The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: All The Things You Are

The song of the day for Wednesday, June 20, 2018 is “All The Things You Are.”

About This Song

“All The Things You Are” was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1939 musical Very Warm For May. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder considers it to be one of Kern’s finest songs and with good reason. It’s a beautiful tune and Hammerstein’s lyrics are excellent.

About This Version

Tony Bennett’s first recording of “All The Things You Are” was for his 1962 Concert at Carnegie Hall. I have to confess that I not heard of this before listening to the album from that concert. But I fell completely in love with this song and often wondered when he might record again. My dreams came true in 2015 with The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, recorded with pianist Bill Charlap. Their version is quite lovely and Charlap’s piano solo is just exquisite.

All The Things You Are

Tony Bennett, Bill Charlap · The Silver Lining - The Songs of Jerome Kern · Song · 2015


“All The Things You Are,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Folks That Live On The Hill

The song of the day for Wednesday, April 18, 2018 is “The Folks That Live On The Hill.”

About This Song

Today’s song was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II in 1937 for movie High, Wide, and Handsome, where it was introduced by Irene Dunne. Bing Crosby recorded it that same year. Peggy Lee recorded it 1957 for her album The Man I Love; it was conducted by Frank Sinatra. Other recordings include those by Diana Krall, Jo Stafford and Nina Simone.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Folks That Live On The Hill” in 1989 for his autobiographical album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist. I am devoted to this album. It was beautifully conceived, telling the story of the young Anthony Benedetto growing up in Astoria, leaving for Europe to fight in World War II, returning home to start building a life and still calling Astoria a home. The album is touching, intimate and quiet beautiful.

The Folks That Live On The Hill

Listen to The Folks That Live On The Hill on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1990


“The Folks That Live On The Hill,” as well as Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Climb Ev’ry Mountain

The song of the day for Tuesday, February 13, 2018 is “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”

About This Song

“Climb Ev’ry Mountain” is just one of the many songs from The Sound of Music, written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. The Sound of Music opened in 1959 and ran for 1,443 performances. It is sung at the end of Act One by the Mother Abbess. The Sound of Music was the last musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein; Oscar Hammerstein died of cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere.

About This Version

Tony Bennett included “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” in his section of songs from Broadway musicals at his Carnegie Hall concert, recorded on June 9, 1962.

Climb Ev"ry Mountain (From "The Sound Of Music") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to Climb Ev"ry Mountain (From "The Sound Of Music") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon & His Orchestra · 1962


“Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” as well as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: All The Things You Are

The song of the day for Friday, February 9, 2018 is “All The Things You Are.”

About This Song

“All The Things You Are” was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1939 musical Very Warm For May. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder considers it to be one of Kern’s finest songs and with good reason. It’s a beautiful tune and Hammerstein’s lyrics are excellent.

About This Version

“All The Things You Are” was the third song for Bennett’s Carnegie Hall concert. It was perfect too. After the energetic opening with “Lullaby of Broadway “and the mid-tempo “Just In Time,” he sings this absolutely gorgeous ballad. You’d know it was a Jerome Kern song from just the first few notes and the Hammerstein lyric works wonderfully with the melody.

One of my favorite things in this song is the transition from the verse to the chorus, which I believe is a brilliant choice by Sharon and Bennett.
In the published lyrics, the last two lines of the verse are:

Touching your hand, my heart beats the faster
All that I want in all of this world is you

And then the chorus starts with:

You are the promised kiss of springtime …

But in this wonderful recording, the last “you” in the verse elegantly transitions into the first “you” in the chorus. I have to say that the first time I heard Tony Bennett sing this song, I practically swooned. I’ve listened to it countless times and featured it often on this blog and it never, ever ceases to make me stop in my tracks at the beauty of this recording.

I often wondered why Tony Bennett never recorded this song again, but was pleasantly surprised to hear it once more as the first song on The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, recorded with pianist Bill Charlap and released in 2015.

From Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall, recorded on June 9, 1962: “All The Things You Are.”

All The Things You Are (From "Very Warm For May") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962

Listen to All The Things You Are (From "Very Warm For May") - Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY - June 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Ralph Sharon & His Orchestra · 1962


“All The Things You Are,” as well as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: All In Fun

The song of the day for Monday, November 20, 2017 is “All In Fun.”

About This Song

“All in Fun” was written in 1939 by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for the Broadway musical Very Warm For May. Though the show was not well-reviewed, the score contained some wonderful songs including this one and “All The Things You Are.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “All In Fun” in 2004 for his album The Art of Romance. The arrangement is by Lee Musiker.

This is the album that, overnight, turned me from a Tony Bennett fan into the Tony Bennett enthusiast I am today. For the first couple of months after this album was released, I listened to it every day and some days two or three times. It’s the album I buy for friends who I want to introduce to Tony Bennett. Bennett’s in wonderful voice for this album; that and the combination of the remarkable arc of songs that take the listener through all of the stages of a romance in 11 songs is, well, perfect.

Did I mention that I really like this album? I’m also mad about the album cover as well.

On yeah … it also won the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Album.

All In Fun

Listen to All In Fun on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2004


“All In Fun,” as well as The Art of Romance, is available from iTunes.