The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Monday, October 26, 2015 is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “The Way You Look Tonight,” is one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. This Jerome Kern tune, with lyrics from Dorothy Fields, was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1936 film Swing Time; the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the year. Dorothy Fields remarked “The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.” Dorothy Fields was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting. It’s a magnificent love song that has found a strong position as a jazz standard, with recordings by Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé and Frank Sinatra.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “The Way You Look Tonight” in 1977 for the soundtrack of the film My Best Friend’s Wedding, with the lovely piano of Ralph Sharon. It’s doesn’t get much more beautiful than this.

The Way You Look Tonight

Listen to The Way You Look Tonight on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2012


“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as all the songs collected on Outtakes, Rarities and Other Delights, Vol. 2, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

The song of the day for Sunday, October 25, 2015 is “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road).”

About This Song

“One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1943 film The Sky’s The Limit, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. Harold Arlen called this song one of his “tapeworms” as at 48 bars, it was longer than the standard 32 bar popular song. Alec Wilder, in American Popular Song, says that “the honors must go the lyric. … Just imagine having the acuity and courage to start a song, as Mercer does, with “It’s a quarter to three”!

About These Versions

As today is Sunday, we’re going to look several solo studio versions of today’s song.

Tony Bennett first recorded “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” in 1956, arranged by Ray Coniff. The next studio recording is from 1970 with John Bunch (in a lovely medley with “It Had To Be You”). We conclude with my favorite of these recordings today: the 1992 version on Perfectly Frank, arranged by Ralph Sharon. The differences between the 1956 and the 1992 versions is something to behold.

1956

One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

Listen to One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2011


“One For My Baby (And One More For The Road),” as well as the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 4, is available from iTunes.

1970

One For My Baby/It Had To Be You

Listen to One For My Baby/It Had To Be You on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 2012


“One For My Baby (And One More For The Road),” as well as all the songs collected on Outtakes, Rarities and Delights, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

1992

One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)

Listen to One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1992


“One For My Baby (And One More For The Road),” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Time After Time

The song of the day for Monday, October 19, 2015 is “Time After Time.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Time After Time,” was written in 1947 by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was written in 1947 for the movie It Happened in Brooklyn. The song was introduced by Frank Sinatra and was a major hit for him. This song has been widely recorded by many artists. In his fine book The Jazz Standards, Al Gioia quotes Jule Styne as saying “It’s a man’s song — ‘Time After Time.’ When a woman sings it, it is drained of all its power, so to speak. The girls can’t do it.” Well, tell that to Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Anita O’Day and Cyndi Lauper, all of whom have made excellent recordings of “Time After Time.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Time After Time” in June 1992 for his tribute album to Frank Sinatra, Perfectly Frank. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon and features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Paul Langosch on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums.

Time After Time

Listen to Time After Time on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1992


“Time After Time,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Blues in the Night

The song of the day for

About This Song

“Blues in the Night” was written in 1941 for the film of the same name by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. Arlen wrote the music first and wrote a true blues song. Johnny Mercer, who later wrote the lyrics, drew on his southern heritage to write the exceptional blues lyrics.

In addition to our love for the music of Tony Bennett, we are big fans of the writer Kenneth Millar–whose pen name was Ross MacDonald–and this was his favorite song. Millar was true jazz fan and loved the American songbook. In a letter to his friend Eudora Welty, who had just seen a review of George Gershwin songs at the New Stage Theater in Jackson, Mississippi (where your author was the resident set and lighting designer once upon time), he wrote

I’m glad to hear of the celebration of Gershwin. He and Cole Porter and Ellington were the great celebrators and deserve to be celebrated. The other night, for the first time in three years (since Linda [his daughter] died) I got out some Ellington records and played them.

An author of hard-boiled crime novels after my own heart.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “Blues in the Night” in 1957 for his second jazz album The Beat of My Heart. This song features the great Chico Hamilton on drums. The Beat of My Heart was conceived and devised by Bennett and Ralph Sharon, who arranged and conducted.


“Blues in the Night,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

About Today

For our Saturday video, we present this clip from the film Blues In The Night.

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Song of the Day: I Left My Heart in San Francisco

The song of the day for Monday, September 21, 2015 is “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” was written in 1953 by Douglass Cross (lyrics) and George Cory (music). This song is, of course, Tony Bennett’s signature song. It actually became that quite by accident. As Bennett’s musical director, songwriters were constantly giving Ralph Sharon copies of their songs. Cross and Cory had done that and Sharon had stuck the song in a drawer and forgotten all about it. In 1961, he and Bennett were heading out on tour, which included a stop in San Francisco at The Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill. Sharon came across the music and thought it might be a nice local number for the San Francisco audience. After a performance in Hot Springs, Arkansas, they found a piano and started to work on the song a bit. An early fan was the bartender, who said that he’d buy the first copy if they ever decided to record it. Of course, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” was a huge hit at the performance and in January 1962, Bennett recorded it and released it on a 45 RPM record on the B-side to “Once Upon a Time.” But gradually, I Left My Heart in San Francisco started getting all the airplay and it became a major hit for Bennett, winning him his first Grammy Award. It is his signature song and is beloved by all of his fans.

About This Version

“I Left My Heart in San Francisco” was recorded at the famed CBS 30th Street Studio on January 23, 1962. It was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning. It was released on the album I Left My Heart in San Francisco in June 1962. The song won the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male.

(I Left My Heart) In San Francisco

Listen to (I Left My Heart) In San Francisco on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1962


“I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” as well as the album of the same name, is available from iTunes.