The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

The song of the day for Sunday, October 25, 2015 is “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road).”

About This Song

“One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1943 film The Sky’s The Limit, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. Harold Arlen called this song one of his “tapeworms” as at 48 bars, it was longer than the standard 32 bar popular song. Alec Wilder, in American Popular Song, says that “the honors must go the lyric. … Just imagine having the acuity and courage to start a song, as Mercer does, with “It’s a quarter to three”!

About These Versions

As today is Sunday, we’re going to look several solo studio versions of today’s song.

Tony Bennett first recorded “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” in 1956, arranged by Ray Coniff. The next studio recording is from 1970 with John Bunch (in a lovely medley with “It Had To Be You”). We conclude with my favorite of these recordings today: the 1992 version on Perfectly Frank, arranged by Ralph Sharon. The differences between the 1956 and the 1992 versions is something to behold.

1956

One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

Listen to One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“One For My Baby (And One More For The Road),” as well as the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 4, is available from iTunes.

1970

One For My Baby/It Had To Be You

Listen to One For My Baby/It Had To Be You on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2012


“One For My Baby (And One More For The Road),” as well as all the songs collected on Outtakes, Rarities and Delights, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

1992

One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)

Listen to One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1992


“One For My Baby (And One More For The Road),” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Time After Time

The song of the day for Monday, October 19, 2015 is “Time After Time.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Time After Time,” was written in 1947 by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was written in 1947 for the movie It Happened in Brooklyn. The song was introduced by Frank Sinatra and was a major hit for him. This song has been widely recorded by many artists. In his fine book The Jazz Standards, Al Gioia quotes Jule Styne as saying “It’s a man’s song — ‘Time After Time.’ When a woman sings it, it is drained of all its power, so to speak. The girls can’t do it.” Well, tell that to Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Anita O’Day and Cyndi Lauper, all of whom have made excellent recordings of “Time After Time.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Time After Time” in June 1992 for his tribute album to Frank Sinatra, Perfectly Frank. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon and features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Paul Langosch on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums.

Time After Time

Listen to Time After Time on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1992


“Time After Time,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Fall In Love Too Easily

The song of the day for Sunday, August 30, 2015 is “I Fall In Love Too Easily.”

About This Song

“I Fall In Love Too Easily” was written by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn,for the 1945 movie Anchors Away, where it was introduced by Frank Sinatra. It nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to “It Might As Well Be Spring” by Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is a well-respected jazz standard, with recordings by Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Anita O’Day and Johnny Hartman.

About These Versions

“I Fall In Love Too Easily” is one of those perfect ballads–it has a beautiful melody and the lyrics are direct and effective.

I chose this song today because I found the contrast of Bennett’s performance of this song, nearly 40 years apart, quite fascinating. The 1954 version, arranged by Chuck Wayne, the young singer freely admits to falling in love frequently and, yes too fast, and while there is a certain bit of introspection and thoughtfulness about this tendency, our young man accepts it all and we have no doubt that he will fall in love again soon–maybe even deeply and forever. But love again and again he will.

In 1992, however, there is a strong sense of regret of all those years of falling in love too easily, too fast and a strong sense of sadness that this love never lasts. There is a strong sense that the deep, true love might never come–it’s simply been so easy to fall in love and out of love too fast. We wake up one day and realize that we may be missing something in our life because of this.

Anyway–my feelings about the emotional content of these versions aside–the contrast is wonderful to hear. Both are excellent and both carry great meaning and emotion.

1954

I Fall In Love Too Easily

Listen to I Fall In Love Too Easily on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1955


“I Fall In Love Too Easily,” as well as Cloud 7, is available from iTunes.

1992

I Fall In Love Too Easily

Listen to I Fall In Love Too Easily on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1992


“I Fall In Love Too Easily,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I’ll Be Seeing You

The song of the day for Wednesday, May 13, 2015 is “I’ll Be Seeing You.”

About This Song

“I’ll Be Seeing You,” written in 1938 by Sammy Fain (music) and Irving Kahal (lyrics), grew to its fame during World War II, when it became something of an anthem for soldiers serving overseas and the loved ones left at home. It’s been recorded by Billie Holiday, Al Hirt, Lisa Minelli, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney and Willie Nelson.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded this song twice: first in 1956 for the album Tony and again in 1992 for Perfectly Frank. Today we feature the 1992 version, arranged by Ralph Sharon.

I"ll Be Seeing You

Listen to I"ll Be Seeing You on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1992


“I’ll Be Seeing You,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I’ll Be Seeing You

The song of the day for Friday, March 6, 2015 is “I’ll Be Seeing You.”

About This Song

“I’ll Be Seeing You” was written in 1938, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. The song grew to its fame during World War II, when it became something of an anthem for soldiers serving overseas and the loved ones left at home. It’s been recorded by Billie Holiday, Al Hirt, Lisa Minelli, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and Rosemary Clooney.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded “I’ll Be Seeing You” twice. The first recording was made in 1956 for his second album, Tony, and was arranged and conducted by Ray Conniff. Today’s version is from his 1992 album Perfectly Frank and features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Paul Langosch on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums. It’s a quiet and lovely rendition of this very nice song. Plus, he sings the verse!

I"ll Be Seeing You

Listen to I"ll Be Seeing You on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1992


“I’ll Be Seeing You,” as well as the album Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

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