The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: I Wanna Be Around

The song of the day for September 30, 2017 is “I Wanna Be Around.”

About This Song

“I Wanna Be Around” was written in 1959 by Johnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstedt.

The story of “I Wanna Be Around” is legendary in the music business. Sadie Vimmerstedt, who lived in Youngstown, Ohio, was a big fan of Johnny Mercer’s music. She wrote the opening line ‘I want to be around to pick up the pieces, when somebody breaks yours heart’ and felt it sounded like a Johnny Mercer song. She mailed a letter to ‘Johnny Mercer, Songwriter, New York.’ The post office forwarded the letter to ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), who got the letter to Mercer. Mercer wrote the melody himself and completed the lyrics for “I Wanna Be Around” in 1959 and asked Tony Bennett to record it, which he did in 1962. Mercer gave 50% of the profits to Ms. Vimmerstedt, which made her a wealthy woman and enabled her to retire and travel the world. It is one of the great songs in the American Songbook.

About This Version

Today I’m featuring Tony Bennett’s first recording of “I Wanna Be Around” from his 1962 I Wanna Be Around.

I Wanna Be Around...

Listen to I Wanna Be Around... on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1963


“I Wanna Be Around,” as well as the album of the same name, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Our video this Saturday features Tony Bennet and The Ralph Sharon Trio playing a medley of “The Good Life” and “I Wanna Be Around” from the 1994 MTV Unplugged live performance.

Today concludes our tribute to Ralph Sharon, who was with Tony Bennett for a large part of his career. I hope you enjoyed exploring some of the great music these two made with me this month.

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Song of the Day: Body and Soul

The song of the day for Friday, September 29, 2017 is “Body and Soul.”

About This Song

“Body and Soul” was written in 1930, with music by Johnny Green and lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton.

Ted Gioia, in his book The Jazz Standards, says that Body and Soul “is the granddaddy of jazz ballads, the quintessential torch song, and the ultimate measuring rod for tenor sax players of all generations. Even in the new millennium, this 1930 composition continues to serve as the cornerstone of the repertoire.” Louis Armstrong recorded the song first, followed in the 1930s by recordings from primarily white society bands, such as those led by Paul Whiteman. That said, some early recordings by jazz artists including Benny Goodman and especially Art Tatum started to cement this song as a serious jazz standard. However, the Coleman Hawkins recording from 1939 is widely acknowledged to have made the song a true jazz standard. The Hawkins recording was followed by great jazz recordings by Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Art Pepper, Dave Brubeck and many more. Fine vocal recordings include those by Billie Holiday and Tony Bennett.

About This Version

I know that I feature this song fairly often, but I feel that I owe you all an apology. I almost always play either the version from Astoria: Portrait of the Artist or the duet version with Amy Winehouse from Duets II. I realised just now that I’ve ignored this exquisite recording of “Body and Soul” from the 1994 MTV Unplugged performance. It’s a gorgeous arrangement by Ralph Sharon and features bassist Doug Richeson.

Body and Soul - Live Version

Listen to Body and Soul - Live Version on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1994


“Body and Soul,” as well as MTV Unplugged, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Girl I Love

The song of the day for Wednesday, September 27, 2017 is “The Girl I Love.”

About This Song

Written by George and Ira Gershwin, “The Girl I Love” was originally slated for the 1924 Broadway musical Lady, Be Good, though it was cut from that production. It was used again in 1927 for Strike Up The Band, but that production closed out of town. The lyrics were revised to “The Man I Love” for the 1928 Rosalie, but was cut from that production as well. In spite of all that, it rightly has its place as one of the great songs in the American Songbook. Notable recordings include those by Ella Fitzgerald, Helen Forrest, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Helen Morgan and many, many more.

About This Version

Today I’m featuring Mr. Bennett’s recording of “The Girl I Love” from his 1994 MTV Unplugged concert, accompanied by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Doug Richeson on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums.

The Girl I Love - Live Version

Listen to The Girl I Love - Live Version on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1994


“The Girl I Love,” as well as MTV Unplugged, is available from iTunes. The arrangement by Ralph Sharon gives each of the musicians a nice chance to solo.

This cut shows, I think, why this album resounded with a whole new generation of Tony Bennett fans and won two major Grammy Awards: Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance and Album of the Year.

About Today

Sorry to have missed yesterday’s post. I had a bad case of computer gremlins, which are now fixed. But I missed featuring a George Gershwin song on the anniversary of his birth on September 26, 1898. Here we are some 80 years after his death, and his songs sound so fresh, so current. To quote a Cy Coleman song: “It amazes me.”

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Song of the Day: That Old Devil Moon

The song of the day for Monday, September 25, 2017 is “That Old Devil Moon.”

About This Song

“Old Devil Moon” was written for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg, which also gave us “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” While Alec Wilder was no fan of “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”, in America Popular Song, he praises “Old Devil Moon” as “a well-written, wholly convincing song. It drives, and its initial intensity is sustained throughout.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett kicked off his 1994 MTV Unplugged television performance with “Old Devil Moon,” with the Ralph Sharon Trio, which featured Doug Richeson on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums.

Old Devil Moon - Live

Listen to Old Devil Moon - Live on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1994


“Old Devil Moon,” as well as MTV Unplugged, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On)

The song of the day for Sunday, September 24, 2017 is “The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On).”

About This Song

“The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On)” was written in 1927 by Irving Berlin and with lyrics by Beda Loehner. In his book The Tin Pan Alley Song Encyclopedia, Thomas Hischak calls this song “an Irving Berlin standard whose title has been called the theme of all popular music, a chilling number in which both the lover and the ballad that was ‘their song’ is gone; yet neither can be forgotten because they remain in one’s memory.” This song was recorded in 1927 by Ruth Etting and has remained popular over the years with recordings by Dick Haymes, Dizzy Gillespie, Jeri Southern, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat “King” Cole and many more.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song for his 1987 album Bennett/Berlin. The Ralph Sharon Trio (featuring Sharon on piano, Paul Langosh on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums) and Dizzy Gillespie joined Bennett for this recording.

The Song Is Ended

Listen to The Song Is Ended on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie · 1987


“The Song Is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On),” as well as Bennett/Berlin, is available from iTunes.