The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Where Or When

The song of the day for Thursday, January 23, 2014 is “Where Or When.”

About This Song

“Where or When”, by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, was written for the 1937 musical Babes in Arms. Benny Goodman recorded “Where or When” in 1941 with a very young Peggy Lee. It is a favorite song of many vocalists and has had many fine recordings.

About This Version

Today’s song is from one of Tony Bennett’s finest albums: Tony Sings For Two. On October 28, 1959, Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon went into the CBS 30th Street Studio and, in one day, recorded sixteen songs in a single day.. Sharon and Bennett would choose a song and, on the fly, settle on an arrangement and record it in one or two takes. As a result, Tony Sings For Two is fresh and intimate and holds up beautifully years later. It’s one of my most favorite of Tony Bennett’s albums.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1jKAs45clerby224GYvA7H
“Where Or When,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Have You Met Miss Jones?

The song of the day for Monday, January 13, 2013 is “Have You Met Miss Jones?”

About This Song

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote “Have You Met Miss Jones?” for the 1937 musical I’d Rather Be Right. The song has stayed popular over the years, with recordings by Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Joe Pass. Robbie Williams recorded it for the soundtrack of the movie Bridget Jones’s Diary.

About This Version

I pondered on and off all day about what song to use today. I thought that we were all past due for some Rodgers and Hart, but at the same time, I was in a mood for some jazz. And then I remembered the great series of songs on the Rarities, Outtakes and Other Delights, Vol. 1 that I first discovered a few years ago when I got Tony Bennett’s Complete Collection. Thankfully, these songs are now available on iTunes as well.

Today’s version of “Have You Met Miss Jones?” was recorded in October, 1964 with the stellar quartet of Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Stan Getz on tenor sax and Elvin Jones on drums. Bennett and this quartet also recorded “Danny Boy,” “Day Dream,” “Out of This World” and “Just Friends” in the same time frame.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3uyrm6aXjeDHkLiRj3rYgl
“Have You Met Miss Jones?” as well as all of the songs collected on Rarities, Outtakes and Other Delights, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: There’s A Small Hotel

The song of the day for Friday, November 8, 2013 is “There’s A Small Hotel.”

About This Song

“There’s A Small Hotel” was written in 1935 by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. It was originally intended to be used in the musical extravaganza Jumbo, but was not used; it did get use the next year in On Your Toes. Several small hotels that once had Mr. Rodgers as a guest claimed that their hotel was the inspiration for the song. I believe that we all have an image and memory of a small hotel, whether we actually stayed there or not. You can read more about There’s A Small Hotel, as well as read the lyrics, at our sister site, The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography.

About This Version

Todays version is from the work that Tony Bennett did The Ruby Braff / George Barnes Quartet in 1973 and was released originally on Tony Bennett Sings More Great Rodgers and Hart. The two albums of Rodgers and Hart songs that Bennett did are among my very favorites. The quartet of cornet, two guitars and bass is rather extraordinary.

The writer Whitney Balliet wrote an essay about Tony Bennett titled “A Quality That Lets You In” that was published in the New Yorker Magazine on January 7, 1974. This essay has been collected in several of Balliet’s books, including American Singers: Twenty-Seven Portraits in Song. You can read the essay at no charge on Google Books. (Your opinionated author only wishes she could write a paragraph to compare with Balliet’s first paragraph in this essay). Subscribers to The New Yorker can sign up to read all back issues of the magazine online. The essay covers a few days when Tony Bennett was appearing in New York and singing Rodgers and Hart songs with the quartet.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6tme59SeCHTlavnDUWrZys
“There’s a Small Hotel,” as well as The Complete Improv Recordings, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Wish I Were In Love Again

The song of the day for Monday, October 21, 2013 is “I Wish I Were In Love Again.”

About This Song

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote “I Wish I Were In Love Again” in 1937 for the Broadway musical Babes In Arms (note that the Broadway show bears no resemblance to the Mickey Rooney – Judy Garland film of the same name, though Judy Garland did record this song in 1940). The lyric is Lorenz Hart at his sardonic best:

When love congeals, it soon reveals
The faint aroma of performing seals
The double-crossing of a pair of heels
I wish I were in love again

About This Version

Today’s recording is from Tony Bennett’s album Tony Bennett Sings More Great Rodgers & Hart, released in 1977. This album, as well as its earlier companion, Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers and Hart Songs, feature Tony and the Ruby Braff – George Barnes Quartet, with Braff on cornet, Barnes on guitar, Wayne Wright also on guitar and John Guiffrida on bass. All of these recordings can be found on The Complete Improv Recordings box set, which also includes Life is Beautiful, both of his albums with Bill Evans and a recording of a club date with Marion and Jimmy McPartland.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4Qytn2uiRVOpuWHmmo1OMt
“I Wish I Were In Love Again,” as well as The Complete Improv Recordings, is available from iTunes and Amazon. (If you are considering purchasing the The Complete Improv Recordings, I recommend the CD version from Amazon; the booklet by Will Friedwald is excellent.)

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Song of the Day: The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

The song of the day for Monday, October 14, 2013 is “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World.”

About This Song

“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1935 for the Broadway spectacular Jumbo. It’s one of the songwriting team’s most popular love songs, with recordings by Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, in addition to Bennett’s very fine recording.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Bennett’s 1976 album Tony Bennett Sings More Great Rodgers and Hart, also released with the songs on Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers and Hart Songs on Tony Bennett Sings the Rodgers and Hart Songbook.

Tony Bennett recorded these songs with the Ruby Braff / George Barnes Quartet, with Braff on cornet, Barnes and Wayne Wright on guitar and John Guiffrida on bass. No drums; no piano: just cornet, guitars and bass. The results were extraordinary. I find these recordings superb; it’s an intimate and focused treatment of these wonderful songs by Rodgers and Hart. And Bennett is in perfect voice for this song as well as all the songs on the album.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3XTwokibF9IHDzl7lumC2u
“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” as well as The Complete Improv Recordings, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

Tony Bennett Sings the Rodgers and Hart Songbook is available from Amazon.

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