The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: All the Things You Are

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 28, 2026,is “All the Things You Are.”

About This Song

“All the Things You Are” was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1939 musical Very Warm For May. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder considers it to be one of Kern’s finest songs and with good reason. It’s a beautiful tune and Hammerstein’s lyrics are excellent.

I discovered a quite interesting post about this history of “All The Things You Are” on the Dan Reitz Dot Blog. The post has links to several recordings of the song.

About This Version

Tony Bennett performed “All the Things You Are” live on June 9, 1962, at Carnegie Hall; the album Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall was released in August 1962. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

“All the Things You Are,” as well as Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall, is available on Apple Music.

In researching today’s song, I came across an episode of Marian McPartland‘s Piano Jazz with Stephen Sondheim, where Sondheim analyzes and deconstructs “All the Things You Are.” There’s a fair amount of music theory in the discussion, but I think you all will enjoy it.

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Song of the Day: Home is the Place

The song of the day for Friday, June 13, 2025, is “Home is the Place.”

About This Song

“Home is the Place” was written by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim in 1960. After Gypsy opened in 1959, Styne expressed an interest in their continuing to work together, resulting in “Home is the Place” and “Come Over Here.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Home is the Place” on April 16, 1968, for the album Yesterday I Heard The Rain, featuring an arrangement by Torrie Zito. Based on my research, this appears to be the only recording of “Home is the Place.”

“Home is the Place,” as well as Yesterday I Heard The Rain, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Take The Moment

The song of the day for Saturday, March 22, 2025, is “Take The Moment.”

About Today

Today we are celebrating the birth of Stephen Sondheim, who was born in New York City on March 22, 1930. He died at his country home in Roxbury, Connecticut on November 26, 2021. I just want to say that the very first musical I saw on Broadway was Company, and it changed my world.

About This Song

“Take The Moment” was written by Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the lyrics, for the 1965 Broadway musical Do I Heart a Waltz?. The production was troubled from the start. Oscar Hammerstein passed away as the writing of the piece was started. Stephen Sondheim was a protege of Hammerstein and was asked by Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book, and Mary Rodgers, daughter of Richard Rodgers, to write the lyrics, Richard Rodgers and Sondheim did not mesh and their working relationship was not happy for either artist.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Take The Moment” on January 4, 1965, for his album If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set. Don Costa wrote the arrangement.

“Take The Moment,” as well as If I Ruled The World: Songs For the Jet Set, is available on Apple Music.

Bruce Weber interviewed Stephen Sondheim for the New York Times in June 2008. It was published with his obituary in the Times.

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Song of the Day: Two By Two

The song of the day for Friday, March 22, 2024, is “Two By Two.”

About Today

We honor the late Stephen Sondheim, who co-wrote today’s song with Richard Rodgers. Sondheim was born on March 22, 1930, and died on November 26, 2021. My very first Broadway show was the original production of Company. He was one of the greatest composers who ever wrote for the musical theatre.

About This Song

Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim wrote “Two By Two” in 1965 for the musical Do I Hear a Waltz?, though it was cut before the production opened. Sondheim was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein, and recommended to both Rodgers and Sondheim that they should work together after Hammerstein died in 1960. Do I Hear a Waltz? was based on Arthur Luarents’ book The Time of the Cuckoo and wrote the book for the musical. Laurents and Mary Rodgers (daughter of Richard Rodbgers and a close friend of Sondheim) asked Sondheim to write lyrics. Laurents had previously worked with Sondheim on West Side Story, for which he also wrote the book.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Two By Two” on February 19, 1965, for If I Ruled the World: Songs For the Jet Set. Don Costa wrote the arrangement.

“Two By Two,” as well as If I Ruled the World: Songs for the Jet Set/em>, is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: All The Things You Are

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 2, 2024, is “All The Things You Are.”

About This Song

“All The Things You Are” was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1939 musical Very Warm For May. In American Popular Song, Alec Wilder considers it one of Kern’s finest songs, and with good reason. It’s a beautiful tune and Hammerstein’s lyrics are excellent.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “All The Things You Are” in 2015 for his album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. Bill Charlap arranged the song and played solo piano for this recording.

“All The Things You Are,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available on Apple Music.

I found this tape of Stephen Sondheim discussing “All The Things You Are” with Marian McPartland on Sondheim’s appearance on Piano Jazz, which I found fascinating. I hope you enjoy it.

You can read more about Sondheim’s appearance on Piano Jazz in the NPR article.