The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: On The Sunny Side of the Street

The song of the day for Monday, September 2, 2013 is “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”

About This Song

“On the Sunny Side of the Street” was written in 1930 for Lew Leslie’s International Revue, with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The song quickly became a jazz standard and was recorded by Billy Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Willie Nelson. In addition to this recording, Tony Bennett also recorded it as a duet with Willie Nelson on Duets II.

About This Version

Today’s version is from one my favorite of Tony’s albums from the late 1960s: the 1967 Tony Makes It Happen! The entire album was arranged and conducted by Marion Evans and was produced by Howard Roberts. The entire album is really terrific, but other standouts include “The Lady’s In Love With You,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and “Old Devil Moon.” Highly recommended by the opinionated author at The Year of Tony Bennett.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6hINWgC3EgCfjis27zY9Gq
“On The Sunny Side of the Street,” as well as the album Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com.

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Song of the Day: Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Saturday, August 17, 2013 is “Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was composed by Burton Lane with lyrics by Yip Harburg in 1947 for the musical Finian’s Rainbow. This musical about an Irishman named Finian who moves to the state of Missitucky and plans to bury a pot of gold (stolen from a leprechaun) near Fort Knox, thinking that the treasure will grow. The plot includes the leprechaun named Og and a corrupt American senator. It proved quite popular, running for over 700 performances with a film released in 1968, starring Fred Astaire as Finian.

About This Version

Today’s song is from the 1967 album Tony Makes It Happen! I have been listening to this album a lot lately: first of all, it’s a very fine album with some of Bennett’s best songs on it. Secondly, the entire album was arranged by the great Marion Evans, who wrote the arrangements for the jazz album that Bennett and Lady Gaga are recording. The arrangements on Tony Makes It Happen! are outstanding and the entire album is certainly worth a careful listen. After studying this album quite a bit for the last week or so, I am more excited than ever about Bennett and Lady Gaga’s new album.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4t3I5khZ6TCaoSYYW1cKms
“Old Devil Moon,” as well as the album Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Lady’s In Love With You

The song of the day for Tuesday, July 23, 2013 is “The Lady’s In Love With You.”

About This Song

“The Lady’s In Love With You” was written in 1939 by Burton Lane and Frank Loesser. Burton Lane wrote the music for many fine musicals, including Finian’s Rainbow and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Frank Loesser wrote two of the great American musicals: Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Though Burton and Loesser wrote several songs together, they never collaborated on a musical.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Makes It Happen! “The Lady’s In Love With You,” as well as all the songs on this album, was arranged and conducted by Marion Evans. His big band arrangements are superb, and Tony Makes It Happen! is a joy for fans of the big band sound. And Tony swings this number hard!

http://open.spotify.com/track/196IZPSQKytH80IeAzzT4b
“The Lady’s In Love With You,” as well as Tony Makes It Happen!, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Don’t Get Around Much Anymore

The song of the day for Monday, July 15, 2013 is “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”

About This Song

This great song was written in 1940 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Bob Russell added in 1942. The original title from 1940 was “Never No Lament,” but was retitled in 1942 when the lyrics were added. Tony Bennett has recorded duets of this song with Michael Bublé (Duets II) and Miguel Bosé (Viva Duets).

About This Version

Today’s version is from the 1967 album Tony Makes It Happen! I love the sound of this album, which was arranged and conducted by the great Marion Evans, who is working with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga for their upcoming jazz album.

http://open.spotify.com/track/491ebIOXElVbEqQgzVILO2
“Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” as well as the entire Tony Makes It Happen! album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Out Of This World

The song of the day for Sunday, July 14, 2013 is “Out Of This World.”

About This Song

“Out Of This World” was written for the 1945 film of the same name by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. Out Of This World was billed as a kind of science fiction love story where the actor Eddie Bracken opens his mouth to sing this song, but Bing Crosby’s voice comes out. I’ll have to put this on my TCM watch list. In any case, it’s a beautiful ballad with an excellent lyric by Mercer. The Bing Crosby version was popular, as well as recordings by Jo Stafford, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney and, of course, Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Out Of This World” in 1967 for his album For Once In My Life. It was arranged by the great Marion Evans. Evans has done the arrangements for the new Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga jazz album that is currently being recorded.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1lbNdANp7StpkibXrAMjbi
“Out Of This World,” as well as the album For Once In My Life, is available from iTunes.