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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

December 19, 2020 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Silent Night

Oh the seventh day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, the song of the day for Sunday, December 20, 2020, is “Silent Night.”

About This Song

“Silent Night” was written by Franz Xavier Gruber and Joseph Mohr in 1818. It was first performed on Christmas Eve, 1818 at St. Nicholas Church in the village of Oberndorf. Joseph Mohr was a young priest, who had written the lyrics to the song the year prior. Gruber, a teacher, and the church organist, put the lyrics to music. The lyrics were translated into English in 1859.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Silent Night” with Charlotte Church, Placido Domingo, and Vanessa Williams on February 21, 2000, at Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria, the Wiener Symphoniker Orchestra and Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen Children’s Choir. It was released the following year on the album Our Favorite Things.

Silent Night

Listen to Silent Night on Spotify. Song · Franz Xaver Gruber, Tony Bennett, Plácido Domingo, Vanessa Williams, Charlotte Church, Wiener Symphoniker, Steven Mercurio, Alan Pasqua, Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen · 2001

“Silent Night,” as well as Our Favorite Things, is available from Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Charlotte Church, Franz Xavier Gruber, Joseph Mohr, Our Favorite Things, Placido Domingo, Tony Bennett, Vanessa Williams

October 29, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Christmas Song

The song of the day for Thursday, October 29, 2015 is “The Christmas Song.”

About Today

No, you haven’t gone to sleep and woken up during the Annual Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, which we will be presenting in December. I committed some weeks ago to advancing through Mr. Bennett’s career year by year and picking a song from that year to present. Today we’re exploring the year 2000 and that year Mr. Bennett recorded Christmas songs and so that is what we have today.

About This Song

Today’s song, The Christmas Song, was written in 1944 by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells. Sometimes known by its first line “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” this song was written on a very hot summer day and Tormé and Wells were trying to think cold Christmasy thoughts in an effort to cool off. The entire song was written forty minutes and is one of America’s most classic Christmas songs. The first recording was by Nat King Cole in 1946.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Christmas Song” on December 21, 2000 in Vienna, Austria, and released it on the album Our Favorite Things the following year. This album also features performances by Charlotte Church, Vanessa Williams and Placid Domingo. The song was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

The Christmas Song

Listen to The Christmas Song on Spotify. Song · Mel Tormé, Robert Wells, Tony Bennett, Steven Mercurio, Wiener Symphoniker · 2001


“The Christmas Song,” as well as Our Favorite Things, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: 2000, Mel Tormé, Our Favorite Things, Robert Wells

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