The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Lucky To Be Me

The song of the day for Wednesday, August 25, 2021, is “Lucky To Be Me.”

About Today

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein: composer, conductor, pianist, and music educator. Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918, in Lawrence, Mass. Unlike most classical musicians, Bernstein loved Broadway. Best known in that genre, he wrote the scores for West Side Story, Wonderful Town, and On The Town, from which our song of the day is chosen.

I grew up watching the Young People’s Concerts on television and credit those shows not only encouraging me to play two instruments but also giving me a lifelong love of all kinds of good music.

About This Song

“Lucky To Be Me” was written for the 1944 musical On The Town by Leonard Bernstein, with lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden. This song (as were most of the songs from the score) was cut from the 1949 film.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “Lucky To Be Me” in 1976 for their second album, Together Again, released in 1977.

Lucky To Be Me

Listen to Lucky To Be Me on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1977.

“Lucky To Be Me,” as well as Together Again is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Some Other Time

The song of the day for Saturday, August 7, 2021, is “Some Other Time.”

About This Week

Today marks the end of our special week-long celebration of Tony Bennett’s birthday. I saved what I think is the best for last: “Some Other Time” from The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album. Thank you for joining me in honoring the great Tony Bennett on this special birthday. And remember: every year is the year of Tony Bennett.

About This Song

“Some Other Time” was written in 1944 by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green for the Broadway musical On The Town, the story of three sailors on a 24-hour leave in New York and their romantic adventures. This song is sung at the very end of the show by two of the couples, as they say goodbye and hope to catch up again, some other time. For reasons unknown, this song was omitted from the 1949 film version of On The Town.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “Some Other Time” for their first album The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, released in 1975. Evans had been playing the song for some time prior to their including it on this first of the two albums they would make together.

Some Other Time

Listen to Some Other Time on Spotify. Bill Evans · Song · 1975.

“Some Other Time,” as well as The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album is available on Apple Music.

This is Bill Evans’s 1959 recording of “Some Other Time” from Everybody Digs Bill Evans.

Some Other Time

Listen to Some Other Time on Spotify. Bill Evans · Song · 1959.

In case you’re interested, here is a recording of “Some Other Time” from a studio cast recording of On The Town. The lyricists, Betty Comden and Adolph Greene, sing in this recording. It’s really lovely..

On the Town: Act II: Some Other Time

Listen to On the Town: Act II: Some Other Time on Spotify. Leonard Bernstein · Song · 1959.

Do I love this song? I absolutely do. I have a playlist of 20 or so recordings of “Some Other Time.” Try the Blossom Dearie version from Blossom Dearie Sings Comden and Greene, also from 1959.

Some Other Time

Listen to Some Other Time on Spotify. Blossom Dearie · Song · 1959.

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Song of the Day: Some Other Time

The song of the day for Monday, May 2, 2021, is “Some Other Time.”

About Today

Today we are honoring Betty Comden, who was born on May 17, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. She studied drama at New York University, graduating in 1938, the same year she met Adolph Green, with whom she would co-write lyrics and screenplays with Adoph Green, with whom she would work until his death in 2002. Their first major show was On The Town, with music by Leonard Bernstein. The pair also wrote the lyrics for Bells Are Ringing with Jule Styne. They also wrote the screenplay for the 1952 movie Singin’ In The Rain. Betty Comden died in 2006.

About This Song

Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green wrote “Some Other Time” for the 1944 Broadway musical On The Town, the story of three sailors on leave in New York City and their romantic adventures. This song is sung at the end by two of the couples. Inexplicably, this beautiful song was cut from the 1949 film version.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “Some Other Time” in June 1975 for their first album The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album. Today we are featuring take #7 of the song, which is included on the CD release of the album.

Some Other Time - Take 7

Listen to Some Other Time - Take 7 on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1975.

“Some Other Time,” as well as The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, is available from Apple Music.

I love this song so much that I’m included a couple of other versions.

First is from Blossom Dearie from her album Blossom Dearie Sings Comden and Green, released in 1959.

Some Other Time

Listen to Some Other Time on Spotify. Blossom Dearie · Song · 1959.

We also have this lovely version from the 1960 studio recording of On The Town, featuring vocals by Betty Comden, Nancy Walker, Adolph Green, and Cris Alexander.

On the Town: Act II: Some Other Time

Listen to On the Town: Act II: Some Other Time on Spotify. Leonard Bernstein · Song · 1959.

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Song of the Day: Some Other Time

The song of the day for Wednesday, November 25, 2020, is “Some Other Time.”

About Today

As is so often the case, once I feature a song from this album, I can’t let it go after just one song. Today is one of those days.

About This Song

“Some Other Time” was written by Leonard Bernstein, with lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, in 1944 for the Broadway musical On The Town, the story of three sailors on leave in New York City and their romantic adventures. This song is sung at the end by two of the couples. Inexplicably, this beautiful song was cut from the 1949 film version.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “Some Other Time” in 1975 for their first album: The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album.

Some Other Time

Listen to Some Other Time on Spotify. Bill Evans · Song · 1975.

“Some Other Time,” as well as The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Lucky To Be Me

The song of the day for Tuesday, April 25, 2020, is “Lucky To Be Me.”

About Today

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of composer Leonard Bernstein, who wrote today’s song. I grew up watching The Young People’s Concerts on television. As a teenager, I saw a community theatre production of Wonderful Town and fell in love with his musicals. As an adult, I collected albums that he had composed and conducted and listen to them regularly. I think one of greatest musical evenings in my life was attending this concert in 1980 for the 80th birthday of Aaron Copland, much of which was conducted by Leonard Bernstein.

About This Song

“Lucky To Be Me” was written by Leonard Bernstein, Adolph Green, and Betty Comden 1944 musical On The Town, where it was introduced by John Battles. The song (as were most of the songs from the score) was cut from the 1949 film. My question: why bother to film a Leonard Bernstein musical when you cut the best songs, including “Some Other Time?”

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “Lucky To Be Me” for their second album, Together Again, released in 1977.

“Lucky To Be Me,” as well as Together Again, is available from Apple Music.

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