The song of the day for Monday, March 18, 2013 is Ol’ Man River.

About This Song

Ol’ Man River is, of course, from the great 1927 musical Show Boat by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II.  The song has long been associated with Paul Robeson, who performed it in the London production in 1928 and the 1932 Broadway revival.  He continued to sing it in musical recitals for the rest of his career.

About This Version

Today’s version of Ol’ Man River is from Tony Bennett’s 1959 Roulette album with Count Basie: Basie/Bennett. It addition to a very fine treatment by Bennett and Basie, this version features a percussion solo by the great Candido. Bennett worked with Candido on The Beat of My Heart (released in 1957) and would work with him again in 1962 for his Carnegie Hall concert.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1HdO58Yc1gPFBbLkuwbxSK
Ol’ Man River, as well as the full Basie/Bennett album, is available from iTunes.