The song of the day for Sunday, December 7, 2014 is “The Shadow of Your Smile.”

About This Song

“The Shadow of Your Smile,” written by Johnny Mandel and Paul Webster, was the main love theme from the 1965 film The Sandpiper, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor (and was my late mother’s favorite movie). It was filmed, beautifully, in Big Sur on the California coastline. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Tony Bennett’s 1965 recording won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. To this day, Tony Bennett often sings this song in his concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Shadow of Your Smile” in 1965 and released it the following year on The Movie Song Album. As stated above, his recording won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

About Today

I was watching movies on Turner Classic Movies today and The Sandpiper was on. I enjoyed watching the film again; I’m a sucker for any movie with Elizabeth Taylor. I was struck in viewing it today how wonderful Mandel’s soundtrack was for this film. He uses the song throughout the film, but it never intrudes or seems repetitive; it’s always just right for the moment. It completely deserved its Academy Award. If you want to see how well a movie can be scored, you can’t go wrong with Johnny Mandel.

“The Shadow of Your Smile,” as well as The Movie Song Album, is available from iTunes.