The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: I Cover The Waterfront

The song of the day for Monday, April 28, 2014 is “I Cover The Waterfront.”

About This Song

“I Cover The Waterfront” was written in 1933 by Johnny Green and Edward Heyman (both of whom also wrote “Body and Soul”). The song was inspired by the 1932 novel of the same name by Max Miller, which was also made into a film and re-scored just prior to release to include the Johnny Green song. It has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and even John Lee Hooker.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s wonderful autobiographical album about New York City: Hometown, My Town. The song, as well as the entire album, was arranged by Ralph Burns. The big band for the album included Ralph Sharon, Al Cohn, Urbie Green, Al Caiola and Eddie Costa, among others.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1hRgHX7uk5EsS9voflbyfg
“I Cover The Waterfront,” as well as the album Hometown, My Town, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Stella By Starlight

The song of the day for Thursday, December 26, 2013 is “Stella By Starlight.”

About This Song

“Stella by Starlight” was composed by Victor Young in 1944 for the film The Uninvited. The lyrics by Ned Washington were added in 1946. The song was recorded in 1947 by Harry James and also by Frank Sinatra. Charlie Parker recorded the first jazz recording in 1952 and the song has become a jazz standard as a result, with great jazz recordings by Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Bud Powell, Joe Pass and Dexter Gordon. The song ranks #10 on the jazzstandards.org list.

About This Version

This version of “Stella by Starlight” was recorded by Tony Bennett in 1961 for his album My Heart Sings. This song, as well the entire album, was arranged and conducted by Ralph Burns, with a big band including talents like Bernie Leighton, Milt Hinton and Eddie Costa.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4L9AQ9NAAS8eq82ZIc24p8
“Stella By Starlight,” as well as the album My Heart Sings, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Skyscraper Blues

The song of the day for Sunday, November 3, 2013 is “The Skyscraper Blues.”

About This Song

“The Skyscraper Blues” was written by Gordon Jenkins and Tom Adair for the 1949 Broadway musical Along Fifth Avenue, which featured Nancy Walker and Jackie Gleason.

About This Version

On this day in 1958, Tony Bennett recorded two songs for an upcoming album to be called Hometown, My Town. These songs were today’s song, “The Skyscraper Blues” and “By Myself.” Click the link to read more about the session held November 3, 1958.

Like the rest of the songs on the album, “The Skyscraper Blues” was arranged and conducted by Ralph Burns. Ralph Sharon, who had joined up with Tony Bennett in 1957 played piano. Many of the musicians on this album recorded regularly with Bennett for years to come, such as Al Caiola (guitar), Urbie Green (trombone) and Al De Risi (trumpet).

This is a great jazzy song with a terrific arrangement. It’s the first song on the album and is a dynamite way to start it off.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3MTlQdavGudt8PCqornYQu
“The Skyscraper Blues,” as well as the album Hometown, My Town, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Dancing in the Dark

The song of the day for Thursday, September 12, 2013 is “Dancing in the Dark.”

About This Song

“Dancing in the Dark” was written in 1931 by the songwriting team of Arthur Schwartz (music) and Howard Dietz (lyrics) for the Broadway musical revue The Band Wagon, which featured Fred and Adele Astaire and Frank Morgan. The song was introduced by John Barker and featured dancing on a raked, lighted mirror stage. A recording was made of the show with the Leo Reisman Orchestra in a two-sided 33 1/3 recording. It was the very first commercially released recorded at this speed. Unfortunately, this new speed required new record players and as the Depression was well under way, the expense proved too much for most people and so the new format didn’t really take off for another 20+ years.

“Dancing in the Dark” is one of Schwartz’ and Dietz’ most enduring songs, with recordings by Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Bill Evans and, of course, Tony Bennett.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s 1961 album My Heart Sings, which featured big band arrangements by Ralph Burns.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4up57sk978q1DVJ4NYZuxE
“Dancing In The Dark,” as well as the album My Heart Sings, is available from iTunes and Amazon.com.

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Song of the Day: Penthouse Serenade

The song of the day for Tuesday, September 10, 2013 is “Penthouse Serenade.”

About This Song

“Penthouse Serenade” is one the classic Depression-era songs with the yearning for the glamorous Manhattan apartment by the poor, yet romantic, couple. It was written in 1931 by Val Burton and Will Jason. The first known use of “Penthouse Serenade” was for the 1933 animated short Betty Boop’s Penthouse, where it was sung by Mae Questel. Nat “King” Cole recorded “Penthouse Serenade” in 1952.

About This Version

“Penthouse Serenade” is from one of Tony Bennett’s finest, and yet relatively obscure albums: Hometown, My Town. Released in 1959, it was one of the early concept albums, with a series of six songs that tell the story a young man living in Manhattan who finds a girl and then loses her. The arc of these six albums are masterful.

The entire album was arranged by Ralph Burns, a noted jazz arranger who worked with Bennett on several albums including This Is All I Ask and Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool.

Hometown, My Town is one my very favorite Tony Bennett albums, and “Penthouse Serenade” is one of the best songs on this album.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4fqH8vY5L35o48z2H5RAHm
“Penthouse Serenade,” as well as the album Hometown, My Town, is available from iTunes.