The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: You Go To My Head

The song of the day for Tuesday, June 6, 2023, is “You Go To My Head.”

About This Song

“You Got To My Head” was written in 1938 by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, the same songwriting team that gave us “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” Alec Wilder called “You Got To My Head” “a phenomenon” and “a minor masterpiece.” Al Gioia in The Jazz Standards notes that “this song comes closer than any tune I know to capturing in musical form the feeling of losing control.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “You Go To My Head” on October 14, 1957. It was an outtake for the original release of The Beat of My Heart in 1957, but was included on the 1997 re-release of the album. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon. The Beat of My Heart featured a number of percussionists as guest artists; in addition to Bennett’s regular drummer Billy Exiner, Sabu and Candido were featured on this recording.

“You Go To My Head,” as well as The Beat of My Heart is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Let’s Face The Music and Dance

The song of the day for Monday, August 1, 2022, is “Let’s Face The Music and Dance.”

About This Song

“Let’s Face the Music and Dance” was written by Irving Berlin in 1936 for the film Follow the Fleet starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The Astaire – Rogers dance to this song is considered one of their best. This song has also been recorded by singers including Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Let’s Face The Music and Dance” on October 25, 1957. It wasn’t included in 1957 on the album The Beat of My Heart, but was added to the CD re-release. It was arranged by Ralph Sharon and features percussionists Candido, Sabu, and Billy Exiner.

“Let’s Face The Music and Dance,” as well as The Beat of My Heart is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Love For Sale

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 5, 2020, is “Love For Sale.”

About This Song

“Love For Sale” was written by Cole Porter in 1930 for his Broadway musical The New Yorkers. The song was sung by a prostitute advertising her services. The song was considered rather scandalous at the time. In fact, for the production of The New Yorkers, it was supposed to be sung by the white star Kathryn Crawford, but the song was assigned to an African-American singer instead. In spite of being banned from play on the radio, “Love For Sale” has had many fine recordings, including those by Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Miles Davis

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Love For Sale” in 1957 for his third album, The Beat of My Heart. Ralph Sharon had just been hired as Bennett’s pianist and musical director; together they conceived the album. In addition to creating a very good jazz band for the album, they brought in percussionists to play as well. “Love for Sale” featured Candido, Sabu, and Bennett’s regular drummer, Billy Exiner.

Love for Sale

Listen to Love for Sale on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1957.

“Love For Sale,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Love For Sale

The song of the day for Tuesday, December 11, 2018, is “Love For Sale.”

About This Song

“Love For Sale” was written by Cole Porter in 1930 for the Broadway musical The New Yorkers. The song was sung by a prostitute advertising her services and was considered rather scandalous at the time. In fact, for the production of The New Yorkers, it was supposed to be sung by the white star Kathryn Crawford, but the song was assigned to an African-American singer instead. In spite of being banned from play on the radio, “Love For Sale” has had many fine recordings, including those by Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Miles Davis.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Love For Sale” for his 1957 album The Beat of My Heart. This album featured noted percussionists and drummers; this recording featured Candido, Sabu, and Bennett’s regular drummer Billy Exiner.

Love for Sale

Love for Sale, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“Love For Sale,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: I Only Have Eyes For You

The song of the day for Thursday, December 8, 2016 is ” I Only Have Eyes For You.”

About This Song

“I Only Have Eyes For You” was written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin for the 1934 movie Dames, where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. It has been steadily recorded since 1934 by many singers including Billie Holiday, Bette Midler, Dinah Shore and Ella Fitzgerald. It’s also been recorded by The Flamingos and even Art Garfunkel. This very lovely song seems to speak to listeners from all generations.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “I Only Have Eyes For You” in 1957. It was recorded for The Beat of My Heart, but was cut from the initial release. It was included on the 1996 CD re-release. The Beat of My Heart featured percussionists from all over the world; “I Only Have Eyes For You” featured Candido, Sabu and Billy Exiner.

I Only Have Eyes For You

Listen to I Only Have Eyes For You on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1957.


“I Only Have Eyes For You,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

I have two videos today from the movie Dames. First is the initial appearance of the song, with Dick Powell singing the song to Ruby Keeler.

"I Only Have Eyes For You" - Dick Powell - DAMES (1934) w/ Ruby Keeler

SOURCE: DailyMotion I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU is by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film "DAMES" where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. DAMES is a 1934 Warner Bros. musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright with dance numbers created by Busby Berkeley.

This is the Busby Berkeley production number of the same song. I’m not really sure what’s going on with faces thing at the beginning. Ah, Hollywood!

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