The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Who Can I Turn To

The song of the day for Saturday, January 20, 2018 is “Who Can I Turn To.”

About This Song

“Who Can I Turn To” was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the 1964 British musical The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd. Producer David Merrick saw the production in London and decided to bring it to America, starting first with a nationwide tour. Around that time, Tony Bennett made this recording, which was a hit for him; this helped bring attention to the musical and helped ensure its success in the US.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “Who Can I Turn To” in 1976 for their second album: Together Again. This song was not included in the original release of the album, but was added to 1999 Rhino CD release, along with a quite nice alternate take. I must confess that I had listen to both versions several times each before choosing this one. They’re both very fine recordings of a very good song.

Who Can I Turn To? - Remastered 2003

Listen to Who Can I Turn To? - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 1977


“Who Can I Turn To,” as well as Together Again, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Our video this Saturday is from Bennett’s 1998 Live By Request program. He is backed by Ralph Sharon on piano, Gray Sargent on guitar, Paul Langosch on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums.

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Song of the Day: Who Can I Turn To

The song of the day for Saturday, March 5, 2016 is “Who Can I Turn To?”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Who Can I Turn To?”, was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley in 1964 for the British musical The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd. Producer David Merrick saw the production in London and decided to bring it to America, starting first with a nationwide tour. Around that time, Tony Bennett made this recording, which was a hit for him; this helped bring attention to the musical and helped ensure its success in the US.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Who Can I Turn To?” in 1964 for the album Who Can I Turn To, released in 1964. It was arranged by George Siravo.

Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)

Listen to Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1964


“Who Can I Turn To?” as well as the album Who Can I Turn To, is available from iTunes.

About Today

For our Saturday video, we present the duet version of “Who Can I Turn To?” from Duets II, sung by Bennett and Queen Latifah.

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Song of the Day: Who Can I Turn To

The song of the day for Wednesday, September 23, 2015 is “Who Can I Turn To.”

About This Song

“Who Can I Turn To” was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the British musical The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd in 1964. Producer David Merrick saw the production in London and decided to bring it to America, starting first with a nationwide tour. Around that time, Tony Bennett made this recording, which was a hit for him; this helped bring attention to the musical and helped ensure its success in the US.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Who Can I Turn To” on August 14, 1964 for his album Who Can I Turn To. The beautiful arrangement is by George Siravo.

I swear that my Dad had this exact same sweater in 1964.

Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)

Listen to Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1964


“Who Can I Turn To,” as well as the album of the same name, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Who Can I Turn To

The song of the day for Saturday, July 18, 2015 is “Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me).”

About This Song

Today’s song was written in 1964 by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the British musical The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd. Producer David Merrick saw the production in London and decided to bring it to America, starting first with a nationwide tour. Around that time, Tony Bennett made this recording, which was a hit for him; this helped bring attention to the musical and helped ensure its success in the US.

About This Version

This is Bennett’s first recording of this song from 1964 for the album Who Can I Turn To. This song, as well as the rest of the album, was arranged and conducted by George Siravo and was produced by Ernie Altschuler. In addition to this recording, Mr. Bennett also recorded this song with Bill Evans in 1977 for Together Again, with Queen Latifah for Duets II and with Gloria Estefan for Viva Duets.

Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)

Listen to Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1964


“Who Can I Turn To,” as well as the album Who Can I Turn To, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Today is Saturday and so I have a video for you today. Here is Mr. Bennett singing today’s song, live from 1999.

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Song of the Day: If I Ruled The World

The song of the day for Saturday, February 7, 2015 is “If I Ruled The World.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “If I Ruled The World, ” was written by Cyril Ornadel and Leslie Bricusse for the 1963 West End musical Pickwick, based on Dicken’s The Pickwick Papers. Harry Secombe, the British actor, originated the role of Pickwick and his version of this song charted at #18 in the UK. The production opened in New York in 1965 on Broadway. Tony Bennett’s was one of the earliest American recordings and the song reached #34 on the US pop singles charts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “If I Ruled The World” in 1965 for If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set, our album of the month. As the world tour goes, we move from Brazil to London.

In his autobiography The Good Life, Bennett relates:

I had the honor of singing “If I Ruled The World” at a command performance for the Queen Mother of England. After the song, Bobby Hackett, who was playing with me at that time, leaned over to me and whispered, “What do you mean ‘if’?”

Exactly.

If I Ruled the World

Tony Bennett · If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set · Song · 1965

“If I Ruled The World,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs for the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Yes, it’s Saturday and it’s our day for a video. I was able to find this video of Tony Bennett singing today’s song on television in 1966. I hope you enjoy it!