The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: You’re All the World To Me

The song of the day for Thursday, June 19, 2014 is “You’re All The World To Me.”

About This Song

“You’re All The World To Me” was written in 1950 by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner for the wonderful 1951 Fred Astaire film Royal Wedding. This is the song of Astaire’s famous dancing on the ceiling number.

About This Version

Both of us woke up this morning, independently, thinking about how much we wanted to see Tony Bennett in concert. It was a powerful wish, as at 10:00 am I got an email from the Oregon Symphony letting me know that Tony Bennett, along with his daughter Antonia, would be performing on November 5 here in Portland, Oregon. (Needless to say, I’ve already bought my tickets.) As a result of thinking of this upcoming concert, I have been in a mood for Bennett’s live recorded concerts.

In that frame of mind, I chose “You’re All The World To Me,” from his 1994 MTV Unplugged concert.

http://open.spotify.com/track/5HlMUQuzjkdhv5Y7ix2HZR
“You’re All The World To Me,” as well as the concert recording of MTV Unplugged, is available from iTunes.

Even after I learned how this shot was accomplished, I never cease to wonder at this number. Thanks to YouTube, I’m able to share it today:

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Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

The song of the day for Sunday, June 1, 2014 is “Fly Me To The Moon.”

About This Song

Written in 1954, “Fly Me To The Moon” was originally titled “In Other Words,” but the song was not doing that well, in spite of several recordings. In 1962, Howard renamed the song to “Fly Me To The Moon,” and the song began to catch on. Tony Bennett’s 1965 recording for If I Ruled The World was a big hit for Bennett. There have been many recordings of the song, including those by Frank Sinatra, Kaye Ballard and many more. However, Bart Howard told Bennett that his 1965 recording was “the definitive performance of this song.”

Your blogger first heard Tony Bennet sing “Fly Me To The Moon” at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Washington on September 14, 2007. This was my first Tony Bennett concert. By the time I bought my tickets, there were no orchestra seats left and I could only get tickets in what was (optimistically) called the mezzanine. At that time, I didn’t know that at certain concert halls, Mr. Bennett sometimes sings this song a capella, without a microphone. Towards the end of the concert, he put down his microphone and started to sing “Fly Me To The Moon.” Even in back of the house, his voice filled the auditorium. All of us hung on every note, never wanting this beauty to ever end. I’ve since heard him do the song without a microphone, but nothing could have prepared me for that first moment. It was, and remains, a moment of pure magic.

The Year of Tony Bennett notes that the author of this song, Bart Howard, was born on June 1, 1915 in Burlington, Iowa and died in 2004. On what would have been his 99th birthday, we are pleased to dedicate today’s song to his memory and offer our thanks for this quite wonderful song.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Bennett’s legendary television appearance on MTV Unplugged in front of a live audience. Accompanied by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Doug Richeson on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums, Tony Bennett reached a whole new audience, singing the songs he likes to sing, sung the way he likes to sing them. This album won the coveted Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

http://open.spotify.com/track/6YNDwlmzhWcTHt70Mq9IIE
“Fly Me To The Moon,” as well as the album MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: When Joanna Loved Me

The song of the day for Saturday, May 17, 2014 is “When Joanna Loved Me.”

About This Song

“When Joanna Loved Me” was written in 1964, with music by Jack Segal and lyrics by Robert Wells. While this song is strongly associated with Tony Bennett, it has also been recorded by Frank Sinatra and Paul Desmond, among others. Bennett mentions in concert, as he also does on today’s video, that he loves singing the song so much that he named his first daughter Johanna. For his 1990 album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, he asked Wells and Segal to write a song for his other daughter, Antonia, which can be heard here. Antonia Bennett is a wonderful singer and often opens for her father in concert.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “When Joanna Loved Me” in 1964 for the album The Many Moods of Tony; the song was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning. It is also collected on his box set: 40/50/60 Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett.

http://open.spotify.com/track/09YTaXc5Sk0rOQ6ighuEaV
“When Joanna Loved Me,” as well as the album The Many Moods of Tony, is available from iTunes.

Because it’s YouTube Saturday, The Year of Tony Bennett is pleased to present Mr. Bennett singing this same song at the 1994 MTV Unplugged telecast. A DVD of the telecast is available from Amazon.

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Song of the Day: Moonglow

The song of the day for February 11, 2014 is “Moonglow.”

About This Song

“Moonglow” was written in 1933, with music by Will Hudson and Irving Mills and lyrics by Eddie DeLange. It was first recorded by Joe Venuti. 1934 saw recordings by Ethel Waters and Benny Goodman and His Orchestra and the song has been part of the jazz canon ever since. The song became popular again in 1955 when it was used in the movie Picnic, which starred William Holden and Kim Novac, who danced to this song in the film. You can view a video of this scene from Picnic on YouTube.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Moonglow” is from the MTV Unplugged concert and features Tony Bennett in a duet with k.d. lang. This performance was the first time they sang together, and they’ve been singing together ever since.

We are pleased to choose this song today in honor of k.d. lang’s Broadway debut in After Midnight. For more information about her appearance in After Midnight, see k.d. lang Hits The Big White Way on this blog.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0Mgg7hAuhRg9MbPpHpY9sb
“Moonglow,” as well as the MTV Unplugged album, is available from iTunes.

And even though it’s not yet YouTube Saturday, we have a video of their performance from the concert.

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Song of the Day: Steppin’ Out With My Baby

The song of the day for Sunday, January 26, 2014 is “Steppin’ Out With My Baby.”

About This Song

“Steppin’ Out With My Baby” was written by Irving Berlin for the 1948 movie Easter Parade, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. The song has been widely recorded by many jazz and popular singers, though today it is strongly associated with Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” is from Tony Bennett’s 1994 MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett album, as presented live on MTV. On this album, Bennett is accompanied by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Doug Richeson on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums. Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon did all of the arrangements for the album.

MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett not only won Tony Bennett the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, but took the coveted Album of the Year Grammy award.

The Year of Tony Bennett wishes Mr. Bennett the very best of luck at tonight’s Grammy Awards, where Viva Duets is nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0m8gkoSVEsZFNa6n3zBPhl
“Steppin’ Out With My Baby,” as well as the MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett album, is available from iTunes.