for the box set, Bennett writes:
I was very influenced by the way Walter Huston, who created it in Knickerbocker Holiday, interpreted this song: you can hear some of the same sweet bitterness in my own performance. This song also makes me appreciate the genius of Kurt Weill.
“September Song” was arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol; the album was produced by Mitch Miller and Al Ham.
http://open.spotify.com/track/1hw9QFhjuEsBxvXGuBWslK
“September Song,” as well as the album To My Wonderful One, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com.