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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

March 9, 2020 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: It’s Only a Paper Moon

The song of the day for Tuesday, March 10, 2020, is “It’s Only a Paper Moon.”

About This Song

“It’s Only a Paper Moon” was written in 1933 by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose. Originally written for an unsuccessful play called The Great Magoo, this song was used in the 1933 movie Take a Chance. Paul Whiteman recorded it that year. There were two very fine recordings in the 1940s by Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole, which sealed the popularity of the song. Since that time, it has been a popular and jazz favorite that has been widely recorded.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “It’s Only a Paper Moon” in 1998 for his album for children, The Playground. Bennett is accompanied by The Ralph Sharon Quartet, featuring Sharon on piano, Paul Langosh on bass, Clayton Cameron on drums, and Gray Sargent on guitar. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first album that guitarist Gray Sargent recorded for. Gray is in Bennett’s current quartet and this writer continues to be impressed with his very fine work.

“It’s Only a Paper Moon,” as well as The Playground, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Billy Rose, Clayton Cameron, Gray Sargent, Harold Arlen, Paul Langosh, Ralph Sharon, The Playground, Tony Bennett, Yip Harburg

September 24, 2017 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On)

The song of the day for Sunday, September 24, 2017 is “The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On).”

About This Song

“The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On)” was written in 1927 by Irving Berlin and with lyrics by Beda Loehner. In his book The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia, Thomas Hischak calls this song “an Irving Berlin standard whose title has been called the theme of all popular music, a chilling number in which both the lover and the ballad that was ‘their song’ is gone; yet neither can be forgotten because they remain in one’s memory.” This song was recorded in 1927 by Ruth Etting and has remained popular over the years with recordings by Dick Haymes, Dizzy Gillespie, Jeri Southern, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat “King” Cole and many more.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song for his 1987 album Bennett/Berlin. The Ralph Sharon Trio (featuring Sharon on piano, Paul Langosh on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums) and Dizzy Gillespie joined Bennett for this recording.

The Song Is Ended

Listen to The Song Is Ended on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1987.


“The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On),” as well as Bennett/Berlin, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Beda Loehner, Dizzy Gillespie, Irving Berlin, Joe LaBarbera, Paul Langosh, Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett

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