An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
The song of the day for Tuesday, May 10, 2016 is “It Never Was You.”
“It Never Was You” was written by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson for the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday, the score of which also included “September Song.”
Tony Bennett recorded “It Never Was You” in 1961 for his album My Heart Sings. The arrangement is by Ralph Burns.
It Never Was You
Listen to It Never Was You on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1961.
The song of the day for Saturday, January 1, 2016 is “Lost In The Stars.”
“Lost in the Stars” by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson is from the 1949 musical of the same name, based on the 1948 novel by Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country. Set in South Africa in an era when apartheid seemed as if it would never end, the plot concerns a black priest whose son kills, in a robbery attempt, a white man who is a friend of his father. The priest sings this song at the end of the first act, in a complete crisis of faith.
This song is a favorite of Tony Bennett and he’s recorded it several times; some may remember this song was used at the end of The Zen Of Bennett, which is you haven’t seen it, I strongly recommend that you do (it’s on Netflix streaming, by the way).
Today’s version was recorded in 1958 for his 1959 album with Count Basie and His Orchestra, In Person! The fine arrangement is by Ralph Sharon.
Lost In The Stars
Listen to Lost In The Stars on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1959.
The song of the day for Friday, September 11, 2015 is “Lost In The Stars.”
“Lost in the Stars” was composed in 1949 by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson. The song is from the 1949 musical of the same name, based on the 1948 novel by Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country. Set in South Africa in an era when apartheid seemed as if it would never end, the plot concerns a black priest whose son, in a robbery attempt, kills a white man who is a friend of his father. The priest sings this song at the end of the first act, in a complete crisis of faith.
Tony Bennett has recorded this song many times and all of the versions are wonderful. Today’s version is his first recording of “Lost In the Stars” and was recorded on June 6, 1956. This song was conducted by Ray Conniff. The arrangement is, I believe, from the uncredited Marion Evans. Other songs on the album were arranged by Neal Hefti, Gil Evans and Don Costa. “Lost In The Stars” was released in January 1957 on Bennett’s second full-length album, Tony.
Lost In the Stars
Listen to Lost In the Stars on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1957.
The song of the day for Sunday, December 14, 2014 is “Lost in the Stars.”
“Lost in the Stars” is from the 1949 musical of the same name, based on the 1948 novel by Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country. It was written by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson. Set in South Africa in an era when apartheid seemed as if it would never end, the plot concerns a black priest whose son kills, in a robbery attempt, a white man who is a friend of his father. The priest sings this song at the end of the first act, in a complete crisis of faith.
This is Tony Bennett’s second recording of this song; he has recorded it several times. Today’s version was recorded in 1958 with Count Basie and His Orchestra. It appears on their album In Person!, released in 1959.
Lost In The Stars
Listen to Lost In The Stars on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1959.
The song of the day for Tuesday, September 9, 2014 is “September Song.”
“September Song,” by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson, was written for the Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday, which opened in 1938 and starred Walter Huston. Huston had requested to have a solo song in the production and so Weill and Anderson wrote “September Song” with careful attention to Huston’s limited singing skills. In spite of a limited range, the poignant quality of the lyrics and the charming tune make for a quite pleasant song that has found great popularity among singers, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and even Lou Reed.
Tony Bennett recorded “September Song” in 1959 for the album To My Wonderful One, released in 1960. The album was arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol and produced by Mitch Miller and Al Ham. In addition to today’s song, this album has several other great songs by Bennett including “Speak Low,” “Last Night When We Were Young,” “Laura” and “April in Paris.” The entire album is well worth a listen.
September Song
Listen to September Song on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1960.