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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

May 15, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: They All Laughed

The song of the day for Friday, April 15, 2015 is “They All Laughed.”

About This Song

George and Ira Gershwin wrote “They All Laughed” in 1937 for the Fred Astaire film Shall We Dance, where it was sung by Ginger Rogers and also features her and Fred dancing.

About This Version

This song is a favorite of Tony Bennett’s. I believe he’s sung at most, if not all, of his concerts that I’ve attended. He always sings it in a charming and somewhat self-effacing way that the audience really loves. He’s recorded it several times, including in 1968 for I’ve Gotta Be Me and in 2011 for Cheek To Cheek with Lady Gaga.

About Today

They All Laughed

Listen to They All Laughed on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1993.


“They All Laughed,” as well as Steppin’ Out, is available from iTunes.

Today, we have an extended excerpt from “Shall We Dance,” featuring Ginger Rogers singing today’s song. And she sings the verse, which I’d not heard until today when I found this video!

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Fred Astaire, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Shall We Dance, Steppin' Out

May 6, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

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

The song of the day for Wednesday, May 6, 201 is “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”

About This Song

This song was written by George 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.” 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 has recorded this lovely song several times, first in 1967 for the album For Once In My Life, with an arrangement by Torrie Zito. He also sang the song on MTV Unplugged concert in 1994 and as a duet with Brad Paisley for the Target version of Duets II. Today’s beautiful recording is, of course, from Steppin’ Out and was arranged by Tony Bennett and Ralph Sharon.

They Can"t Take That Away from Me

Listen to They Can"t Take That Away from Me on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1993.


“They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” as well as Steppin’ Out, is available from iTunes.

I have two videos for you today. First is Tony Bennett singing today’s song with Elvis Costello from the MTV Unplugged concert:

And here is the inimitable Fred Astaire singing this song to Ginger Rogers, from Shall We Dance:

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Elvis Costello, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Shall We Dance, Steppin' Out

February 8, 2015 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: They All Laughed

The song of the day for Sunday, February 8, 2015 is “They All Laughed.”

About This Song

“They All Laughed” was written in 1937 by George and Ira Gershwin for the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie Shall We Dance. It’s a delightful comic song, with some fun cultural references.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Cheek To Cheek, released last year by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. The terrific arrangement is the great Marion Evans. I am so glad they included this song on their album. I’ve heard Bennett sing it several times in concert and it’s a favorite of mine.

About Today

It’s Grammy Day and I am so looking forward to seeing Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga perform on the show tomorrow night. And pick up their award. They are going to be very busy — they also have a concert at the Wiltern tomorrow evening at 9:30, after the awards ceremony.

They All Laughed

Listen to They All Laughed on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2014.


“They All Laughed,” as well as Cheek To Cheek, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Cheek To Cheek, Song of the Day Tagged With: Cheek to Cheek, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Shall We Dance

September 26, 2014 By Suzanne 1 Comment

Song of the Day: They All Laughed

The song of the day for Friday, September 26, 2014 is “They All Laughed.”

About This Song

George and Ira Gershwin wrote “They All Laughed” in 1937 for the Fred Astaire film Shall We Dance. Tony Bennett regularly sings this song in his concerts.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded this song three times: in 1968 for I’ve Gotta Be Me and again in 1993 for Steppin’ Out. Today, however, we present the most recent version: 2014 with Lady Gaga for Cheek To Cheek. The fabulous swinging arrangement for the big band is by the great Marion Evans.

About Today

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of George Gershwin, who was born on September 26, 1898 as Jacob Gershwine in Brooklyn, New York. He has said to have grown up as an ordinary kid: roller skating, hanging out with his friends and generally enjoying himself. At the age of ten, he attended a violin recital for one of his friends and soon his life became about music. When his parents bought a piano for his older brother Ira, it was Jacob/George who played it constantly. He got his first musical job at the age of 15 as a song plugger for a music publishing company. By 1919, he had composed his first famous song, “Swanee,” sung by Al Jolson. He began writing Broadway musicals in 1920 and began to work with Buddy DeSylva and in 1924, he began working with Ira as his lyricist. Their first hit was Lady Be Good, and they went on to write a string of hits for Broadway and films. At the same time, George, who had been trained classically as a pianist, wrote serious music including Porgy and Bess, An American in Paris, Rhapsody in Blue and other concert pieces.

In 1936, the brothers moved to Hollywood to write for the film industry, starting with Shall We Dance. At that time, he began complaining of severe headaches and suffered from mood swings, poor coordination and olfactory hallucinations. On July 9, 1937, he was working with Yip Harburg on the score for a new film and collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital, where he fell into a coma. It was only then that his brain tumor was discovered and subsequently operated upon. He died on July 11, 1937. He was 38 years old.

They All Laughed

Listen to They All Laughed on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 2014.


“They All Laughed,” as well as the album Cheek To Cheek (Deluxe version), is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Cheek To Cheek, Song of the Day Tagged With: Cheek to Cheek, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Lady Gaga, Shall We Dance

April 19, 2014 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

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

The song of the day for Saturday, April 19,2014 is “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”

About This Song

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me” was written in 1937 by George and Ira Gershwin for the movie Shall We Dance, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. Sadly, George Gershwin died two months after the movie’s release.

This song has been a popular and jazz favorite from its very beginning. It’s been recorded by a wide range of performers including Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Anita O’Day, Fred Astaire, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker and Sarah Vaughan. The song ranks 86th on the list of standards at jazz standards.com.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded this song in 1971 for the album Love Story. Today’s version, however, is from the 1993 album Steppin’ Out. Bennett is ably supported by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Doug Richeson on bass and Clayton Cameron on drums.

http://open.spotify.com/track/0O6zqUCiOz7ocTC8DbseXh
“They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” as well as the album Steppin’ Out, is available from iTunes.

The Year of Tony Bennett was thrilled that many new videos were recently added to the Tony Bennett Vevo section on YouTube, including this one:

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Shall We Dance, Steppin' Out

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