The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Good Life

The song of the day for Wednesday, November 2, 2016 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

“The Good Life” was written in 1962 by Sacha Distel and Jack Reardon. Originally titled “La Belle Vie,” the song 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 1962 for the album I Wanna Be Around, released in 1963. The arrangement is by Marty Manning.

The Good Life

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


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

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Good Life

The song of the day for Friday, January 29, 2015 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “The Good Life,” was written in 1962 by Sacha Distel, with English 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 1962 for his album I Wanna Be Around. The arrangement is by Marty Manning.

The Good Life

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


“The Good Life,” as well as , is available from iTunes.

About Today

The composer of today’s song, Sacha Distel, was born eighty-two years ago today, on January 29, 1933 in Paris. His uncle was a jazz promoter in Paris and young Sacha grew up listening to and falling in love with jazz. In addition to his gifts as a composer, he was a renowned jazz guitarist and singer who recorded many fine albums. Distel died in 2004 at the age of seventy-one.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Good Life

The song of the day for Thursday, January 29, 2015 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

“The Good Life” was written in 1962 by Sacha Distel, with lyrics by Jack Reardon. Originally titled “La Belle Vie,” the song 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 the album I Wanna Be Around, released in 1963. It was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning and produced by Ernie Altschuler.

About Today

Songwriter Sacha Distel was born on this day, January 29, in Paris in the year 1933. His uncle, Ray Ventura, was a jazz promoter in the 1930s and was instrumental in developing swing in France. Thanks to his uncle, he was able to meet and listen to the great swing artists and founded his own band that focused on jazz and bebop. He is probably best known for “The Good Life,” though he wrote many other songs over his career. He performed regularly up to his death in 2004.

The Good Life

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


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

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: The Good Life

The song of the day for Saturday, November 15, 2014 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

“The Good Life” was written in 1962 with music by Sacha Distel and 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

This version is Bennett’s original recording for his terrific 1963 album I Wanna Be Around. It was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning and was produced by Ernie Altschuler.

About Today

Yes, it’s Saturday once again. And I have a nice video for us today: Tony Bennett singing today’s song from a 1999 concert, with Ralph Sharon on piano.

The Good Life

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

By Leave a Comment

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. Song · Tony Bennett · 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.