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 Saturday, August 23, 2014 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

Today’s song was written in 1962 by French composer Sacha Distel, with lyrics by Jack Reardon. Originally titled “La Belle Vie,” “The Good Life” was featured in the movie Seven Capital Sins. Tony Bennett is the singer most widely identified with “The Good Life;” other good recordings include those by Betty Carter, Carmen McRae and Stephane Grappelli. It has been said that Distel wrote this song about Bridgette Bardot, who refused Distel’s marriage proposal.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Good Life” in December, 1962 for his terrific album I Wanna Be Around, released in 1963. “The Good Life” was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning; the album was produced by Ernie Altschuler and was recorded at the CBS 30th Street Studio, with Frank Laico at the engineering helm. In addition to today’s song (which leads off the album) and the title song, other great songs from this album include “I’ve Got Your Number,” “It Was Me” and “Quiet Nights.”

The Good Life

Listen to The Good Life on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1963.

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

And for our Saturday YouTube viewing, here are Tony and Billy Joel singing today’s song, from Duets: An American Classic, released in 2006. You can read more about the album and even read the liner notes at our sister site, The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography.

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Song of the Day: The Good Life

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 29, 2014 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

“The Good Life” (originally known as “La Belle Vie”) was written in 1962 by Sacha Distel, with lyrics by Jack Reardon, for the movie The Seven Capital Sins. Tony Bennett is the singer most widely identified with “The Good Life;” other good recordings include those by Betty Carter, Carmen McRae and Stephane Grappelli. It has been said that Distel wrote this song about Bridgette Bardot, who refused Distel’s marriage proposal in 1959.

We choose this song today in memory of Sacha Distel, who was born on this day, January 29, 1933 in Paris, France. He was a prominent French singer and guitarist. Distel’s uncle, Ray Ventura, was a jazz promoter and so the young Distel was exposed to jazz music at an early age. He worked with Dizzy Gillespie and other American jazz artists in France in the late 1940s. Sacha Distel had a notable career as a composer and entertainer in Europe and America.

Sacha Distel died on July 22, 2004 at the age of 71.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “The Good Life” for his 1963 album I Wanna Be Around. Though recorded by many singers, the song is strongly identified with Tony Bennett.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4MVvSNPOUd2z70vkkNCbLr
“The Good Life,” as well as the album I Wanna Be Around, is available from iTunes.

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Songs of the Day: The Good Life / I Wanna Be Around

The song of the day for Friday, October 25, 2013 is a medley of “The Good Life” and “I Wanna Be Around.”

About These Songs

These are two of Tony Bennett’s most popular songs, both of which originally appeared on Bennett’s 1964 album I Wanna Be Around.

“The Good Life” (“La Belle Vie” in the original French) was written in 1962 by Sacha Distel with lyrics by Jack Reardon. The song originally appeared in the 1963 film Seven Capital Sins.

“I Wanna Be Around” was written 1959 by Johnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstedt. Ms. Vimmerstedt, who lived in Youngstown, Ohio, was a big fan of Johnny Mercer. One day she was inspired to write the line “I want to be around to pick up the pieces, when somebody breaks your heart.” She thought it sounded like a Johnny Mercer song, and so she mailed the lyrics to him (Johnny Mercer, Songwriter, New York, NY). The post office forwarded the letter to ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), who gave it to Mercer. Mercer must have agreed with Sadie, as he not only completed the lyric but composed the tune as well. Mercer gave Ms. Vimmerstedt a healthy portion of the royalties, which made Ms. Vimmerstedt a very well-to-do woman.

About This Version

Because Tony Bennett is performing with the quartet tonight (Casino Rama Entertainment Centre in Rama, Ontario, Canada), we thought it would be nice to feature a recording of a live performance. Tonight’s medley is from Tony Bennett’s Grammy-winning album MTV Unplugged from 1994. Bennett, playing with the Ralph Sharon Trio, gave a great concert live on television and won over a whole new generation of fans in one night. This concert also marks the first time Bennett performed with k.d. lang; a few years later they did an album of songs made famous by Louis Armstrong, A Wonderful World. They have been recording together since then.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3hW8O0OAEOr3ubovTzmswF
“The Good Life / I Wanna Be Around,” as well as the entire MTV Unplugged album, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

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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.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4MVvSNPOUd2z70vkkNCbLr
“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

Listen to The Good Life on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1963.

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

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