The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: You Took Advantage of Me

The song of the day for Thursday, October 22, 2020, is “You Took Advantage of Me.”

About This Song

“You Took Advantage of Me” was written by Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart for the 1928 musical Present Arms. The song quickly found itself a popular standard and has been recorded many times, including those by Bing Crosby with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “You Took Advantage of Me” in 1961 for the album My Heart Sings. The album was arranged and conducted by Ralph Burns, who also arranged Hometown, My Town (a favorite of your blogger). Burns worked with Bennett on and off up to his work on Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool in 1999.

“You Took Advantage of Me,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Stella By Starlight

The song of the day for Tuesday, August 11,2020, is “Stella By Starlight.”

About This Song

“Stella By Starlight” was written in 1944 by Victor Young; the lyrics by Ned Washington were added in 1946. This song was introduced in the 1944 film The Uninvited. The song was recorded in 1947 by Harry James and Frank Sinatra; it has been frequently recorded ever since. It found its way as a jazz standard in the early 1950s, with recordings by Stan Getz, Bud Powell, and Stan Kenton. It ranks as the 10th most important jazz title at jazzstandards.com.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Stella By Starlight” in 1961 for the album My Heart Sings. Ralph Burns arranged and conducted this song, as well as the entire album.

“Stella By Starlight,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me

The song of the day for Thursday, July 1, 2020, is “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me.”

About This Song

“Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me” was written in 1933 by Rube Bloom and Ted Koehler and introduced in the Cotton Club Parade – World’s Fair Edition. It’s a beautiful song about the loss of love.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me” in 1961 for the album My Heart Sings. Ralph Burns wrote the arrangement and conducted; previously had worked with Tony on one of my favorites: Hometown, My Town. There were exceptional musicians on this album, including Milt Hinton, Eddie Costa, Mundell Lowe, and Bernie Jenkins.

“Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Dancing in the Dark

The song of the day for Wednesday, June 3, 2020, is “Dancing in the Dark.”

About This Song

“Dancing in the Dark” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the 1931 revue The Band Wagon and is widely considered to be the finest of the songs written by Schwartz and Dietz. Alec Wilder in American Popular Song describes it as “a very strong song with a superb, poetic lyric.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Dancing in the Dark” in 1961 for his album My Heart Sings. Ralph Burns, who arranged and conducted for Bennett’s 1959 album Hometown, My Town, arranged and conducted this album. I adore the work that Burns did for Bennett and love his big band-style arrangements.

“Dancing in the Dark,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: More Than You Know

The song of the day for Thursday, January 2, 2020, is “The song of the day for is ” More Than You Know.”

About This Song

More Than You Know” was written by Vincent Youmans, Billy Rose, and Edward Eliscu for the 1929 Broadway musical Great Day, which only ran for 36 performances. In spite of its poor run on Broadway, the score was considered very good and so it got sold to Hollywood, where it was to be a starring vehicle for Joan Crawford. Eight weeks into production, the film was shut down and was never released. Thankfully, this song remained popular, in many ways thanks to Fanny Brice, who was married to Billy Rose, and sang the song in her performances with the Ziegfeld Follies. It has been widely recorded by jazz and popular artists since it was written.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “More Than You Know” for his 1961 album My Heart Sings. Ralph Burns, who had collaborated with Bennett in 1959 for Hometown, My Town, was the arranger and conductor for the album.

” More Than You Know,” as well as My Heart Sings, is available from iTunes.”

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