The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Soon It’s Gonna Rain

The song of the day for Sunday, April 12, 2026, is “Soon It’s Gonna Rain.”

About This Song

“Soon It’s Gonna Rain” was written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones for the off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks, which opened in 1960 and ran for astounding 42 years and 17,162 performances at the Sullivan Street Playhouse.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” on March 16, 1962, for On The Glory Road. Just before the intended release date, the album was canceled (it was included in Bennett’s 2011 Complete Collection and is also available on streaming services). The recording was release two years later on The Many Moods of Tony as well as the 1971 album Love Story. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

“Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” as well as On The Glory Road, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Until I Met You

The song of the day for Saturday, April 4, 2026, is “Until I Met You.”

About This Song

“Until I Met You” was written in 1956 by Freddie Green and Donald E. Wolf. This song is also known as “Corner Pocket.” Freddie Green played rhythm guitar for the Count Basie Orchestra for fifty years. This song has also been recorded by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Sarah Vaughan, among others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Until I Met You” on March 16, 1962, for On The Glory Road, which was to be released in 1962, but was cancelled. This recording was included on the 1963 album I Wanna Be Around. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

“Until I Met You,” as well as On the Glory Road, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Soon It’s Gonna Rain

The song of the day for Tuesday, September 30, 2025, is “Soon It’s Gonna Rain.”

About This Song

“Soon It’s Gonna Rain” was written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones for the 1960 off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks. The musical ran at The Sullivan Street Playhouse for 42 years and 17,162 performances. The Fantasticks has been performed in all 50 states in the US for 11,103 productions. It has also been performed in 67 nations, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, including Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” on March 16, 1962, for the unreleased album On The Glory Road, featuring an arrangement by Ralph Sharon. Thankfully, the album was included in the 2011 Complete Collection and is also available on streaming services.

“Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” as well as On The Glory Road, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: De Glory Road

The song of the day for Sunday, September 7, 2025, is “De Glory Road.”

About This Song

“De Glory Road” began as a poem written by a white, socialist, native Alabamian lawyer and writer named Clement Wood, who published the poem in 1928. Wood is also the author of the Clement Wood Rhyming Dictionary, the 1939 edition of which was Stephen Sondheim’s preferred rhyming dictionary that he used for his entire career.

Jacques Wolfe was a Jewish Romanian-born composer who discovered African-American music while serving in the Army during World War I. In 1928, Wolfe wrote the music for Wood’s Three Negro Poems which included “De Glory Road.” Wolfe later worked with Langston Hughes and composed for a 1938 musical, John Henry, which starred Paul Robeson.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “De Glory Road” on March 13, 1962, for the album On The Glory Road. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra. The album release was canceled at the last minute, though some of the recordings were used on later albums. Fortunately, On The Glory Road was released as part of the 2011 Complete Collection box set and is also available on streaming services.

“De Glory Road,” as well as On the Glory Road, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Until I Met You

The song of the day for Sunday, August 31, 2025, is “Until I Met You.”

About This Song

“Until I Met You” was written in 1956 by Freddie Green and Don Wolf; the tune, without the lyric, is known as “Corner Pocket.” Freddie Green played rhythm guitar for the Count Basie Orchestra for fifty years. Count Basie did the first recording of “Corner Pocket” in 1956 for his album April In Paris. Basie recorded “Until I Met You” with Sarah Vaughan in 1961 on Count Basie & Sarah Vaughan.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Until I Met You” on March 16, 1962, for the album On The Glory Road, which was pulled from release at the last minute. The album was included in the 2011 Complete Collection box set and is now available on music streaming services. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

“Until I Met You,” as well as On The Glory Road, is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Basie’s 1956 recording of “Corner Pocket” from April In Paris:

And here are Basie and Sarah Vaughan from Count Basie & Sarah Vaughan: