An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
The song of the day for Thursday, July 11, 2024, is “Poor Little Rich Girl.”
“Poor Little Rich Girl” was written by Noël Coward for the 1925 revue On With the Dance. It is one of his most popular songs.
Tony Bennett and His Count Basie Orchestra recorded “Poor Little Rich Girl” on January 9, 1959, for Basie Swings/Bennett Sings. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon.
“Poor Little Rich Girl,” as well as Basie Swings, Bennett Sings, is available on Apple Music.
The song of the day for Monday, July 7, 2024, is “Let’s Begin.”
“Let’s Begin” was written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical Roberta, which also included many other fine Kern songs, including “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.”
Tony Bennett recorded “Let’s Begin” on October 14, 1957, for his third album The Beat of My Heart. For this album, Bennett invited percussionists as guest artists; Art Blakely was the guest artist for “Let’s Being.” Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.
“Let’s Begin,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available on Apple Music.
The song of the day for Friday, July 5, 2024, is “Street of Dreams.”
“Street of Dreams” was written in 1932 by Victor Young and Sam M. Lewis. The song has a classic depression-era sense, where love is one of the few things that may be impossible for those with money, but “no one is poor as long as love is sure.” Bing Crosby was the first singer to record “Street of Dreams”, though the Russ Columbo recording was also popular.
Tony Bennett recorded “Street of Dreams” on October 28, 1959, accompanied only by Ralph Burns, for the album Tony Sings For Two, which was released in January 1961. Against the wishes of his producer Mitch Mitchell, Tony and Ralph reserved the studio and recorded sixteen songs that day, twelve of which appeared on the album. The arrangements were done on the spot and all of the songs were done in one or two takes.
“Street of Dreams,” as well as Tony Signs For Two, is available on Apple Music.
The song of the day for Thursday, July 4, 2024, is “By Myself.”
“By Myself” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the 1937 musical Between the Devil, where it was introduced by Jack Buchanan. Another great Schwartz-Dietz song from Between the Devil was “I See Your Face Before Me.” This song was also used in the 1953 Fred Astaire film, The Band Wagon.
Tony Bennett recorded “By Myself” in July 1993 for his tribute album to Fred Astaire: Steppin’ Out. Tony Bennet and Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement. Clayton Cameron was the very fine drummer for this recording.
“By Myself,” as well as Steppin’ Out, is available on Apple Music.
My favorite version of this song was a live recording of Judy Garland singing it on The Judy Garland Show in 1964. Her exit at the end of the song is not to be missed!
The song of the day for Sunday, June 30, 2024, is “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me.”
“Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me” was written by Rube Bloom and Ted Koehler in 1933. It was introduced in the Cotton Club Parade — World’s Fair Edition.
Tony Bennett recorded “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me” in June 1992 for Perfectly Frank. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.
Perfectly Frank won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.
“Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me,” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available on Apple Music.