The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: They Can’t Take That Away From Me

The song of the day for Saturday, September 13, 2025, is “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”

About This Song

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me” was written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 Fred Astaire – Ginger Rodgers movie Shall We Dance. Unlike most songs that Astaire introduced in his films, there was no dance number associated with “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” Astaire and Rodgers finally danced to “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” in their final film, The Barkleys of Broadway, released in 1949. It is one of the Gershwin brother’s finest love songs. George Gershwin died just two months after this film was released.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” on October 16, 1967, for the album For Once In My Life. Torrie Zito wrote the arrangement.

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” as well as For Once In My Life, is available on Apple Music.

This video contains today’s song as performed in both Shall We Dance and The Barkleys of Broadway.

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Song of the Day: They Can’t Take That Away From Me

The song of the day for Friday, November 8, 2024, is “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”

About This Song

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me” was written by George and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 Fred Astaire–Ginger Rodgers movie Shall We Dance. Unlike most songs Astaire introduced in his films, no dance number was associated with “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” It is one of the Gershwin’s finest love songs. George Gershwin died just two months after this film was released.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” on October 16, 1967, for the album For Once In My Life. Torrie Zito wrote the arrangement.

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” as well as For Once In My Life, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: They All Laughed

The song of the day for Saturday, April 27, 2024, is “They All Laughed.”

About This Song

“They All Laughed” was written by George and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 Fred Astaire musical Shall We Dance.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recorded “They All Laughed” in 2014 for their album Cheek To Cheek. Marion Evans wrote the very fine arrangement.

“They All Laughed,” as well as Cheek To Cheek, is available on Apple Music.

Cheek To Cheek won the 57th Annual Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

We’ve got Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers performing “They All Laughed” from Shall We Dance. Ginger even sings the verse!

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Song of the Day: They Can’t Take That Away From Me

The song of the day for Monday, January 2, 2023, is “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”

About This Song

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me” was written in 1936 by George and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 Fred Astaire – Ginger Rogers movie Shall We Dance. Unlike most songs that Astaire introduced in his films, there was no dance number associated with “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” However, the song was used again in the 1945 film The Barkleys of Broadway, where Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced to “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” It is one of the Gershwin’s finest love songs. George Gershwin died just two months after this film was released.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” in July 1993 and was released that year on Steppin’ Out. It was arranged by Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon.

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” as well as Steppin’ Out is available on Apple Music.

I found this video that has the 1937 version of Astaire singing “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” from Shall We Dance and 1949’s The Barkleys of Broadway with Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing.

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Song of the Day: Shall We Dance

The song of the day for Wednesday, December 1, 2021, is “Shall We Dance.”

About This Song

“Shall We Dance” was written by George and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 Astaire and Rogers film Shall We Dance. Gershwin wrote a series of songs for this film that demonstrated the different styles of dance and choreography, including ballet, waltzes, and more. Other great songs from this score include “They Can’t Take Away From Me” and “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Shall We Dance” in 1993 for his album Steppin’ Out. Bennett and Ralph Sharon did the arrangement.

“Shall We Dance,” as well as Steppin’ Out is available on Apple Music.