The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Speak Low

The song of the day for Wednesday, December 11, 2013 is “Speak Low.”

About This Song

“Speak Low” was written by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by poet Ogden Nash, for the 1943 Broadway musical One Touch of Venus, where it was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker. Guy Lombardo had a hit single with “Speak Low” in 1944 and it has been recorded steadily ever since. Other recordings, in addition to Tony Bennett’s, include those by Billie Holiday, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. Bill Evans recorded an instrumental version of the song.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Speak Low” is from Tony Bennett’s autobiographical album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, released in 1990. Bennett has recorded this song several times, starting with his 1960 recording for To My Wonderful One, his 1962 Carnegie Hall concert and the unreleased On The Glory Road (now available on iTunes), his 1964 album with the Ralph Sharon Trio When Lights Are Low and in 1964 for his appearance on MTV Unplugged. I’d have to guess that he really loves this song, as do I and many of his fans.

http://open.spotify.com/track/46Ff6AUwxX9OLGdDPHXGa4
“Speak Low,” as well as the album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Speak Low

The song of the day for Thursday, November 14, 2013 is “Speak Low.”

About This Song

“Speak Low” was written by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by poet Ogden Nash, for the 1943 Broadway musical One Touch of Venus. The song was introduced by the two stars: Mary Martin and Kenny Baker. Guy Lombardo recorded one of the first versions of this song that became a big hit.

This song is now considered a jazz standard (#120 on jazzstandards.com) and has received many fine recordings, including those by Tony Bennett (who first recorded it in 1959 for the album To My Wonderful One), Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass, and Barbra Streisand. You can read more about Speak Low at The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography.

About This Version

Tony Bennett included “Speak Low” on his autobiographical 1990 album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist. This songs on the album are the story of his return to Astoria after serving in Europe during World War II. In Astoria, we hear about the hopes and dreams of a young man finding his way, thinking about the future and his love for his hometown. Astoria is one of my very favorite Tony Bennett albums.

“Speak Low,” as well as the entire album, was arranged and conducted by Jorge Calandrelli, with whom Mr. Bennett has worked with steadily up to today.

http://open.spotify.com/track/46Ff6AUwxX9OLGdDPHXGa4
“Speak Low.” as well as Astoria: Portrait of the Artist is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Speak Low

We at the Year of Tony Bennett have the great fortune to be attending Tony Bennett’s concert on Saturday, June 15 in Tacoma, Washington at the Pantages Theater. To help us get in the mood (as if we need help), we’ll be featuring songs from recordings of live performances this week.

The song of the day for Monday, June 10, 2013 is “Speak Low.”

About This Song

“Speak Low” was written by Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash for the 1943 Broadway musical One Touch of Venus, where it was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker. Guy Lombardo recorded a hit single of the song in 1944. It’s a beautiful song and has been recorded by many artists, including Barbra Streisand, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “Speak Low” in 1959 for On The Glory Road and has sung it regularly ever since. Today’s version is from his very popular 1994 MTV Unplugged concert. He is backed by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Sharon on piano, Douglas Richeson (bass) and Clayton Cameron (drums).

http://open.spotify.com/track/34rTy5Fsn7tkfS0OsoPtyD
“Speak Low,” as well as the full MTV Unplugged album, is available from iTunes.

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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.

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Speak Low

Speak Low (music by Kurt Weill; lyrics by Ogden Nash) is one several Kurt Weill songs that Tony performs. This is one of our favorites at The Year of Tony Bennett.
Tony Bennett and Norah Jones, from Duets II.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRm08pVt-xc?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Love is pure gold; and time a thief!