The song of the day for Wednesday, July 15, 2026, is “The Way You Look Tonight.”
About Today
We are very happy to celebrate the great Dorothy Fields on the anniversary of her birth on July 15, 1904. She was born into a prominent show business family. Her father, Lew Fields, was a successful theatrical producer. Her brother Joseph was a writer and producer; her other brother, Herbert, was a writer who collaborated with Dorothy.
She had a remarkable career as librettist and lyricist, starting in 1928, writing with Jimmy McHugh on Blackbirds on Broadway; the pair continued to work on several Cotton Club shows. In the 1930s, she began working on films, especially Jerome Kern. She returned to Broadway shows, writing librettos for Stars in Your Eyes and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn with Arthur Schwartz. Dorothy, with her brother Herbert, wrote the book for Irving Berlin‘s Annie Get Your Gun. In the 1960s, she wrote lyrics for Sweet Charity and Seesaw with Cy Coleman.
Her career lasted for 48 years and in that time she won Tony, Oscar, and Grammy Awards. She was the first woman to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
About This Song
“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film Swing Time; the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the year. Dorothy Fields remarked “The first time Jerry played that melody for me I went out and started to cry. The release absolutely killed me. I couldn’t stop, it was so beautiful.” Dorothy Fields was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting. It’s a magnificent love song that has found a strong position as a jazz standard, with recordings by Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Mel Tormé, and Frank Sinatra.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded this song in only one take for the 1997 movie My Best Friend’s Wedding. This recording is included in Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 2, which was included in the 2011 Complete Collection box set.
“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as Rarities, Outtakes & Other Delights, Vol. 2, is available from iTunes.
I’ve included a video of a podcast from David Armstrong’s BROADWAY NATION, Dorothy Fields & the Women Who Invented Broadway.” In addition to Dorothy Fields, the video also looks at Betty Comden, Mary Rodgers, Bella Spewack, and Carolyn Leigh. It’s a bit long at 33 minutes, but well worth watching, so please save the link.