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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

September 28, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: You’re Nearer

The song of the day for Friday, September 29, 2023, is “You’re Nearer.”

About This Song

Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart wrote “You’re Nearer” for the 1940 movie version of Too Many Girls. It’s one of their loveliest and most elegant love songs. Richard Rodgers said that “Tony’s recording of ‘You’re Nearer’ makes me extremely happy and would affect Larry Hart the same way if he could hear it.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “You’re Nearer” in September 1976 for their second album Together Again, released in 1977.

“You’re Nearer,” as well as Together Again, is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Bill Evans, Larry Hart, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Together Again, Tony Bennett

September 16, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Bewitched

The song of the day for Sunday, September 16, 2023, is “Bewitched.”

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett is proud to honor one of Tony Bennett’s greatest collaborators: Ralph Sharon, who was born in London on September 17, 1925. He served as Bennett’s pianist, musical director, and arranger for many years, starting in 1958.

About This Song

“Bewitched” (also known by its full name “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”) was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for the the 1940 musical Pal Joey, where it was introduced by Vivienne Segal. Notable recordings are by Benny Goodman, Mel Tormé, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. Alec Wilder admired the lyric and the verse, but found the song “notey.” In spite of being notey, it’s a cornerstone of the American Songbook.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon recorded “Bewitched” on October 28, 1959. They wanted to an album of songs from the Great American Songbook, without any other accompaniment, other than Sharon. Bennett’s producer, Mitch Miller, showed up and said to the Frank Laico, who recorded the session, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.”

The resulting album, Tony Sings For Two, was released in 1961.

“Bewitched,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Larry Hart, Lorenz Hart, Mitch Miller, Pal Joey, Ralph Sharon, Richard Rodgers, Tony Bennett, Tony Sings for Two

September 10, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Manhattan

The song of the day for Monday, September 11, 2023, is “Manhattan.”

About This Song

“Manhattan” was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1925 for the Garrick Gaieties, where it was introduced by Sterling Holloway. The song made its first film appearance the following year in a short entitled Makers of Melody. The song has remained popular up to today and is frequently recorded by jazz and popular singers. In addition to Bennett’s recording, “Manhattan” has been recorded by Blossom Dearie, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé, and Dinah Washington. It is often used in films, including Silent Movie, Mighty Aphrodite, and The English Patient.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Manhattan” in July 1973. The recording was released in 1976 on Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs.

Playing with Bennett on this album was the Ruby Braff/George Barnes Quartet, consisting of Braff on trumpet, Barnes and Wayne Wright on guitar, and John Guiffrida on bass. In his autobiography The Good Life, Bennett fills us in this quartet:

My main focus in late 1973 became the brilliant trumpet playing of Ruby Braff. I’d known Ruby since 1951 when I first played Chicago. Ruby heard George Barnes and Bucky Pizzarelli playing at the St. Regis Hotel in New York, and he sat in with the two guitarists. He loved the way that combination sounded and suggested to George that they start a group. When I heard about this group, I had to check them out. I thought they were great, and Ruby said to me, “Why don’t you come and sing a couple of tunes with us, and relax for a while, you know?”

I liked the groove I got into with this intimate group so much that I did two special concerts at Alice Tully Hall in New York. Ruby and George played the first half instrumentally, and then I came out and sang with them–two entire evenings of Rodgers and Hart. Two weeks later I recorded twenty-four Rodgers and Hart with Ruby and George, with Frank Laico as engineer.

“Manhattan,” as well as Tony Bennett Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook, is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Bucky Pizzarelli, George Barnes, John Guiffrida, Larry Hart, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Ruby Braff, Tony Benett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Song, Wayne Wright

July 18, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Falling In Love With Love

The song of the day for Wednesday, July 19, 2023, is “Falling In Love With Love.”

About This Song

“Falling In Love With Love” was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for the 1938 Broadway musical The Boys of Syracuse. It pairs a beautiful Rodgers waltz melody with the adult and rather somber lyric by Hart: in other words, a perfect Rodgers and Hart song.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded Falling In Love With Love” on February 19, 1965, featuring an arrangement by Don Costa. It was released in 1997 on the CD re-release of If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set.

“Falling In Love With Love,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set
is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Don Costa, If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, The Boys From Syracuse, Tony Bennett

July 15, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Blue Moon

The song of the day for Sunday, July 16, 2023, is “Blue Moon.”

About This Song

“Blue Moon” was written in 1933 by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz. It first appeared in the 1934 movie Manhattan Melodrama, though with a completely different lyric.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Blue Moon” in July 1973. The recording was released in 1976 on Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs.

“Blue Moon,” as well as Tony Bennett Sings The Rodgers & Hart Songbook is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Tony Bennett, Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs

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