The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Dream Dancing

The song of the day for Tuesday, March 28, 2023, is “Dream Dancing.”

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett is proud to honor Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, on her birthday! Happy birthday! We love you madly.

About This Song

Cole Porter wrote “Dream Dancing” for the 1941 movie You’ll Never Get Rich, though it was introduced only in its instrumental form. The first recording of the song, with lyrics, was made by Fred Astaire in the same year, with The Delta Rhythm Boys. Other recordings include those by Ella Fitzgerald, Zoot Zims with Jimmy Rowles, and Mel Tormé.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded “Dream Dancing” for their 2021 album Love For Sale. The orchestral arrangement is by Jorge Calandrelli.

“Dream Dancing,” as well as Love For Sale is available on Apple Music.

Here’s the official video for the recording:

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

The song of the day for Saturday, March 4, 2023, is “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

About This Song

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” was written in 1931 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills. This song was one of the first songs to use the word “swing” in the title and this song certainly defined what it meant to swing. Ellington recorded the song with Ivie Anderson on vocals and it was an immediate hit. It has been widely recorded since it was written and the song is a lot of fun to play and listen to. Significant recordings include those by Louis Armstrong, Django Reinhardt, Gigi Gryce, Tony Bennett, and Thelonious Monk.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” in 2014 for their album Cheek To Cheek. Marion Evans wrote the excellent arrangement. It features Joe Lovano on tenor sax and George Rabbi on trumpet.

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” as well as Cheek To Cheek is available on Apple Music.

Here’s the original Duke Ellington recording, with vocals by Ivie Anderson:

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: But Beautiful

The song of the day for Friday, March 3, 2023, is “But Beautiful.”

About This Song

“But Beautiful” was written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke for Bing Crosby to sing in the 1947 movie The Road to Rio. The song has been widely recorded, including recordings by Bill Evans, Johnny Hartman, Billie Holiday, Gregory Porter, Frank Sinatra, Nat Cole, and Bill Evans and Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded “But Beautiful” in 2014 for their album Cheek To Cheek. The arrangement was written by Jorge Calandrelli. The recording features Gray Sargent on guitar.

“But Beautiful,” as well as Cheek To Cheek is available on Apple Music.

Here’s the video from the studio recording of today’s song:

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: I Won’t Dance

The song of the day for Thursday, March 2, 2023, is “I Won’t Dance.”

About This Song

“I Won’t Dance” was written in 1934 by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and Otto Harbach, for a London musical called Three Sisters, though the show was a flop and was quickly forgotten. The following year, a film of Roberta was made, and the song was re-purposed, this time with the new Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields lyrics, which are now ubiquitous.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded “I Won’t Dance” in 2014 for their album Cheek To Cheek. Marion Evans wrote the very fine arrangement.

“I Won’t Dance,” as well as Cheek To Cheek is available on Apple Music.

Speaking of dancing, here are Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers performing “I Won’t Dance” from the 1935 movie Roberta:

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Nature Boy

The song of the day for Wednesday, March 1, 2023, is “Nature Boy.”

About This Song

“Nature Boy” was written in 1947 by eden ahbez, the name adopted by George Alexander Aberle, who was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1908. In the 1930s, he lived in Kansas City and worked as a pianist and band leader. In the early 1940s, he moved to Los Angeles and began playing piano in a health food and raw food store run by John and Vera Richter, who followed a Naturmensch and Lebensreform philosophy influenced by the Wandervogel movement in Germany. In following their philosophy, he and other followers grew their hair long, became vegetarians and were, for all practical purposes, the earliest hippies. They called themselves The Nature Boys. At the suggestion of Johnny Mercer, eden ahbez approached Nat King Cole with his song “Nature Boy.” Unable to meet with Nat Cole personally, he left the song with Cole’s valet. Cole began to perform the song in his concerts; in 1947 he recorded it for Capitol Records, with an arrangement by Frank DeVol, who used strings and flute in his orchestration. The song was a big hit for Nat Cole and Capitol Records.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded “Nature Boy” in 2014 for their album Cheek To Cheek. Jorge Calandrelli wrote the arrangement.

“Nature Boy,” as well as Cheek To Cheek is available on Apple Music.

Subscribe to The Year of Tony Bennett

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Current Reader Favorites