The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Bewitched

The song of the day for Wednesday, June 28, 2023, is “Bewitched.”

About Today

We are proud to honor songwriter Richard Rodgers, who was born on June 28, 1902, in New York City. Having written 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs, he was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century. Over his career, he partnered with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein. His songwriting career began in 1920 with Poor Little Ritz Girl and ended in 1979 with I Remember Mama. His body of work was remarkable and his musicals are produced all over the world and often revived on Broadway. He was the first composer to win the coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards) as well as the Pulitzer Prize. His legacy lives on, first by his daughter Mary Rodgers, and later her son Adam Guettel, who won Tony awards in 2005 for his musical The Light in the Piazza, capturing Best Score and Best Orchestration.

You can read more about Richard Rodgers on the Songwriters Hall of Fame website.

About This Song

“Bewitched” (sometimes called “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”) was written by Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart for the 1940 Broadway musical Pal Joey. where is was introduced by Vivenne Segal. Notable recordings include those by Benny Goodman, Mel Tormé, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. Alec Wilder admired the lyric and the verse, but found the song “notey.” In spite of being notey, it’s a cornerstone of the American Songbook.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Bewitched” with Ralph Sharon on October 29, 1959, for his elegant album Tony Sings For Two, released in 1961. It’s an extraordinary album that is always a joy to listen to.

“Bewitched,” as well as Tony Sings For Two is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: I Could Write a Book

The song of the day for Tuesday, April 11, 2023, is “I Could Write a Book.”

About This Song

“I Could Write a Book” was written by Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart for the Broadway musical Pal Joey, where it was introduced by Gene Kelly and Leila Ernst. This has always been an interesting song. Today it’s considered a lovely romantic number, but in the context of the musical, it’s sung as a phony love song in order to woo the innocent ingenue. It’s been widely recorded by artists including Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Betty Carter, Anita O’Day, and Ella Fitzgerald.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Could Write a Book” in July 1973 for Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs, released on Bennett’s Improv label in 1976.

“I Could Write a Book,” as well as Tony Bennett Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: I Could Write a Book

The song of the day for Monday, October 24, 2022, is “I Could Write a Book.”

About This Song

“I Could Write a Book” was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for the Broadway musical Pal Joey, where it was introduced by Gene Kelly and Leila Ernst. This has always been an interesting song. Today it’s considered a lovely romantic number, but in the context of the musical, it’s sung as a phony love song in order to woo the innocent ingenue. It’s been widely recorded by artists including Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Betty Carter, Anita O’Day, and Ella Fitzgerald.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Could Write a Book” in July 1973 for his album Tony Bennett Sings 10 Great Rodgers & Hart Songs, released in 1976.

“I Could Write a Book,” as well as Tony Bennett Sings The Rodgers & Hart Songbook is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: I Could Write a Book

The song of the day for Monday, April 25, 2022, is “I Could Write a Book.”

About This Song

“I Could Write a Book” was written by Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart for the Broadway musical Pal Joey, where it was introduced by Gene Kelly and Leila Ernst. This has always been an interesting song. Today it’s considered a lovely romantic number, but in the context of the musical, it’s sung as a phony love song in order to woo the innocent ingenue. It’s been widely recorded by artists including Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Betty Carter, Anita O’Day, and Ella Fitzgerald.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I Could Write a Book” in 1973 with the Ruby Braff-George Barnes Quartet, which feature Braff on cornet, Barnes and Wayne Wright on guitar, and John Guiffrida on bass. The recording was released in 1976 on Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs.

“I Could Write a Book,” as well as The Complete Improv Recordings is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Bewitched

The song of the day for Friday, February 11, 2022, is “Bewitched.”

About This Song

“Bewitched,” written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, was one of the hit songs from the 1940 musical Pal Joey, where it was introduced by Vivienne Segal. Notable recordings are by Benny Goodman, Mel Tormé, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. Alec Wilder admired the lyric and the verse, but found the song “notey.” In spite of being notey, it’s a cornerstone of the American Songbook.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Bewitched” on October 28, 1959, with an arrangement by Ralph Sharon. It was released in 1961 on the album Tony Sings For Two.

Tony Sings For Two is a remarkable album for Bennett, who tells the story in his autobiography, The Good Life:

I always wanted to be unpredictable, and so for my next project, I decided to go in the opposite direction from the big orchestral albums I’d been doing lately and cut an intimate piano-vocal album with Ralph Sharon. We booked time in the studio and pored through music books, trying one tune after another. The arrangements were spontaneous, and we finished each song in one or two takes. In one afternoon we laid down sixteen tunes—which must be some kind of record—twelve of which made it onto the album, which became 1961’s Tony Sings for Two, Mitch Miller showed up at the start of these sessions, furious that I was really going through with it. When he saw that there was no dissuading me, he turned to Frank Laico and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t support this.” Tony Sings for Two turned out to be one of my finest records ever.

“Bewitched,” as well as Tony Sings For Two is available on Apple Music.