The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: It Was Me

The song of the day for Thursday, July 17, 2014 is “It Was Me.”

About This Song

Today’s song, originally titled “C’etait Moi”was written in 1960 by the French composer Gilbert Bécaud with lyrics by Maurice Vidalin. The English lyrics are by Norman Gimbel.

About This Version

This is one of my favorite summer songs. And according to this interview with NPR, Tony Bennett thinks so too.

“It Was Me” is dedicated to my online friend Jeff Macauley, whose cabaret show of songs by Norman Gimbel is titled “It Was Me.” One day I hope to see this show live, instead of in clips on YouTube.

http://open.spotify.com/track/27SCZ5Gnb7YxnzoBJo2sZJ
“It Was Me,” as well as the album I Wanna Be Around, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: How Insensitive

The song of the day for Friday, October 18, 2013 is “How Insensitive.”

About This Song

Known as “Insensatez” in the original Portuguese, “How Insensitive” was written by Antônio Carlos Jobim in 1963, with original lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes. The English lyrics are by Norman Gimbel. “How Insensitive” is one the earliest and best-known bossa nova songs from Brazil.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “How Insensitive” in 1965 for his album If I Ruled The World: Tony Bennett Songs For The Jet Set. The album, which features a photograph of Rio de Janiero on the cover, contains two Jobim songs, the other “Samba Do Avião” or “Song of the Jet,” opens the album.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4MBtFhEOGkP23PDWO44b0I
“How Insensitive,” as well as the album If I Ruled The World: Tony Bennett Songs For The Jet Set,” is available from iTunes and Amazon.

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Song of the Day: Watch What Happens

The song of the day for Sunday, August 25, 2013 is “Watch What Happens.”

About This Song

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies and my digital video recorder, I watched The Umbrellas of Cherbourg for the first time this evening and knew within in a few minutes of the movie that “Watch What Happens” had to be the song of the day. The melody runs throughout the entire film. The film was released in 1964 with a marvelous score by Michel Legrand and lyrics in French by Jacques Demy, who also directed the movie. The entire film is sung-through, though it should not be considered an opera. There are no songs sung by a chorus; it’s that instead of spoken dialogue, the dialogues is sung. And it works beautifully as a film. The English lyrics for “Watch What Happens” are by Norman Gimbel.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Watch What Happens” is from Tony Bennett’s 1965 album If I Ruled the World: Songs For the Jet Set. It was arranged and conducted by Don Costa; the album was produced by Ernie Altschuler. This is one of Bennett’s finest albums and includes other great songs, including “If I Ruled the World” and “Fly Me To The Moon.”

http://open.spotify.com/track/6J1m1Bse56jNnCy7opDbXb
“Watch What Happens,” as well as the album If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com (for vinyl fans, amazon.com has a new vinyl LP rerelease of this album for sale as well).

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Song of the Day: Watch What Happens

The song of the day for Saturday, June 29, 2013 is “Watch What Happens.”

About This Song

“Watch What Happens” was written in 1964 by Michel Legrand with English lyrics by Norman Gimbel for the film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Bennett’s masterful 1965 album If I Ruled the World – Songs For the Jet Set.

Tony Bennett has opened every concert of his that I have attended with this song, which makes me very happy because I love this song very much and never tire of hearing him sing it. (And yes, this dates back to seeing The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the tender age of fifteen. I think my parents took me because I was taking French in school at the time.)

http://open.spotify.com/track/6J1m1Bse56jNnCy7opDbXb
“Watch What Happens,” as well as the If I Ruled The World – Songs For the Jet Set, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: It Was Me

The song of the day for Sunday, June 23, 2013 is “It Was Me.”

About This Song

If there is a more perfect song to bring summer to life, I don’t know what it is. “It Was Me” was written by Gilbert Becaud  as “C’etait Moi,” with English lyrics by Norman Gimbel. It’s a beautiful love song that brings memories of summers past and, maybe, to come.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “It Was Me” for his 1963 album I Wanna Be Around. National Public Radio’s Melissa Block interviewed Tony Bennett about his favorite summer song, “It Was Me,” in 2009. Click here to listen to the story.

http://open.spotify.com/track/27SCZ5Gnb7YxnzoBJo2sZJ
“It Was Me,” as well as the entire I Wanna Be Around album, is available from iTunes.

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