The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Just In Time

The song of the day for Monday, January 18, 2021, is “Just In Time.”

About This Song

“Just In Time” was written for the 1956 Broadway musical Bells Are Ringing; the music was composed by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden. It was introduced by Judy Holliday and Sidney Chaplin; Holliday and Dean Martin sang it in the 1960 film version of Bells Are Ringing.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Just In Time” on my birthday in 1956 and it was released as a single that year. It was later added to his 1962 album Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits.

In 1965 Harry Belafonte, a good friend of Bennett’s, asked him to join Martin Luther King, Jr. for the third Selma march, the march after Bloody Sunday. This interview with Harry Belafonte and Tony Bennett, conducted by Chris Cuomo, tells the story:

In 1978, the miniseries King was aired, starring Paul Winfield as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cecily Tyson as Coretta Scott King. Tony Bennett played himself and recreated his performance.. The entire miniseries is available on YouTube; I cued it up to Bennett’s performance:

Just in Time

Listen to Just in Time on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1962

“Just In Time,” as well as Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Stranger in Paradise

The song of the day for Saturday, March 9, 2019, is “Stranger in Paradise.”

About This Song

“Stranger in Paradise” was written in 1953 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, based on Alexander Borodin’s “Gilding Dance of the Maidens.” It was the hugely popular song from the 1953 musical Kismet. The popularity of Kismet is due in large part to Tony Bennett. At the time Kismet was preparing to open, New York City was having a massive newspaper strike and publicizing the opening of the musical was nearly impossible. The producers asked Tony Bennett to record “Stranger in Paradise” to help promote the production. His version was a hit and so was Kismet.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Stranger in Paradise” in 1953 and features an arrangement by Percy Faith; it was released as single that year. Today’s song was included on the 1962 Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits.

Stranger in Paradise – Remastered

Stranger in Paradise – Remastered, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“Stranger in Paradise,” as well as Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits, is available from iTunes.

About Today

For our video today, we have Tony singing his duet of “Stranger in Paradise” with Andrea Bocelli for the album Duets II.

Stranger In Paradise (from Duets II: The Great Performances)

Tony Bennett & Andrea Bocelli’s official music video for ‘Stranger In Paradise’. Click to listen to Tony Bennett on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/TonyBennettSpotify?IQid=TonyBSIP As featured on Duets II.

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Song of the Day: Just In Time

The song of the day for Friday, March 1, 2019, is “Just In Time”

About This Song

Written by Jule Styne, Adolph Green, and Betty Comden, “Just in Time” is one of the great songs from the 1956 musical Bells Are Ringing, where it was introduced by Judy Holliday and Sidney Chaplin. Holliday and Dean Martin sang it in the 1960 film version of Bells Are Ringing.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Just In Time” in 1956, featuring an arrangement by Percy Faith. It was initially released as a single and was included on Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits, released in 1962.

Just in Time – Remastered

Just in Time – Remastered, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“Just In Time,” as well as Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Just In Time

The song of the day for Sunday, August 13, 2017 is “Just In Time.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Just In Time,” was composed by Jule Style, with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, for the 1956 musical Bells Are Ringing. The stars of the show, Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin introduced the song. Tony Bennett recorded the song from the same year, and it was a big hit for Mr. Bennett. “The Party’s Over,” another song recorded by Mr. Bennett (Hometown, My Town in 1959) was the other major hit song from this wonderful

About This Version

Mr. Bennett has sung this song over his career, including his duet with Michael Bublé in the 2006 Duets album. But perhaps his most significant performance was never recorded. Starting on March 21, 1965, Tony Bennett marched with Martin Luther King, now-Congressman John Lewis, Ralph Bunche, Billy Eckstine, Leonard Bernstein and many, many others on the Third March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. On the evening of March 24, 1965 on a makeshift stage (created with coffins loaned by a local mortuary), a Stars for Freedom rally and concert was held. In addition to Mr. Bennett, the performers included Harry Belafonte, Frankie Laine, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter, Paul and Mary.

The documentary film Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends, contains a short clip filmed by Tony Bennett as part of a documentary about the march (approximately 21:28 in).

Bennett got up and sang Just In Time and for the American civil rights movement, it was just in time. As a result of the marches from Selma to Montgomery, President Johnson introduced and Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, major battle in the Civil Rights movement.

For today, we present Mr. Bennett’s original recording of “Just in Time,” released as single and also included on the 1962 album Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits. It was arranged by Percy Faith.

Just in Time

Listen to Just in Time on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1962


“Just In Time,” as well as Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Just In Time

The song of the day for Tuesday, May 23, 2017 is “Just In Time.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Just In Time,” was written in 1956 for the musical Bells Are Ringing by Jule Style, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The production starred the glorious Judy Holliday, who introduced the song along with Sidney Chaplin. Ms. Holliday also starred in the film version of Bells Are Ringing; this time her co-star was Dean Martin.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded today’s version of “Just In Time” in 1956, featuring an arrangement by Percy Faith. It was released as a single in 1959 and was added to the 1962 album Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits.

Just in Time

Listen to Just in Time on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1962


“Just In Time,” as well as Mr. Broadway: Tony’s Greatest Broadway Hits, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Today we remember Tony’s good friend Rosemary Clooney, who was born on May 23, 1928 in Kentucky. She and Tony became good friends in 1950 and remained friends until her death in 2002. I’m happy to feature Ms. Clooney’s recording of “Just In Time,” recorded in 1980.

Just In Time

Listen to Just In Time on Spotify. Song · Rosemary Clooney · 2008

Tony remembered Rosemary Clooney in this article from Entertainment Weekly:

Observing all the frenzy over the popular TV show ”American Idol,” I couldn’t help but remember that 50 years ago Rosemary Clooney and I helped pioneer that show’s premise. It was called ”Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts,” and what made it a little different was that it showcased rising young talent rather than pure amateurs. I was fortunate enough to get a spot on the program along with an unknown Rosemary Clooney. Rosie won that night [in 1950], and it’s funny: I can remember perfectly her performance of ”Golden Earrings,” but I still can’t recall the song I sang.

Our joint appearance was a shared beginning for us, as we both got signed to Columbia Records at the same time. We were the two new kids on the block, so to speak. One of my fondest memories of working with Rosie in those early years was our participation in a show called ”Songs for Sale.” The idea behind the program was to have us perform songs that were sent in by amateur songwriters. The lyrics of these forgettable tunes were on cue cards, but often the stagehands would hold them upside down and Rosie and I would just make up lyrics on our own (it was live TV back then). Shortly thereafter, Mitch Miller landed a 15-minute network radio show on CBS called ”Steppin’ Out,” which Rosie and I did together. It helped to introduce us to the public, and we were on our way to selling millions of records.

Through the years we maintained a wonderful brother-and-sister relationship in music and life. Take my word, not only was she Mother Earth, she was perfect. She was a natural singer and entertainer. I think the best description I ever heard of her came from the filmmaker Mike Nichols, who said she ”sings like Spencer Tracy acts.