The song of the day for Monday, August 11, 1954 is “Darn That Dream.”

About This Song

“Darn That Dream” was written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Eddie DeLange for the 1939 Broadway musical Swingin’ the Dream, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream. The cast had many big names: Louis Armstrong playing Bottom, Maxine Sullivan as Titania, Bill Bailey and Dorothy Dandridge. It only ran for 13 performances and is considered to be a flop. Fortunately, “Darn That Dream” proved to be a big hit and earned some money for the investors. Another significant recording of “Darn That Dream” is by Billie Holiday, from her 1957 album Body and Soul.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s first album Cloud 7. It was arranged by Chuck Wayne.

About Today

Tony Bennett recorded “Darn That Dream” exactly sixty years ago today: August 11, 1954. You can click the date to read more about this session on our sister site, The Interactive Tony Bennett Discography.

Our congratulations to Mr. Bennett on his amazing recording career and for this wonderful first album: Cloud 7. One of my favorite reviews of this album said that “the mood is nocturnal, elegant, amorous, hip.” It’s all of those things and more.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1h3EHlaKpPhHBIpyHFRJo0
“Darn That Dream,” as well as the album Cloud 7, is available from iTunes.