The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Rags To Riches

The song of the day for Monday, July 10, 2017 is “Rags To Riches.”

About This Song

“Rags To Riches” was written in 1953 by songwriting team of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Rags to Riches” on March 17, 1953, at the CBS 30th Street Studio. The song was produced by Mitch Miller and arranged by Percy Faith.

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 huge hit for Bennett and earned him a gold record. Thankfully, Bennett grew to enjoy singing the song. Martin Scorsese used the 1953 recording in the opening of Goodfellas, which helped find a new audience for this song.

Rags to Riches

Listen to Rags to Riches on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“Rags To Riches,” as well as the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 2, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Cold, Cold Heart

The song of the day for Friday, July 7, 2017 is “Cold, Cold Heart.”

About This Song

“Cold, Cold Heart” was written by Hank Williams in 1951.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Cold, Cole Heart” on May 31, 1951. Percy Faith did the arrangement and Mitch Miller was, of course, the producer.

Bennett tells this story in his autobiography The Good Life:

When Mitch first played me Hank Williams’s “Cold, Cold Heart,” I have to admit I didn’t think I should sing it. In those days country artists still used the old-time fiddle, and I told Mitch that I couldn’t do it. He told me just to listen to the words and music, pointing out how beautiful the ending was: “Why can’t I free your doubtful mind/ And melt your cold, cold heart?” He convinced me, and I recorded it. The song started out slowly at first, but it caught on, and it kept climbing the charts until it was number one.

The success of the song resulted in Bennett being a guest star at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. I found this wonderful photo:

June Carter, Tony Bennett, Ernest Tubb, Patsy Cline

Even though the quality of the photo is very poor, how can anyone resist these four artists singing “I Saw the Light.”

Cold, Cold Heart

Listen to Cold, Cold Heart on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“Cold, Cold Heart,” as well as all of the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Because Of You

The song of the day for Wednesday, July 5, 2017 is “Because Of You.”

About This Song

“Because of You” was written in 1940 by Arthur Hammerstein (Oscar’s uncle) and Dudley Wilkinson.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Because of You” on April 4, 1951. It was arranged by Percy Faith and produced by Mitch Miller. The song was Bennett’s first major hit.

Tony Bennett relates in his book The Good Life:

By the spring of 1951, I was told that if I didn’t get a hit soon I’d be dropped from the label. I went into Percy’s office and he said, “In this next session you really have to deliver. We have only three songs ready, so we need another song.” I remember that he looked through a bunch of sheet music on his desk, grabbed a song, and said, “Well, let’s do this one.” That song was “Because Of You.”

Because of You

Listen to Because of You on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“Because Of You,” as well as all of the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

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Happy Birthday to Mitch Miller

The Year of Tony Bennett would like to recognize the anniversary of the birth of Mitch Miller on July 4, 1911.

I uncovered this video of Tony, Mitch with his oboe, and Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion from 1969. I kid you not. I will state that I don’t think Tony was cut out to smoke a pipe or, as in this video, use it as a prop.

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Song of the Day: Don’t Cry Baby

The song of the day for Tuesday, July 4, 2017 is “Don’t Cry Baby.”

About This Song

“Don’t Cry Baby” was written in 1929 by James P. Johnson, Saul Bernie and Stella Unger. Jimmy Johnson was a composer and pianist who, along with Jelly Roll Morton, came into prominence in the era between ragtime and the stride piano techniques in early jazz. Saul Bernie and Stella Unger were both composers who were active in the 1920s. It was first sung by Bessie Smith in 1929. Erskine Hawkins recorded it in 1943; this version reached #1 on the Harlem Hit Parade in 1943 and #15 on the popular charts. Etta James recorded it in 1961 as well.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Don’t Cry Baby” on October 1, 1950. This time, his arranger was Norman Leyden; the recording was produced by Mitch Miller. This early recording has always fascinated me. It’s a great song and you can feel the young Bennett stretching out just a bit for this blues song.

Don"t Cry Baby

Listen to Don"t Cry Baby on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“Don’t Cry Baby,” as well as all the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

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