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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

February 2, 2023 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: La Vie En Rose

The song of the day for Friday, February 3, 2023, is “La Vie En Rose.”

About This Song

“La Vie En Rose” was written in 1946 by Marguerite Monnot and Louis Guglielmi (aka Louiguy). Edith Piaf wrote the French lyrics; Mack David wrote the English lyrics.

While now considered one of Edith Piaf’s most identifiable songs (taking second place only to “Non, je ne regrette rein”), this song had a slow and somewhat troubled beginning. The lyric came to Miss Piaf in 1944. She worked with Louiguy on the melody. At the time the song was written, only Louiguy, as neither Piaf or Monnot were qualified to copyright their work under the auspices of Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique, the official French association. Initially, the song was thought to be weak as compared to the rest of her repertoire and she was encouraged to not sing it at her concerts. She did not sing it publicly until 1946 and it quickly became a favorite of audiences. She finally recorded the song in 1947. “La Vie en Rose” has been widely recorded ever since and used in many films, from Bull Durham to WALL-E. The 2007 film biography of Edith Piaf, which starred Marion Cotillard, was titled La Vie en Rose.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang recorded “La Vie En Rose” in May 2002 for their album Tony Bennett & k.d. lang: A Wonderful World. The album was orchestrated and conducted by Peter Matz; Lee Musiker wrote the arrangements and served as musical director.

“La Vie En Rose,” as well as Tony Bennett & k.d. lang: A Wonderful World is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Armstrong’s 1951 recording:

And here’s Edith Piaf’s 1947 recording:

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Edith Piaf, Lee Musiker, Louiguy, Louis Armstrong, Louis Guglielmi, Mack David, Marguerite Monnot, Peter Matz, Tony Bennett & k.d. lang: A Wonderful World

November 7, 2017 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: La Vie en Rose

The song of the day for Wednesday, November 8, 2017 is ” La Vie en Rose.”

About This Song

“La Vie en Rose” was written in 1945 by Marguerite Monnot and Louis Guglielmi (aka Louiguy). Edith Piaf wrote the original French lyrics and Mack David wrote the English lyrics.

While now considered one of Edith Piaf’s most identifiable songs (taking second place only to “Non, je ne regrette rein”), this song had a slow and somewhat troubled beginning. The lyric came to Miss Piaf in 1944. She worked with Louiguy for the melody. At the time the song was written, only Louiguy received songwriter credits, as neither Piaf or Monnot were qualified to copyright their work under the auspices of Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique, the official French association. Initially, the song was though to be weak as compared to the rest of repertoire and she was encouraged to not sing it at her concerts. She did not sing it publicly until 1946 and it quickly became a favorite of audiences. She finally recorded the song in 1947. “La Vie en Rose” has been widely recorded ever since and used in many films, from Bull Durham to WALL-E. The 2007 film biography of Edith Piaf, which starred Marion Cotillard, was titled La Vie en Rose.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang recorded “La Vie en Rose” in 2002 for their album A Wonderful World.

La Vie En Rose

Listen to La Vie En Rose on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2002.


” La Vie en Rose,” as well as A Wonderful World, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Edith Piaf, k d lang, Louiguy, Louis Guglielmi, Mack David, Marguerite Monnot, Tony Bennett

October 26, 2013 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: La Vie En Rose

The song of the day for Saturday, October 26, 2013 is “La Vie En Rose.”

About This Song

“La Vie en Rose” (or Life Through Rose-Colored Glasses) was written in 1945, with music by Marguerite Monnot and lyrics by Edith Piaf. It is Edith Piaf’s signature song; she first recorded it in 1947. Her recording of the song received a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 1998. Louis Armstrong made a lovely recording of this song in 1947.

About This Version

Today’s version is the duet with Tony Bennett and k.d. lang from their 2002 album A Wonderful World. In this album, they sang songs associated with Louis Armstrong. In fact, as a long-term k.d. lang fan, it was this album where I really began to love the music of Tony Bennett.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1EoAJz7uTyHGbIihfY95yJ
“La Vie en Rose,” as well as the album A Wonderful World, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

Because the album A Wonderful World is about music associated with Louis Armstrong, I thought you might enjoy this too:

La vie en rose - Single Version

Listen to La vie en rose - Single Version on Spotify. Louis Armstrong · Song · 1994.

And, because once again it’s YouTube Saturday, we’re happy to share this video of Tony and k.d.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: A Wonderful World, Edith Piaf, k d lang, Louis Armstrong, Marguerite Monnot

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