The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: It Had To Be You

The song of the day for Saturday, September 6, 2014 is “It Had To Be You.”

About This Song

“It Had To Be You” was composed in 1924 by Isham Jones with lyrics by Gus Kahn. It is a popular standard with many fine recordings, including those by Paul Whiteman, Cliff Edwards and Frank Sinatra. It has also be used in several films, such as Casablanca and Annie Hall. In spite of this song being 90 years old, it speaks to just about everyone who has ever been in love.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “It Had To Be You” in 1956 for his second album, Tony. Today’s version, though, is from 1964 for When Lights Are Low, with the Ralph Sharon Trio featuring Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums.

It Had To Be You

Listen to It Had To Be You on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1964

“It Had To Be You,” as well as When Lights Are Low, is available from iTunes.

Here’s Tony Bennett singing today’s song from his legendary 1994 MTV Unplugged concert, with Ralph Sharon on piano.

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Song of the Day: Crazy Rhythm

The song of the day for Monday, July 28, 2014 is “Crazy Rhythm.”

About This Song

Today’s song was written in 1928 by Joseph Meyer and Roger Wolfe Kahn for a long-forgotten Broadway musical called Here’s Howe. It’s been a popular standard since it was written and has been heavily recorded, not just by jazz and popular artists, but other genres including hillbilly. Significant recordings include those by Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Stan Getz, Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke and Whispering Jack Smith.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Crazy Rhythm” in 1957 for his third album, The Beat of My Heart. Tony Bennett had, very wisely, hired Ralph Sharon as his pianist and musical director in early 1957. Sharon encourage Bennett to continue to explore his jazz inclinations. Bennett describes their interaction in developing The Beat of My Heart in his autobiography, The Good Life:

Ralph and I wanted to make a jazz statement in a big way, and I came up with the idea of recording an album of standards that put the spotlight on different kinds of rhythm by using all the great jazz drummers I could find. We talked the concept over during our first few months on the road, and gradually it all came together. The first recording date was in June, 1957, with Chico Hamilton. … when the album came out, an army of jazz fans said, Hey this guy knows how to swing. A whole new audience accepted me–in fact, I still get my biggest reactions at jazz festivals all over the world.

Today’s song, “Crazy Rhythm,” features the great Chico Hamilton.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3Km0pzPoVkrr29letO2Z7p
“Crazy Rhythm,” as well as the album The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: My Old Flame

The song of the day for Friday, June 13, 2014 is “My Old Flame.”

About This Song

“My Old Flame” was written by Arthur Johnston (music) and Sam Coslow (lyrics) in 1934 for the movie Belle of the Nineties, which starred Mae West. Miss West was an ardent fan of Duke Ellington and insisted that Ellington and His Orchestra appear in the film and accompany her for the singing of this song.

The song has been widely recorded by artists including Cootie Williams, Ben Webster, Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday, among others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “My Old Flame” for his 1997 tribute album to Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett On Holiday. There are many fine recordings on this album in addition to today’s song including “Trav’lin’ Light,” “Good Morning, Heartache” and “Me, Myself and I.” The album features Ralph Sharon on piano, with strings arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2jBarJ6zzh3TyZn1hZqpMT
“My Old Flame,” as well as the album Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Begin The Beguine

The song of the day for Saturday, May 31, 2014 is “Begin The Beguine.”

About This Song

One of Cole Porter’s most popular songs, “Begin the Beguine” is from the 1935 musical Jubilee. The song has an unusual structure, having a 108 measure length, as opposed to the standard 32-bar structure of most popular music. One of the earliest popular recordings was Artie Shaw’s instrumental in 1938. The middle eastern style of the song is well-served by Shaw’s clarinet solo.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Begin the Beguine” is Tony Bennett’s first recording of the song, from The Beat of My Heart, released in 1957. The album, Bennett’s third 12″ LP, featured percussionists from the world over to the studio. This song features the drummer Jo Jones, Ralph Sharon on piano, Eddie Costa on vibes, Eddie Safranski on bass and Robert Alexander, Ziskind Lieb, Kai Winding and James Dahl on trombone.

Even though the album was produced by Mitch Miller, it was devised and conceived entirely by Bennett and Ralph Sharon.

http://open.spotify.com/track/5isGgjYCh3pjzbdicSeLBU
“Begin The Beguine,” as well as the album The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

For today’s video, we’re doing a bit of a departure in showing a video of Artie Shaw and His Orchestra playing “Begin The Beguine.” Maybe it’s because I used play the clarinet, but I’ve always had real soft spot for Artie Shaw’s version of this Cole Porter song. This recording is from 1938.

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Song of the Day: All The Things You Are

The song of the day for Friday, May 30, 2014 is “All The Things You Are.”

About This Song

“All The Things You Are” was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1939 musical Very Warm For May. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder considers it to be one of Kern’s finest songs and with good reason. It’s a beautiful tune and Hammerstein’s lyrics are excellent.

About This Version

If I were forced to pick a single Tony Bennett album to take to my desert island, it would have to be Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall. For one thing, as wonderful as his studio recordings are, his live performances are even more wonderful. Also, in my opinion, he hit a peak in 1962 was really phenomenal, with great success with both this concert as well as his other recordings released that year. Everything I’ve heard from 1962 sounds absolutely wonderful. Oh yes, and it was the year of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.” The orchestra that he and Ralph Sharon put together for the concert was great, as were all of Ralph’s arrangements. It’s a gorgeous album and is consistently ranked as one of the best concert recordings ever made.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4XohhDSDnbIMP8kIbESsuv
“All The Things You Are,” as well as Tony Bennett At Carnegie Hall, is available from iTunes.

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