The song of the day for Tuesday, July 1, 2014 is “Cloudy Morning.”

About This Song

“Cloudy Morning” was written in 1958 by Marvin Fisher (music) and Joseph Allen McCarthy, Jr. (lyrics). This song is favorite of jazz and cabaret performers including Julie London, Peggy Lee and Carmen McRae.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s album Here’s To The Ladies, in which he sings songs that are strongly identified with female singers. “Cloudy Morning” is for Carmen McRae, who recorded it in 1965 on her album Second To None. The liner notes for Here’s To The Ladies says this about Carmen McRae:

Carmen was an original. She played such sensible piano that she became her own finest accompanist. She was a great musician with impeccable taste–and courage in finding new songs to sing.

I’ve been a Carmen McRae fan for years. The first version of “A New York State Of Mind” that I ever heard was by her on her 1971 album Ms. Magic. 40+ years later, that version still thrills me as does most of her work.

http://open.spotify.com/track/14vvYjnv03hHNyCLGy1qWZ
“Cloudy Morning,” as well as the album Here’s To The Ladies, is available from iTunes.