My Funny Valentine, by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, is a jazz classic and one of my favorite songs. This video, from the official Tony Bennett Vevo channel on YouTube, was recording live in 1979 at a concert at Jubilee Hall in Edmonton, Canada. With Ralph Sharon on piano. I don’t know who the bass player is, but he’s quite good (even though he doesn’t look a day over fourteen years old).
July 23 2012
Let There Be Love
The Song of the Day is Let There Be Love from the fabulous Beat of My Heart album, recorded in 1957. This album was conceived by Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon and features international percussion artists. This particular song features Candido, Sabu, and Billy Exiner. Beat of My Heart is, next to Cloud 7, Mr. Bennett’s finest album from the 1950s (well, according to me, anyway.)
Enjoy!
The Best Is Yet To Come
Mr. Bennett has recorded (to my knowledge) four different versions of this song.
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Recorded on July 30, 1960. Orchestra conducted by Cy Coleman. Released as a single; see The Columbia Singles, Vol 6 I Left My Heart in San Francisco 1962 |
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Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall 1962 With Ralph Sharon and His Orchestra Recorded Live on June 9, 1962 |
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Duets An American Classic 2006 Sung with Diana Krall. With Lee Musiker, Gray Sargent, Paul Langosch, and Harold Jones Arranged and conducted by Jorge Calandrelli |
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iTunes Festival: London 2010 – EP 2010 With Lee Musiker, Gray Sargent, Marshall Wood, and Harold Jones |
I am featuring The Best Is Yet To Come for several reasons: it’s a great song and I never tire of hearing it.
This song, as much as any other song in his catalog, shows a quality of Tony that draws so much love and adoration from his fans: his innate and glorious sense of optimism. When Tony sings this song, I truly believe, along with the rest of the audience, that the best is yet to come: the best of Tony’s singing, the best of myself, and the best of the world.
Some people in our cynical world may say that this kind of optimism is Pollyanna-like and not grounded in reality. The complete opposite is true. Only a man filled with love for everything around him can give us that knowledge that the best is indeed yet to come. Likely not all at once, certainly with challenges along the way, but I come away from this song believing in its truth and the truth and honesty of the man who sings it at every concert of his I’ve ever attended. I hope and pray that he never stops singing it, because it’s a message that more people need to hear.
So thank, Tony Bennett. Out of the tree of life, I just picked me a plum.
I’m hard pressed to pick my favorite version, but there is something quite magical about this performance in the 1962 Carnegie Hall concert, recorded with Ralph Sharon conducting the orchestra. The other three are also quite wonderful. It’s great song, sung by a singer who seems to love singing it.
Click here to view a video of Tony singing this song at the Newport Jazz Festival in 2002. Many thanks to Wolfgang’s Vault.
The Best Is Yet To Come
Music: Cy Coleman
Lyrics: Carolyn Leigh
Out of the tree of life I just picked me a plum
You came along and everything’s started to hum
Still, it’s a real good bet, the best is yet to come
The best is yet to come and babe, won’t it be fine?
You think you’ve seen the sun, but you ain’t seen it shine
Wait till the warmup’s underway
Wait till our lips have met
And wait till you see that sunshine day
You ain’t seen nothing yet
The best is yet to come and babe, won’t it be fine?
The best is yet to come, come the day you’re mine
Come the day you’re mine
I’m gonna teach you to fly
We’ve only tasted the wine
We’re gonna drain the cup dry
Wait till your charms are right for these arms to surround
You think you’ve flown before, but you ain’t left the ground
Wait till you’re locked in my embrace
Wait till I draw you near
Wait till you see that sunshine place
Ain’t nothing like it here
The best is yet to come and babe, won’t that be fine?
The best is yet to come, come the day you’re mine
Out of the tree of life I just picked me a plum …
Tony Bennett on National Public Radio
I think NPR loves Tony Bennett, as they have archived a treasure trove of interviews. Here are some of my favorites.
This story by Scott Simon, Tony Bennett’s Art of Intimacy, was played on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday on November 4, 2011 is a favorite of mine. It’s an extended interview that covers his vocal training right after the war, how he addresses singing at the age of 85, and some special words about the people he collaborated with in Duets II. Good interview, nice clips from the album, and very nicely produced. Click here to listen.
In the same time period, Tony visited the NPR studios and sang two songs, accompanied by Lee Musiker. Click here to view this small concert.
And an extended interview on World Cafe, also from Fall 2011. The discussion about the end about Tony’s relationship to painting and singing are well worth listening to. Click here to listen.
He has appeared on Marian McPartland’s wonderful Piano Jazz show. Click here to listen. This show was recorded in 2004.
And finally, an interesting story about creating a new arrangement of I Left My Heart in San Francisco with Bill Charlap in 2006. Click here to listen.
There’s more on NPR … Just navigate to www.npr.org and search for Tony Bennett. You wont’ be sorry!