The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Make Someone Happy

The song of the day for Tuesday, April 17, 2018 is “Make Someone Happy.”

About This Song

“Make Someone Happy” was written in 1960 for the Broadway musical Do Re Mi, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden too. Do Re Mi, which starred Phil Silvers, concerns a guy, a bit of a loser and a con, who goes into the jukebox business with some gangster pals. ”Make Someone Happy” was introduced by John Reardon and Nancy Dussault.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “Make Someone Happy” in 1976 for their second album, Together Again, released in 1977.

Make Someone Happy - Remastered 2003

Listen to Make Someone Happy - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 1977


“Make Someone Happy,” as well as Together Again, is available from iTunes.

Also from the same album is a piano solo by Bill Evans of the theme from The Bad and The Beautiful, one of my favorite movies about Hollywood. It was released in 1953 and had one hell of a cast: Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell and Barry Sullivan, among many others. The film, including this song, was scored by David Raksin. Vincente Minnelli directed.

The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003

Listen to The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 1977

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Song of the Day: You Must Believe In Spring

The song of the day for Friday, April 5, 2013 is You Must Believe in Spring.

About This Song

You Must Believe In Spring was written by Michel Legrand for the 1967 film musical The Young Girls of Rochefort, with lyrics by the film’s director, Jacques Demy. The English lyrics were written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

About This Version

Today’s version is from Tony Bennett’s and Bill Evans’ second album, Together Again, released in 1977 on Tony’s Improv label.

Alan and Marilyn Bergman said this in the liner notes for 2003 Concord Records CD release of Together Again:

When you write a song, it’s because you have something you want to say. When you finish it, you hope you’ve said what you meant. Where you hear it sung, there are those magical rare times when it’s what you meant and more. When we heard Tony and Bill’s interpretation of You Must Believe in Spring, we knew it was one of those times.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1CiaNBNMmszRQyyWETsAFa
You Must Believe in Spring, as well as the remastered Together Again album, is available from iTunes.

And, because someone from Kiev searched for this song today on Google and found this site as a result, we present Bill Evans’ wonderful piano solo of The Bad and the Beautiful by David Raskin;  this is Alternate Take #1.

The Bad and The Beautiful (alternate take 1)

Listen to The Bad and The Beautiful (alternate take 1) on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 2009

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Song of the Day: But Beautiful

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 6, 2013 is But Beautiful.

About But Beautiful

Written for Road to Rio in 1947, a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road movie, But Beautiful was written by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. The song was introduced by Bing Crosby in the movie. Other notable recordings include those by Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Hartmann, Billy Holiday and Shirley Horn.

About This Version

But Beautiful was a favorite of Bill Evans; he had recorded it live with Stan Getz at the 1974 Laren International Jazz Festival; the recording from the festival was released as an album in 1996.

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded this song for their first album, The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album. All I know is that as a Tony Bennett fan and a jazz piano fan, it doesn’t get any better than their two albums, at least for me.

But Beautiful

Bill Evans, Tony Bennett · The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings · Song · 2009

But Beautiful, as well as The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings compilation, is available from iTunes. This compilation album includes an excellent selection of alternate takes and is well worth listening to.

As a little something extra today, we also present Evan’s piano-only recording from their second album: The Bad And The Beautiful, the David Raskin theme song from the 1952 movie of the same name, starring Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner.

The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003

Listen to The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 2009

Not everyone knows that Tony Bennett is the one who insisted that The Bad And The Beautiful solo be used as the first song on their second album, Together Again. It’s all about the music. Always, for both artists.

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Song of the Day: But Beautiful

The song of the day for Thursday, January 17, 2013 is But Beautiful.

About But Beautiful

Originally written for the 1947 film Road To Rio, But Beautiful was written by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced in the film by Bing Crosby. It found great popularity as jazz ballad, with recordings by Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Johnny Hartman, and Shirley Horn, among others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded this song in 1975 for their first album,The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album. Bill Evans had recorded the song with Stan Getz in 1974 at the Laren (Holland) International Jazz Festival; an album, with the same name, was released posthumously in 1996.  Mr. Bennett often sings this song in concert.

But Beautiful

Bill Evans, Tony Bennett · The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album (Expanded Edition) · Song · 1975

But Beautiful, as well as the full The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album, is available from iTunes.

Readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of the work that Tony Bennett and Bill Evans did on their two albums. On their second album, Together Again, they included a piano solo The Bad And The Beautiful, which I have always liked. A few weeks ago, the film showed up on Turner Classic Movies and I so watched it, for the first time. It’s a bit of a melodrama, but it has a terrific cast (Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, Barry Sullivan and many more) and its theme song, by David Raskin, is used throughout. Here’s But Beautiful, here from the The Complete Tony Bennett Bill Evans Recordings set from Fantasy / Concord. Note that this set contains a good selection of alternate takes from the Together Again session.

The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003

Listen to The Bad And The Beautiful - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Bill Evans · 2009

The Bad and the Beautiful, as well as the full Together Again album, is available from iTunes.