The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Tony Live! Rags to Riches

The song of the day for Sunday, February 23, 2020, is “Rags to Riches.”

About This Song

“Rags to Riches” was written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross in 1953. When Tony Bennett first heard “Rags to Riches,” he hated the song and was forced by Mitch Miller to record it. With a very nice arrangement by Percy Faith, the recording was a big hit for Bennett and earned him a gold record. Thankfully, Bennett grew to enjoy singing the song. Martin Scorcese used the 1953 recording in the opening of Goodfellas, which helped find a new audience for this song.

About This Version

Tony Bennett sang “Rags to Riches” at the Washington DC concert in 1962, as captured on Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962.

“Rags to Riches,” as well as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Street of Dreams

The song of the day for Thursday, October 10, 2019, is “Street of Dreams.”

About This Song

“Street of Dreams” was written in 1932 by Victor Young and Sam M. Lewis. The song has a classic depression-era sense, where love is one of the few things that may be impossible for those with money, but “no one is poor as long as love is sure.” Bing Crosby was the first singer to record “Street of Dreams”; the Russ Columbo recording was also popular.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon recorded “Street of Dreams” on October 28, 1959, at the famous CBS 30th Street Studio. On that day, Bennett and Sharon came in with nothing but a briefcase full of sheet music and recorded sixteen songs, twelve of which were released on Tony Sings For Two, which wasn’t released until 1961.

Tony remembers the session in his autobiography The Good Life:

We booked time in the studio and pored through music books, trying one tune after another. The arrangements were spontaneous, and we finished each song in one or more takes. … Mitch Miller showed up at the start of the session, furious that I was going through with it. When he saw there was no dissauding me, he turned to Frank Laico and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.” Tony Sings For Two turned out to be one of my finest records ever.

“Street of Dreams,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Bewitched

The song of the day for Tuesday, September 17, 2019, is “Bewitched.”

About Today

Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett’s long-term pianist and musical director, was born on September 17, 1923, in London. Sharon first started working with Tony Bennett in 1957 and, after a hiatus in the late 1960s and 1970s, rejoined Bennett, touring and recording until his retirement in 2001. Ralph Sharon passed away on March 31, 2015. Tony remembered him in his book Just Getting Started:

I’m still inspired and guided by what Ralph told me so many years ago, in so many words: keep growing, and believe in what you do. I lost a real brother when Ralph passed away in 2015. I hope to keep going for a while. But it’s nice to know that when my time comes, Ralph and I will accompany each other.

About This Song

“Bewitched,” which often goes by its “full” name “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered,” was written in 1940 by Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart for the Broadway musical Pal Joey. Notable recordings are by Benny Goodman, Mel Tormé, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. Alec Wilder admired the lyric and the verse, but found the song “notey.” In spite of being notey, it’s a cornerstone of the American Songbook.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon recorded “Bewitched” on October 29, 1959. Bennett describes that day in Getting Started:

We booked time at the studio and pored through music books, trying one tune after another. The arrangements were spontaneous, and we finished each song in one or two takes. In one afternoon we laid down sixteen tunes—which must be some kind of record—twelve of which made is onto the album, which became 1961’s Tony Sings For Two. Mitch Miller showed up at the start of these sessions, furious that I was really going through with it. When he saw that there was no dissuading me, he turned to Frank Laico and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.” Tony Sings For Two turned out to be one of my finest records ever.

Tony Sings For Two wasn’t released until 1961. It’s a remarkable album created by two remarkable artists.

“Bewitched,” as well as Tony Sings For Two, is available from iTunes.

As a postscript, I will also note the search term used by an anonymous reader who found information about this song on this blog by typing “bewiced bwildered”. Other related search terms include “how to play like Ralph Sharon” and my favorite of all “i just want to hear tony bennett and nobody else right now”.

I think if I were ever tempted to write an essay or book about my experience with The Year of Tony Bennett, I would have to name it I Just Want to Hear Tony Bennett and Nobdy Else Right Now.

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Song of the Day: Blue Velvet

The song of the day for Friday, July 26, 2019, is “Blue Velvet.”

About This Song

“Blue Velvet” was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris. Tony Bennett’s 1951 recording of “Blue Velvet” was the first recording of the song and was one of his early hits for Columbia.

About This Version

“Blue Velvet” was recorded on July 17, 1951, and was released as a single that same year. It was arranged by Percy Faith. Tony tells this story in his autobiography, The Good Life:

Mitch Miller customarily reserved Monday afternoons to audition new material, and songwriters and demo singers lined up the entire length of the hall outside Mitch’s office. When songwriter Bernie Wayne got his chance to play “Blue Velvet” for Mitch, he got as far as the first line, “She wore blue velvet …” when Mitch interrupted an said, “How about Tony Bennett?” Bernie said, “Don’t you want to hear the rest of the song?” and Mitch answered, “Quit while you’re ahead.”

Blue Velvet – Remastered

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“Blue Velvet,” as well as The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: In The Middle of an Island

The song of the day for Friday, July 28, 2017 is “In The Middle of an Island.”

About This Song

“In The Middle of an Island” was written in 1957 by Ted Varnick and Nick Acquaviva.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “In The Middle of an Island” in 1957. He relates his feelings about this song in his autobiography The Good Life:

During my first recording session with Ralph (Sharon) I was practically forced to record what is probably my least favorite hit song, “In the Middle of an Island,” and he had the pleasure, such as it was, of witnessing my worst disagreement ever with Mitch Miller. As I’ve said, if Mitch brought me a song I really didn’t like, I’d simply refuse to do it. He’d keep pushing me, and I’d keep turning him down, until one of us relented. But in the case of “In the Middle of an Island,” neither one of us would let up. He was absolutely determined that I record it, and I was equally determined not to go anywhere near that terrible song.

Mitch had worked up a big arrangement with a vocal group and four guitars. He said, “You should show the world what a varied palette you have. It’s only going to be one side of a single. Am I going to have you put out a bad record?” I didn’t answer that. Mitch didn’t let up on me, and everybody was standing around waiting for me to do something. It was still early in my career, I was still an amateur, and I hadn’t gotten over the fear that I might be dropped from the label, so I began to sing the song halfheartedly. I suddenly developed a throat problem, and said I couldn’t complete a take. But Mitch wasn’t buying any of it. He told me, “Come on, just give me one take all the way through and we can all go home.” So I thought, “The hell with it!” I took off my jacket and tied it around my waist like a grass skirt, started doing a hula dance, and managed to get through one take. That’s all I would do. To my great annoyance it actually got in the top ten. But I’ve never received one request for that song in all the years I’ve been performing since.

In The Middle Of An Island – 2011 Remaster

In The Middle Of An Island – 2011 Remaster, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify


“In The Middle of an Island,” as well as the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 5, is available from iTunes.

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