The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Prelude To A Kiss

The song of the day for Thursday, January 26, 2023, is “Prelude To A Kiss.”

About This Song

“Prelude To A Kiss” was written in 1938 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Gordon and Irving Mills. Ted Gioia in The Jazz Standards notes that in the late 1930s, having practically invented swing music:

… at this juncture he does the exact opposite. The Duke uses his fame and great artistic freedom to become more ambitious, more experimental, less beholden to the formulas of swing music. … ‘Prelude To A Kiss’ from 1938 is a case in point.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Prelude To A Kiss” in May 1999 for Bennett Sings Ellington Hot & Cool. Featured on this recording are Gray Sargent on guitar and Joel Smirnoff on violin.

“Prelude To A Kiss,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool is available on Apple Music.

Here’s Ellington’s first recording of “Prelude To A Kiss,” an instrumental, featuring the impeccable Johnny Hodges:

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Song of the Day: My Foolish Heart

The song of the day for Thursday, March 7, 2013 is My Foolish Heart.

About This Song

My Foolish Heart was written in 1949 by Victor Young (music) and Ned Washington (lyrics) and introduced in a film of the same name, based on a story by J.D. Salinger. Even featuring a cast with Dana Andrews and Susan Hayward, the film was not successful. It marked the first and last time that Salinger would ever work with Hollywood. Thankfully, the song survived to become a popular jazz and popular standard.

In his new (and wonderful) book The Jazz Standards, Ted Gioia credits Carmen McRae and André Previn, who both recorded the song on the exact same day, with reviving the song’s popularity, which has lasted up to today.

About This Version

Today’s version of My Foolish Heart is from The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album.  Bill Evans had recorded this song in 1961 with Scott LaFaro (bass) and Paul Motian (drums) at the Village Vanguard just few days before LaFaro’s fatal automobile accident.

http://open.spotify.com/track/18t5NjQL6Py6w9M9gc1hNh
My Foolish Heart, as well as The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album, is available from iTunes.

The remastered Bill Evans Trio Live at the Village Vanguard is also available from iTunes.

And, thanks to YouTube, we have a video of Bill Evans and My Foolish Heart from 1965.

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