The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: What a Wonderful World

The song of the day for Monday, August 4, 2025, is “What a Wonderful World.”

About Today

We are celebrating the great Louis Armstrong, who was born 124 years ago on August 4, 1901.

About This Song

“What a Wonderful World” was written in 1967 by Bob Thiele (as George Douglas) and George David Weiss. Written at a time of great political and racial unrest in America, “What A Wonderful World” was a kind, gentle, and positive song that was very well received. Louis Armstrong recorded it first, and it was a big hit for him, selling over a million singles. Even though this song has been recorded by many fine artists, it remains closely identified with Louis Armstrong.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang recorded “What a Wonderful World” in March 2002 for their album A Wonderful World. Rob Mathes wrote the vocal arrangements. Lee Musiker was the musical director and wrote the orchestra arrangements. Peter Matz conducted and did the orchestrations.

“What a Wonderful World,” as well as A Wonderful World, is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Louis Armstrong’s 1967 recording of “What a Wonderful World.”

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Song of the Day: I Wonder

The song of the day for Monday, June 23, 2025, is “I Wonder.”

About This Song

“I Wonder” was written in 1944 by Cecil Gant and Raymond Leveen. The song was first recorded by blues singer Cecil Gant, who as he was still serving in the Army just at the end of World War II, recorded as Pvt. Cecil Gant; the recording moved easily to #1 on Juke Box Race charts. In 1945, the Roosevelt Sykes recording replaced the Gant version as #1. Louis Armstrong recorded “I Wonder” in 1945, which reached #3 on the Juke Box chart. Aretha Franklin also recorded the song in 1967.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang recorded “I Wonder” in March 2002 for their album A Wonderful World. Vocal arrangements were by Rob Mathes. The album was orchestrated and conducted by Peter Matz, with musical direction and arrangements by Lee Musiker.

“I Wonder,” as well as A Wonderful World, is available on Apple Music.

We’re happy to include Louis Armstrong‘s 1945 recording of today’s song.

We’ve also got Cecil Gant’s original recording.

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Song of the Day: Exactly Like You

The song of the day for Monday, May 12, 2025, is “Exactly Like You.”

About This Song

“Exactly Like You” was written by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields in 1930 for Lew Leslie’s International Revue, which also introduced “On The Sunny Side Of The Street.” While the reviewers were not kind to the production, the score was then, and remains still, quite noteworthy. Even though Fields’ lyrics for the song are very fine, the early recordings of the song were mostly instrumentals, such as that by Louis Armstrong. The song became popular again in 1936, with a fine recording by Benny Goodman that featured Lionel Hampton on the vibraphone, followed by the 1937 recording by Count Basie, which included the vocals by Jimmy Rushing. Later notable recordings include those by Carmen McRae (1954), Bing Crosby (1944), Patti Page (1949), Anita O’Day (1975), Nina Simone (1959) and Diana Krall (2006).

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang recorded “Exactly Like You” in May 2002 for their album A Wonderful World. Vocal arrangements were by Rob Mathes. The album was orchestrated and conducted by Peter Matz, with musical direction and arrangements by Lee Musiker.

“Exactly Like You,” as well as A Wonderful World, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: You Can’t Love A Broken Heart

The song of the day for Saturday, April 26, 2025, is “You Can’t Lose A Broken Heart.”

About This Song

“You Can’t Love A Broken Heart” was written in 1931 by James P. Johnson and Flournoy Earkin Miller. Johnson, a pianist and composer who was also known as a Harlem Stride pianist, collaborated with author and producer Flournoy Miller to produce the Sugar Hill revue in 1931 for this song. Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday recorded “You Can’t Lose A Broken Heart” as a duet with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra in 1949 on the Decca label.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang recorded “You Can’t Love A Broken Heart” in March 2002 for their album A Wonderful World, consisting of songs associated with Louis Armstrong. Vocal arrangements were by Rob Mathes. The album was orchestrated and conducted by Peter Matz, with musical direction and arrangements by Lee Musiker.

“You Can’t Love A Broken Heart,” as well as A Wonderful World, is available on Apple Music.

Here’s the 1949 recording of today’s song by Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday.

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Song of the Day: If We Never Meet Again

The song of the day for Thursday, February 13, 2025, is “If We Never Meet Again.”

About This Song

“If We Never Meet Again” was written in 1936 by Louis Armstrong and Horace Gerlach. Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra recorded the first release of the song on April 19, 1936.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang recorded “If We Never Meet Again” in March 2002 for their album A Wonderful World. Vocal arrangements were by Rob Mathes. The album was orchestrated and conducted by Peter Matz, with musical direction and arrangements by Lee Musiker.

“If We Never Meet Again,” as well as A Wonderful World, is available on Apple Music.