The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Pick Yourself Up

The song of the day for Wednesday, August 23, 2023, is “Pick Yourself Up.”

About This Song

“Pick Yourself Up” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It is used in the early part of the film when Astaire pretends to not be able to dance and asks for Ginger Rogers as his dance instructor just so he can dance with her. This song has been widely recorded, including those by Nat King Cole, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Pick Yourself Up” for his album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, released in 2015. It was arranged by Bill Charlap. The Bill Charlap Trio (Charlap on piano, Peter Washington on bass, Kenny Washington on drums) accompanied Bennett.

“Pick Yourself Up,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available on Apple Music.

Here’s today’s song with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers:

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Tuesday, July 25, 2023, is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About This Song

“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the 1936 film Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for that year. Dorothy Fields was the first woman to win an Oscar for songwriting.

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.

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, it’s said) 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 on Apple Music.

We’ve also got Fred Astaire’s introduction of “The Way You Look Tonight” from Swing Time. Note that Astaire doesn’t dance to this number. Instead, he sits at the piano and sings it to Ginger Rogers.

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Song of the Day: Pick Yourself Up

The song of the day for Saturday, January 30, 2021, is “Pick Yourself Up.”

About This Song

“Pick Yourself Up” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields for the film Swing Time, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It was used in the early part of the film where Astaire pretends to not be able to dance and asks for Ginger Rogers as his dance instructor just so he could dance with her. This song has been widely recorded, including those by Nat King Cole, Anita O’Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Pick Yourself Up” with The Bill Charlap Trio for the 2015 album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. It swings quite nicely.

Pick Yourself Up

Tony Bennett, Bill Charlap · The Silver Lining - The Songs of Jerome Kern · Song · 2015

“Pick Yourself Up,” as well as The Silver Lining, is available from Apple Music.

We’ve got some great videos today:

Here’s Astaire and Rogers from Swing Time

Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers - Pick Yourself Up [High Quality]

An iconic dance scene from the 1936 movie "Swing Time". This movie was selected in 2004 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It also ranks #90 in AFI"s (American Film Institute) "100 Years... 100 Movies" list.

Last June, singer Tony DeSare created this fabulous All-Star Jazz Collab for the Actors Fund version of “Pick Yourself Up.” It was a fundraiser for the Actors Fund and much needed as actors have not been able to work since the pandemic began. I find myself returning to this video often, as it always makes me feel happy!

Pick Yourself Up - All-Star Jazz Collab for the Actors Fund

Go here to donate to Actors Fund: http://actorsfund.org/jazz Pick Yourself Up - By Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields Featuring: Piano: Tedd Firth Bass: Billy Thornton Guitar: Edward Decker Drums and Percussion: Brian Czach Background Vocals: Jarrett Johnson Featured Singers (in order of appearance): Clint Holmes Tierney Sutton @Steve Tyrell @Tony

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Saturday, May 20, 2017 is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “The Way You Look Tonight,” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields in 1936 for the movie Swing Time. The song was introduced by Fred Astaire and 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 has recorded today’s song several times. Today I’ve chosen his first recording from 1958 for the album Long Ago and Far Away. The arrangement is by Frank DeVol.

The Way You Look Tonight

Listen to The Way You Look Tonight on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1958


“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as Long Ago and Far Away, is available from iTunes.

About Today

While our version of “The Way You Look Tonight” was Bennett’s first recording of the song, our video is his most recent. Here are Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap performing “The Way You Look Tonight” from their 2015 album The Silver Lining: The Music of Jerome Kern.

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight

The song of the day for Thursday, October 27, 2016 is “The Way You Look Tonight.”

About This Song

“The Way You Look Tonight” was written by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields in 1936. It was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 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 Bennet has recorded this beautiful song several times. Today I feature his most recent recording from last year’s The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, with Bill Charlap on piano.

The Way You Look Tonight

Tony Bennett, Bill Charlap · The Silver Lining - The Songs of Jerome Kern · Song · 2015


“The Way You Look Tonight,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available from iTunes.

About Today

Tonight, my friend Lesley and I had the great honor to see Tony Bennett in concert here in Portland. We had a wonderful time, for the most part, save a few drunks seated in front of and behind us. One drank from a flask throughout, getting drunker and talking louder the entire time. The one behind us was yelling and shouting like he was at football game. He also sang along to many of the songs, especially this one. So tonight when Tony sings “The Way You Look Tonight,” I mostly heard the idiot drunk behind me. I dedicate this recording to me and to Lesley, so that we can hear it sung by the master himself.

But who needs an excuse to listen to this song? It’s one of Kern’s best and Tony’s recording is better than great.