The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Yesterdays

The song of the day for Wednesday, July 3, 2013 is “Yesterdays.”

About This Song

“Yesterdays” was written for the 1933 Broadway musical Roberta, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Otto Harbach. The song was introduced by Irene Dunne. The cast of the Broadway production also featured Bob Hope, George Murphy, Sidney Greenstreet and Fred MacMurray. One of Kern’s best outings, Roberta also introduced “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and “Let’s Begin.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett’s version of “Yesterdays” is from the 1966 album A Time To Love, though this recording is from 1964. It has a wonderful arrangement by Ralph Sharon and features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Sharon on piano, Billy Exiner on drums and Hal Gaylord on bass.

http://open.spotify.com/track/7kMbKFR6oWtx3jt3ZeyQ2u
“Yesterdays,” as well as the remastered A Time For Love, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Rules of the Road

The song of the day for Friday, June 21, 2013 is “The Rules of the Road.”

About This Song

I guess it goes without saying that this wonderful song by the great songwriting pair of Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh is one of my most favorite songs in the world. I can’t get enough of it and can’t go for more than a few months without naming it the song of the day.

So these are the ropes
The tricks of the trade
The rules of the road
I’m just one of the dopes
For whom they were made
I’m a fool of the road

You follow that kiss
And recklessly miss
A bend of the road
Then suddenly this
The end of the road

So love is a hoax
A glittering string
Of little white lies
But these are the jokes
That’s why they bring
The tears to your eyes

Well, love often shows a funny return.
The brighter it glows,
The longer you burn.
And lord only knows
Love has little concern for the fools of the road.

But that’s how it goes,
You live and you learn,
The rules of the road.

About This Version

Well, we’ve established that this is a favorite song of mine. But which version? The great, brassy big band version from I Left My Heart in San Francisco?  The more uptempo live performance from Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall?  I love both those versions dearly.

No, today is the quiet, more introspective with the Ralph Sharon Trio on When Lights Are Low.  So introspective, in fact, that “You’re just one of the dopes” is changed to “I’m just one of those dopes.”  This version is more like an intimate conversation. It’s a lovely arrangement and  touches the heart, with more than a tinge of regret.

The Rules Of The Road

Listen to The Rules Of The Road on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1964

“The Rules of the Road,” as well as the entire When Lights Are Low album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Make Someone Happy

Well, someone made me very happy today  and so the song of the day for Thursday, June 6, 2013 is “Make Someone Happy.”

About This Song

“Make Someone Happy” is from the 1960 musical Do Re Mi, by Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Do Re Mi concerns a guy, a bit of a loser and a con, who goes into the juke box business with some gangster pals.  “Make Someone Happy” was introduced by John Reardon and Nancy Dussault.

This song was a favorite of Jimmy Durante’s; his version was used in the 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle. It has also been recorded by Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and Perry Como.

About This Version

Today’s live version comes from the newly released Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, released last week. Tony Bennett is accompanied by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums.

http://open.spotify.com/track/7LmGma0lhICYYOsCdZT3yG
“Make Someone Happy,” as well as the Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962 album, is available from iTunes.

And for some extra happiness, here’s is the wonderful Jimmy Durante singing our song of the day:

Make Someone Happy

Jimmy Durante · As Time Goes By: The Best Of Jimmy Durante · Song · 1993

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Song of the Day: Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams

The song of the day for Tuesday, June 4, 2013 is “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams.”

About This Song

“Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” was written in 1931 by Harry Barris, with lyrics by Ted Koehler and Billy Moll. Bing Crosby, with the Gus Arnheim Orchestra, first recorded this song in 1931.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this lovely song in 1964 for his album Who Can I Turn To. This version was arranged and conducted by George Siravo and featured the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Sharon, Hal Gaylord (bass) and Billy Exiner (drums). The arrangement has a great evocative feel for the early 1930s.

http://open.spotify.com/track/669cS5WKTDpyMn3A1Tg7EJ
“Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams,” as well as the entire Who Can I Turn To album, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Sweet Lorraine

The song of the day for Saturday, March 9, 2013 is Sweet Lorraine.

About This Song

Written in 1928 by Cliff Burwell and Mitchell Parish, Sweet Lorraine has been a popular and jazz standard since that time. Rudy Vallee recorded it in 1928. The Nat King Cole recording from 1940 may be best known, but it has also been recorded by Teddy Wilson, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Art Tatum and many other great singers and instrumentalists.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s 1965 album If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set. This is one of the first Tony Bennett albums I experienced. I was in junior high school and remember going shopping with my Mother when she bought this album. We listened to it after dinner and agreed it was a great album. My Dad and I liked the new Brazilian sound best; Mom liked the ballads. I remember thinking that I’d never seen a cooler album design than this. The photograph of Rio de Janeiro was – and still is – breathtaking, especially for a kid from Birmingham, Alabama who had never been out of the South in her life.

This recording of Sweet Lorraine features Bobby Hackett – not on the cornet but the ukulele – and Joe Marsala on clarinet and the great Ralph Sharon Trio with Sharon, Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums.

http://open.spotify.com/track/50XojfSBJJQ75bAFowNyGZ
Sweet Lorraine, as well as the full If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set, is available from iTunes.