The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: A Rainy Day

The song of the day for Sunday, January 18, 2015 is “A Rainy Day.”

About This Song

The great songwriting team of Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz wrote “A Rainy Day” for the 1932 Broadway musical revue Flying Colors, which starred Clifton Webb, Patsy Kelly, Imogene Coca and Buddy and Vilma Ebsen.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “A Rainy Day” for his 1986 album The Art of Excellence. It was arranged and conducted by Jorge Calandrelli.

About Today

It’s raining cats and dogs here in Portland. But Ani the cat and I are safely tucked away in our nice warm house with a fire going.

A Rainy Day

Listen to A Rainy Day on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1986


“A Rainy Day,” as well as The Art of Excellence, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: How Do You Keep The Music Playing

Today is Aretha Franklin’s birthday! In honor of her birthday, the song of the day for March 25, 2014 is “How Do You Keep The Music Playing.”

About This Song

“How Do You Keep The Music Playing” was written by Michel Legrand, with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, in 1982 for the movie Best Friends. The song, along with three others written by the Bergmans, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song has been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Frankie Laine, Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand and many more popular singers.

About This Version

Tony Bennett tells this story in his autobiography The Good Life, as he talks about the creation of The Art of Excellence:

I included a song on that album called “How Do You Keep The Music Playing” by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, which I first heard Sinatra sing. One night I went to see Frank perform at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. I had no idea he knew I was there, but right after he finished singing the song, he said to me, in full view of thousands of people, “Tony! You should sing this song!” How could I refuse?

I had the great pleasure of hearing Tony Bennett sing this song live in concert and it was wonderful. The song is a favorite of mine, as is the duet with Miss Franklin. The Year of Tony Bennett wishes her a very happy birthday. But enough talking … time for a song.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4LTa2DALHWoAvFKQwsRugj
“How Do You Keep The Music Playing,” as well as the album Duets II, is available from iTunes.

And even though it isn’t Saturday, the video of these two magnificent musicians recording this song cannot be missed.

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Song of the Day: How Do You Keep the Music Playing

The song of the day for Saturday, February 22, 2014 is “How Do You Keep The Music Playing.”

About This Song

“How Do You Keep The Music Playing” was written by Michel Legrand with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It was written for a 1982 movie called Best Friends that starred Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn and was initially recorded as a duet by Patti Austin and James Ingram. Frank Sinatra recorded this song in 1984 and encouraged Tony Bennett to record it. It remains a very popular song with popular and cabaret artists.

About This Version

Today’s version is Bennett’s first recording from 1986 for his comeback album The Art of Excellence (and boy, was it excellent). The song was arranged and conducted by Jorge Calandrelli, with whom Bennett continues to work.

My co-blogger Lesley and I were just discussing how much we love the songs with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman because they understand mature love and write eloquently about it. Today’s song is a perfect example.

http://open.spotify.com/track/7FKpxwRQeBorSxzNKOXbbM
“How Do You Keep The Music Playing,” as well as the remastered The Art of Excellence album, is available from iTunes.

And as it’s YouTube Saturday, I’m more than happy to have an excuse to, once again, show the video of Tony Bennett and Aretha Franklin recording this song for Duets II. Watch the tear towards the end. I dare you to not get a lump in your throat.

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Song of the Day: How Do You Keep The Music Playing

The song of the day for Saturday, November 30, 2013 is “How Do You Keep the Music Playing.”

About This Song

“How Do You Keep the Music Playing” was written by Michel Legrand, with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, in 1982 for the movie Best Friends. The song has been a favorite with popular and cabaret singers, including Susannah McCorkle, Andy Williams, Frankie Laine, Maureen McGovern, Frank Sinatra and, of course, Tony Bennett.

This song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. Interestingly, three of the four songs nominated that year had lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. They did win the award for “If We Were In Love,” from the movie Yes, Giorgio.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded this song in 1986 for his album The Art of Excellence. Your opinionated author has been a fan of this song ever since. The first time I ever heard Tony Bennett in concert (Seattle, Washington in September, 2007), he sang this song. He also told the story of how he was attending a Frank Sinatra concert at the Hollywood Bowl and Frank Sinatra told him, during the concert, that he needed to sing this song. I’m very glad that he took Frank’s advice in this matter.

How Do You Keep The Music Playing?

Listen to How Do You Keep The Music Playing? on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1986

“How Do You Keep the Music Playing,” as well as The Art of Excellence, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

Our YouTube Saturday video is the wonderful video of the duet of Tony Bennett and Aretha Franklin recording this song for the album Duets II. That single tear on Tony’s cheek at the end of the song moves me each and every time.

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Song of the Day: Moments Like This

The song of the day for Wednesday, November 27, 2013 is “Moments Like This.”

About This Song

“Moments Like This” was written by Burton Lane (music) and Frank Loesser (lyrics) for the 1938 movie College Swing, starring Florence George, who introduced the song. It is a great ballad and got several good recordings when it was first released, including those by Maxine Sullivan, Dick Stabile and His Orchestra, and Teddy Wilson. Tony Bennett is credited (by Thomas Hischak in The American Musical Film Song Encyclopedia) for generating new interest in the song with his 1986 recording.

About This Version

Today’s song is from what is, as far as I’m concerned, the greatest come-back album ever: The Art of Excellence. And excellent it was. The album was produced by Danny Bennett and Ettore Stratta, whose song “Forget The Woman” was included on the album. The Ralph Sharon Trio, with Paul Langosch on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums, played on the album. The orchestra was conducted by the Argentine composer, arranger and orchestrator Jorge Calandrelli. Mr. Calandrelli continues to work with Tony Bennett on his albums up to today. The great cover photography is by Annie Leibowitz. Excellence everywhere. Including today’s song.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4IqXiFVYg0cw1QyjxNuqvL
“Moments Like This,” as well as The Art of Excellence, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

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