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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

November 30, 2016 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

The song of the day for Thursday, December 1, 2016 is “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

About This Song

Harry Warren and Al Dubin wrote “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” in 1933 for the movie Moulin Rouge, where it was sung by Constance Bennett. Although numerous artists have recorded “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (including Bing Crosby 1944), this song is very strongly identified with Tony Bennett. In fact, his demo record of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” was heard by Mitch Miller and got Bennett his recording contract with Columbia Records.

About This Version

It seems appropriate that we kick off our songwriter of the month songs with the Warren song that started Tony Bennett’s career. Today we feature his 1950 recording, from his first Columbia recording session in April, 1950. The single was released in May, 1950. The arrangement is by Marty Manning.

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Listen to The Boulevard of Broken Dreams on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2011.


“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” as well as The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Because virtually all of the Harry Warren songs we’ll be featuring this month were written for film, I thought it would be fun to include, when available, film clips of the songs as they were performed. Here’s the clip from Moulin Rouge:

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

No Description

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Al Dubin, Harry Warren, Moulin Rouge

January 10, 2016 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

The song of the day for is “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

About This Song

Harry Warren and Al Dubin wrote “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” in 1933 for the movie Moulin Rouge, where it was sung by Constance Bennett. Although numerous artists have recorded “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (including Bing Crosby 1944), this song is very strongly identified with Tony Bennett. In fact, his demo record of “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” was heard by Mitch Miller and got Bennett his first recording contract with Columbia Records.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song several times early in his career. As much as I love those recordings, I am quite partial to this version from Bennett’s 1989 recording for Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, released in 1990. The arrangement is by Jorge Calandrelli.

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Listen to The Boulevard of Broken Dreams on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1990.


“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” as well as Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Al Dubin, Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, Harry Warren, Jorge Calandrelli, Moulin Rouge

September 3, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

The song of the day for Thursday, September 3, 2015 is “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

About This Song

Harry Warren and Al Dubin wrote “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” in 1933 for the movie Moulin Rouge, where it was sung by Constance Bennett. Although numerous artists have recorded “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (including Bing Crosby 1944), this song is very strongly identified with Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Today’s recording is the first recording that Tony Bennett made for Columbia Records: CO 43129 on April 17, 1950. It was conducted and arranged by Marty Manning and produced by Mitch Miller. In October 1949, Bennett had made demo disk with this song and “Crazy Rhythm,” both arranged by Tony Tamburello. In fact, this demo record of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” was heard by Mitch Miller and got Bennett his recording contract with Columbia Records.

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Listen to The Boulevard of Broken Dreams on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2011.


“The Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” as well as all of the songs on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: 1950, Al Dubin, Harry Warren, Moulin Rouge

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