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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

March 24, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Just In Time

The song of the day for Tuesday , March 24, 2015 is “Just In Time.”

About This Song

Written by Jule Styne (music) and Betty Comden and Adolph Green (lyrics), “Just In Time” is just one the great hits from the 1956 Broadway musical Bells Are Ringing. The stars of the show, Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin introduced the song. Tony Bennett recorded it that same year, and it was a big hit for Mr. Bennett. “The Party’s Over,” another song recorded by Mr Bennett (Hometown, My Town in 1959) was the other major hit song from this wonderful score.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded “Just In Time” several times in his career. Today’s version comes from his legendary 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon, who also conducted the orchestra for the concert.

Just In Time (From "Bells Are Ringing") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to Just In Time (From "Bells Are Ringing") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1962.

“Just In Time,” as well as Tony Bennett At Carnegie Hall, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Mr. Bennett has recorded “Just In Time” many times. However, his most important performance of this song was never recorded.

march

Starting on March 21, 1965, Tony Bennett marched with Martin Luther King, now-Congressman John Lewis, Ralph Bunche, Billy Eckstine, Leonard Bernstein and many, many others on the Third March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. On the evening of March 24, 1965, 50 years ago today, on a makeshift stage (created with coffins loaned by a local mortuary), a Stars for Freedom rally and concert was held. In addition to Mr. Bennett, the performers included Harry Belafonte, Frankie Laine, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter, Paul and Mary. He “Just In Time” and for the American Civil Rights movement, it was indeed just in time. As a result of the marches from Selma to Montgomery, President Johnson introduced and Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, major battle in the Civil Rights movement.

The Year of Tony Bennett honors Mr. Bennett for his life-long battle again racism and for freedom and equality for all. Thank you.

CNN did a nice interview with Tony Bennett and Harry Belafonte a few years ago about the march, which you may enjoy.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Jule Styne, Just In Time, Martin Luther King, Third March to Selma, Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall

August 24, 2013 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Just In Time

On the day of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, there can be no other song of the day than “Just In Time.”

About This Song

“Just In Time” was written by Jule Styne with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green for the 1956 musical Bells Are Ringing, starring Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin.

About This Version

Today’s version is a live version from Bennett’s wonderful 1962 Carnegie Hall Concert.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3Ag1NsVAYJrZeIYmWibzYH
“Just in Time,” as well the full 1962 Carnegie Hall Concert is available from iTunes and Amazon.com.

Why Just In Time

In 1965, Harry Belafonte asked his friend Tony Bennett to join him and Martin Luther King on the march from Selma, Alabama to the state capital Montgomery and Bennett agreed.
This march was the third march. The first march started on March 7, 1965, day that came to be called Bloody Sunday; one of the leaders of that march was John Lewis, now a congressman from Georgia. The marchers got as far as the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where they were met by state troopers. The marchers were attacked by the troopers, who beat them with night sticks, threw tear gas into the crowd and even charged the crowd on horseback. John Lewis had his skull fractured, among the many injuries to the marchers. Congressman Lewis was interviewed about the march by NPR on the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday; you can listen to that interview here.

The second march occurred on Tuesday, March 9. The marches proceeded to the same Edmund Pettus Bridge and began to pray. A judge had put a restraining order on King to forbid the march and King complied. In spite of that, three white ministers were attacked by Klan and beaten. The public hospital in Selma refused to treat the ministers, one of whom, James Reeb, died two days later.

The third, and final, march occurred on March 21, after a judge ruled that the protesters had a First Amendment right to march in protest. The march started with 8000 marches, including Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Frankie Laine and Nina Simone. On the night before they made it to Montgomery, Bennett and the other celebrities performed in an ad hoc concert for the marchers. There was no stage; a local funeral parlor provided coffins which were placed together to form a stage.

That night, Tony Bennett sang “Just In Time.”

When it was time to leave, Tony Bennett and Billy Eckstine were driven to the airport by a Michigan housewife named Viola Liuzzo, who believed strongly in voting rights, saying that “it was everybody’s fight” and came to Alabama to help. On her return from taking Bennett and Eckstine to the airport, she was attacked and killed by the Ku Klux Klan. NPR did a wonderful story about Mrs. Liuzzo and her family, which you can listen to here.

President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965.

Harry Belafonte and Tony Bennett discuss the march in this video:

I am personally very grateful to Tony Bennett for his lifelong fight against racism. Thank you. In his autobiography The Good Life, Bennett speaks about his father as being “… a real humanist. Astoria had quite a diverse population, and we learned at an early age to respect people for who they are, and not to judge them by the color of their skin or the way they looked.”

I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama when all of this was happening and saw much of it first-hand. My late parents were active in the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s; much like Viola Luizzo, they felt it was “everybody’s fight.” I learned the same lesson from my parents that Tony Bennett learned from his father. I am proud to be their daughter.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: 50th Anniversary March on Washington, Adolph Green, Bells Are Ringing, Betty Comden, Jule Styne, Martin Luther King

September 5, 2012 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Just In Time

The Song of the Day for September 5, 2012 is Just In Time.

About Just In Time

Written by Jule Styne (music) and Betty Comden and Adolph Green (lyrics), Just In Time is just one the great hits from the 1956 Broadway musical Bells Are Ringing.  The stars of the show, Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin introduced the song. Tony Bennett recorded the song in the same year, and it was a big hit for Mr. Bennett. The Party’s Over, another song recorded by Mr Bennett (Hometown, My Town in 1959) was the other major hit song from this wonderful score.

About This Version

Mr. Bennett has sung this song over his career, including his duet with Michael Bublé in the 2006 Duets album. But perhaps his most significant performance was never recorded. Starting on March 21, 1965, Tony Bennett marched with Martin Luther King, now-Congressman John Lewis, Ralph Bunche, Billy Eckstine, Leonard Bernstein and many, many others on the Third March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. On the evening of March 24, 1965 on a makeshift stage (created with coffins loaned by a local mortuary), a Stars for Freedom rally and concert was held. In addition to Mr. Bennett, the performers included Harry Belafonte, Frankie Laine, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter, Paul and Mary.

The documentary film Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends, contains a short clip from this concert (approximately 21:28 in). You can easily see how completely and totally exhausted Mr. Bennett was at this rally. He got up and sang Just In Time and for the American civil rights movement, it was just in time. As a result of the marches from Selma to Montgomery, President Johnson introduced and Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, major battle in the Civil Rights movement.

For today, we present Mr. Bennett’s original recording of Just in Time, released as single and compiled here on the first CD of the Fifty Years of Tony Bennett box set.

Just in Time

Listen to Just in Time on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1962.

As I write this topic, the First Lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama, just finished addressing the delegates to the 2012 Democratic Convention. To have such a moment in our history, we owe thanks to many brave Americans who have fought racism all their lives, including Tony Bennett. Thank you, Mr. Bennett.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Adolph Green, Bells Are Ringing, Betty Comden, Harry Belafonte, Jule Styne, Martin Luther King, Third March from Selma to Montgomery, Voting Rights Act

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