The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Moonglow

The song of the day for Sunday, May 5, 2013, is Moonglow.

About This Song

Moonglow was written in 1933 by Will Hudson and Irving Mills, with lyrics by Eddie DeLange. First recorded in 1933 by Joe Venuti and his Orchestra, Moonglow has remained popular over the years. It has been recorded by Art Tatum, Billie Holiday, Ethel Waters and Benny Goodman.

About This Version

This recording of Moonglow is the first time that Tony Bennett and k.d. lang sang together. The duet was beautiful and has led to the two performers working together on several albums, including A Wonderful World.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2K0zDMWf0q0jg05QRnwCPU
Moonglow, as well as the full MTV Unplugged live album, is available from iTunes.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Fly Me To The Moon

As we feature the best of Tony Bennett’s live recordings, the song of the day for Monday, January 21, 2013 is Fly Me To The Moon.

About Fly Me To The Moon

Originally titled In Other Words, Fly Me to the Moon was written in 1954 by Bart Howard. It was first recorded in the same year by Kaye Ballard. Tony Bennett first recorded the song in 1965 on If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set.

About This Version

There is nothing I love better than hearing Mr. Bennett sing this song without a microphone in a concert hall; it’s truly remarkable. This live version from the MTV Unplugged concert helps me recreate the memory of that sound.

Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) - Live Version

Listen to Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) - Live Version on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1994

Fly Me To The Moon, as well as the full MTV Unplugged Album, is available from iTunes. A DVD of the program is available from Amazon, as well as other retailers.

By 1 Comment

Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing

I needed some Duke Ellington today and so the song of the day for Monday, December 3, 2012 is It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing

About It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing

This great song was composed by Duke Ellington in 1931, with lyrics by Irving Mills. It was first recorded in 1932 by Ellington’s orchestra with vocals by Ivie Anderson and instrumental solos by Joe Nanton and Johnny Hodges.  In addition to being a terrific song, it also introduced the term “swing” into the jazz vocabulary and was cornerstone for the swing era. It’s an often-recorded song by vocal (Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone) and instrumental artists (Thelonius Monk, Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli). And it swings like crazy!

About This Version

This version is from the Grammy-winning album MTV Unplugged, released in 1994. It features some wonderful drumming by Clayton Cameron.

This song, as well as the entire album MTV Unplugged, is available on iTunes.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Body and Soul

The Song of the Day for Wednesday, November 28, 2012 is Body and Soul.

About Body and Soul

Body and Soul was written in 1930 by Johnny Green, with lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton.  In its first year of publication, it was recorded by eleven different groups. Louis Armstrong was the first jazz artist to record the song in October 1930 with his Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra. It is thought to be the most often recorded jazz standard. Significant  recordings include those by Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Dexter Gordon.

About This Version

This version of Body and Soul is the live recording from Tony Bennett’s Grammy-winning 1994 MTV Unplugged. The Year of Tony Bennett loves Mr. Bennett singing live and all of the songs on this album are wonderful to listen to. On this song, as well as the entire album,  he is backed by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Mr. Sharon on piano, Doug Richeson on bass, and Clayton Cameron on drums.

This version of Body and Soul, as well as the entire MTV Unplugged album can be purchased at iTunes.

By Leave a Comment

Speak Low

The Song of the Day for July 26 is Speak Low by Kurt Weill (music) and Ogden Nash (lyrics) from the Broadway musical One Touch of Venus. Mr. Bennett sings the song often and it appears on several of his albums. Today is a live version from the 1994 MTV Unplugged album. The Year of Tony Bennett loves his live performances.