The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: The Good Life

The song of the day for Tuesday, August 20, 2013 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

It is said that Sacha Distel wrote “The Good Life” after his relationship with Bridgette Bardot ended when she refused his proposal of marriage. I don’t know if this is true or not, but it’s a great story. The song was written in 1962 for the movie The Seven Capital Sins, with lyrics by Jack Reardon. The original French title was “La Belle Vie.”

About This Version

Today’s song comes from Tony Bennett’s 1963 album I Wanna Be Around. In addition to today’s iconic song, the album also contains the Johnny Mercer-Sadie Vimmerstedt song “I Wanna Be Around,” as well as many other fine songs. “The Good Life” was arranged by Marty Manning and produced by Ernie Altschuler.


“The Good Life,” as well as the album I Wanna Be Around, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Good Life

The Year of Tony Bennett celebrates the composer Sacha Distel, who was born on January 29, 1933, with our choice of The Good Life as the song of the day for January 29, 2013.

Tony Bennett and Sacha Distel
Tony Bennett and Sacha Distel

About The Good Life

Originally known as La Belle Vie, The Good Lifewas written by composer Sacha Distel with lyrics by Jack Reardon. It was written 1962 and was featured in the movie Seven Capital Sins. The song is primarily associated with Tony Bennett, but has been sung by many other performers, including Frank Sinatra, Petula Clark, Duke Ellington, Shirley Horn, and many more.

About This Version

Today’s version of The Good Life is the first. And the best. Tony Bennett recorded the song in December 1962. It appeared as a single in 1963 and was the first song on Bennett’s 1963 album I Wanna Be Around, which also featured the Johnny Mercer song of the same name. I Wanna Be Around stands as one of Bennett’s great albums and The Good Life as one of his very best recordings. It is also worth noting that Tony Bennett titled his 1998 autobiography The Good Life.

The Good Life, as well as the full I Wanna Be Around album, is available from iTunes.

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Song the the Day: The Good Life

The Song of the Day for October 7, 2012 is The Good Life.

About The Good Life

The Good Life, originally known as La Belle Vie, was written by composer Sacha Distel with lyrics by Jack Reardon. It was written 1962 and was featured in the movie Seven Capital Sins. The song is primariy associated with Tony Bennett, but has been sung by many other performers, including Frank Sinatra, Petula Clark, Duke Ellington, Shirley Horn, and many more.

About This Version

We choose this song today in our preparation for Viva Duets, which will include a duet of this song with Franco De Vita. This version is from Mr. Bennett’s 1963 I Wanna Be Around. Note that Mr. Bennett used “The Good Life” as the title of his autobiography.

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