The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: My Old Flame

The song of the day for Monday, April 20, 2015 is “My Old Flame.”

About This Song

“My Old Flame” was written in 1934 by Arthur Johnson (music) and Sam Coslow (lyrics) for the movie Belle of the Nineties, which starred Mae West. Mae West was an ardent Duke Ellington fan and insisted that he and his orchestra be hired to do the film and accompany her when she sang it.

About This Version

Today’s song, “My Old Flame,” is the 11th song from Tony Bennett On Holiday. It features a very nice arrangement with Ralph Sharon backed by Jorge Calandrelli’s orchestra. It starts quite nicely with Bennett singing a cappella, which is always a joy to hear. Even though the tempo is slow, it’s more wistful than sad, and quite lovely.

My Old Flame

Tony Bennett · Tony Bennett On Holiday: A Tribute To Billie Holiday · Song · 1997


“My Old Flame,” as well as Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

About Billie Holiday’s Version

Billie Holiday recorded four versions of “My Old Flame” on March 25, 1944 at the WOR recording studios in New York. All four of these versions would up being released at some point, both as singles on the Commodore label and in various collections. Today’s version is MX A4743-1 and was originally released on Commodore 585.

My Old Flame

Listen to My Old Flame on Spotify. Song · Billie Holiday · 2009

“My Old Flame,” as well as The Complete Commodore and Decca Masters, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Sing You Sinners

The song of the day for Saturday, February 21, 2014 is “Sing You Sinners.”

About This Song

Sing You Sinners was written by W. Franke Harling and Sam Coslow and used in the 1930 film Honey, starring Lillian Roth. Even though Bing Crosby starred in a 1938 musical called Sing You Sinners, this song was not used in that film.

About This Version

This version is the first and the best. Tony Bennett recorded Sing You Sinners in July, 1950; it was released in October of that year. It features a great arrangement by Marty Manning. Unlike some of the recordings that he made when he first started recording with Columbia, this song sounds more like the Tony Bennett we know today than the early singer. I think it has everything to do with the material. He might have first recorded this song in any decade of his career and I doubt if it would sound much different from this version. And it’s a great song … then and now. He regularly sings this song in concert and still swings it hard!

http://open.spotify.com/track/2D8HFZ4W9TMRYccuOX91zh
“Sing You Sinners,” as well as the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Volume 1, is available from iTunes.

About Today

It’s been a long hard week at work and I thought Saturday would never get here. But it’s here at last and here’s our video: “Sing You Sinners” sung by Tony Bennett and John Legend.

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Song of the Day: Sing You Sinners

The song of the day for Sunday, July 20, 2014 is “Sing You Sinners.”

About This Song

“Sing You Sinners” was written for the 1930 movie Honey by W. Franke Harling (music) and Sam Coslow (lyrics).

About This Version

Sixty-four years ago today, Tony Bennett was in the studio with arranger and conductor Marty Manning to record two songs: “Just Say I Love Her” and “Sing You Sinners.” It was his third recording session for Columbia Records, with whom he had just signed a contract. I absolutely love this version of “Sing You Sinners” and feel that it really shows the world the kind of singer Bennett was going to be.

You can read  about the July 20, 2014 session at our sister site, The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography (aka this author’s labor of love). The content for the first phase is almost completed. I still have some programming to do to build the search capability, but you can still easily find what you’re interested in there.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2D8HFZ4W9TMRYccuOX91zh
“Sing You Sinners,” as well as all the singles on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: My Old Flame

The song of the day for Friday, June 13, 2014 is “My Old Flame.”

About This Song

“My Old Flame” was written by Arthur Johnston (music) and Sam Coslow (lyrics) in 1934 for the movie Belle of the Nineties, which starred Mae West. Miss West was an ardent fan of Duke Ellington and insisted that Ellington and His Orchestra appear in the film and accompany her for the singing of this song.

The song has been widely recorded by artists including Cootie Williams, Ben Webster, Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday, among others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “My Old Flame” for his 1997 tribute album to Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett On Holiday. There are many fine recordings on this album in addition to today’s song including “Trav’lin’ Light,” “Good Morning, Heartache” and “Me, Myself and I.” The album features Ralph Sharon on piano, with strings arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2jBarJ6zzh3TyZn1hZqpMT
“My Old Flame,” as well as the album Tony Bennett On Holiday, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Sing You Sinners

The song of the day for Saturday, March 22, 2014 is “Sing You Sinners.”

About This Song

Sing You Sinners was written by W. Franke Harling and Sam Coslow and used in the 1930 film Honey, starring Lillian Roth. Even though Bing Crosby starred in a 1938 musical called Sing You Sinners, this song was not used in that film.

About This Version

This version is the first and the best. Tony Bennett recorded Sing You Sinners in July, 1950; it was released in October of that year. It features a great arrangement by Marty Manning. Unlike some of the recordings that he made when he first started recording with Columbia, this song sounds more like the Tony Bennett we know today than the early singer. I think it has everything to do with the material. He might have first recorded this song in any decade of his career and I doubt if it would sound much different than this version. And it’s a great song … then and now. He regularly sings this song in concert and still swings it hard!

http://open.spotify.com/track/2D8HFZ4W9TMRYccuOX91zh
“Sing You Sinners,” as well as the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Volume 1, is available from iTunes.

For you YouTube viewing pleasure, here is “Sing You Sinners” sung by Tony Bennett and John Legend.