The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day:Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

The song of the day for Friday, March 292, 2019, is “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive.”

About This Song

“Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive” was written in 1944 by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. This charming song was written in the style of sermon with the message of being positive is the key to happiness. Mercer is said to have heard a sermon by Father Divine, who said “you got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.” And thus this memorable song was born. The song was first used in the 1944 movie Here Comes the Waves, starring Bing Crosby and Betty Hutton. Significant recordings include those by Bing Crosby, Kay Kyser, Artie Shaw, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dinah Washington.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive” in 1998 for his delightful album for children: The Playground. He is accompanied by the Ralph Sharon Quartet, featuring Sharon on piano, Clayton Cameron on drums, Paul Langosch on bass, and Gray Sargent on guitar.

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive,” as well as The Playground, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: With Plenty of Money and You

The song of the day for Tuesday, March 26, 2019, is “With Plenty of Money and You.”

About This Song

“With Plenty of Money and You” was written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin for the Gold Diggers of 1937, starring Dick Powell and Joan Blondell and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. Interestingly, the score for the film was to have been written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, but Berkeley didn’t like what they had written and brought in Warren and Dubin for this song and several other songs. Some Arlen and Harburg songs were used in the film as well.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “With Plenty of Money and You” in 1959 for his album with Count Basie and His Orchestra: Basie Swings/Bennett Sings. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

With Plenty of Money and You – 1990 Remix / Remaster

With Plenty of Money and You – 1990 Remix / Remaster, a song by Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Tristan Powell on Spotify

“With Plenty of Money and You,” as well as Basie Swings/Bennett Sings, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: East of the Sun

The song of the day for Tuesday, March 19, 2019, is “East of the Sun (West of the Moon).”

About This Song

Brooks Bowman wrote “East of the Sun” in 1934 while a student at Princeton University for a student musical production called Stags at Bay, produced by the Princeton Triangle Club. The song had great reception and was noted by Princeton alumnus F. Scott Fitzgerald. After his graduation from college in 1936, he worked briefly in Hollywood in films but soon decided to return to the East Coast. He was about to start a contract with a New York music publisher when he was killed in an automobile accident in 1937.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “East of the Sun (West of the Moon)” in 1992 for his album Perfectly Frank, which features songs associated with Frank Sinatra. Ralph Sharon was the arranger.

East of the Sun (West of the Moon)

East of the Sun (West of the Moon), a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“East of the Sun (West of the Moon),” as well as Perfectly Frank, is available from iTunes

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Song of the Day: Maybe This Time

The song of the day for Wednesday, March 13, 2019, is “Maybe This Time.”

About This Song

“Maybe This Time” by John Kander and Fred Ebb. This song appeared in the film version of was Cabaret. It was not written for the original Broadway production. Nor was it written especially for the film version; Kander and Ebb had written the song in 1963 for Kaye Ballard. It was therefore not eligible for consideration for an Academy Award. The song is, of course, widely associated with Liza Minnelli, who sang it in the film version of Cabaret. Tony Bennett sings the song regularly at his concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Maybe This Time” in 1995 for the album Here’s To The Ladies. In this album, Bennett sings songs associated with the best of the female jazz and cabaret singers in the 20th century: from Billie Holiday to Judy Garland to Margaret Whiting and many more. “Maybe This Time” is for Liza Minnelli, who sang this song in the film version of Cabaret. Bennett and Ralph Sharon did the arrangement.

Maybe This Time

Maybe This Time, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“Maybe This Time,” as well as Here’s To The Ladies, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Just One of Those Things

The song of the day for Sunday, March 10, 2019, is “Just One Of Those Things.”

About This Song

Cole Porter wrote “Just One of Those Things” for the 1935 musical Jubilee. It’s one of Porter’s most popular songs and has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra. Alec Wilder in “American Popular Song” spoke of the lyric as ‘a trip to the moon on gossamer wings’ and “that it seems impossible that it wasn’t sitting on his piano, waiting for Porter even before he wrote the lyric.” It has a certain literary fame as well: Holden Caulfield, in Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”, likes the song and notes that even the “stinking band” in the hotel lounge “couldn’t ruin it entirely.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Just One of Those Things” for his 1957 jazz album The Beat of My Heart. The arrangement is by Ralph Sharon. This album featured drummers and percussionists from all over the world. This recording feature Art Blakey.

Just One Of Those Things

Just One Of Those Things, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“Just One Of Those Things,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.