The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: It’s So Peaceful In The Country

The song of the day for Friday, August 29, 2014 is “It’s So Peaceful In The Country.”

About This Song

Alec Wilder wrote the music and lyrics for “It’s So Peaceful in the Country” for the singer Mildred Bailey, who recorded it in 1941. Wilder was a great friend to singers Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. He was an admirer of jazz musicians for their ability to improvise.

About This Version

As we ease in to Labor Day weekend here in the US, I wanted to play this charming song from Alec Wilder. Tony Bennett recorded “It’s So Peaceful in the Country” in 1957 for The Beat of My Heart, though it was not released until the 1996 CD re-release of the album. It’s a lovely song from one of America’s most gifted composers.

It"s So Peacefull In the Country

Listen to It"s So Peacefull In the Country on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1957


“It’s So Peaceful in the Country,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Crazy Rhythm

The song of the day for Monday, July 28, 2014 is “Crazy Rhythm.”

About This Song

Today’s song was written in 1928 by Joseph Meyer and Roger Wolfe Kahn for a long-forgotten Broadway musical called Here’s Howe. It’s been a popular standard since it was written and has been heavily recorded, not just by jazz and popular artists, but other genres including hillbilly. Significant recordings include those by Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Stan Getz, Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke and Whispering Jack Smith.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Crazy Rhythm” in 1957 for his third album, The Beat of My Heart. Tony Bennett had, very wisely, hired Ralph Sharon as his pianist and musical director in early 1957. Sharon encourage Bennett to continue to explore his jazz inclinations. Bennett describes their interaction in developing The Beat of My Heart in his autobiography, The Good Life:

Ralph and I wanted to make a jazz statement in a big way, and I came up with the idea of recording an album of standards that put the spotlight on different kinds of rhythm by using all the great jazz drummers I could find. We talked the concept over during our first few months on the road, and gradually it all came together. The first recording date was in June, 1957, with Chico Hamilton. … when the album came out, an army of jazz fans said, Hey this guy knows how to swing. A whole new audience accepted me–in fact, I still get my biggest reactions at jazz festivals all over the world.

Today’s song, “Crazy Rhythm,” features the great Chico Hamilton.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3Km0pzPoVkrr29letO2Z7p
“Crazy Rhythm,” as well as the album The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Just One of Those Things

The song of the day for Friday, July 18, 2014 is “Just One Of Those Things.”

About This Song

Cole Porter wrote “Just One of Those Things” for the 1935 musical Jubilee. It soon became one the great standards in the American songbook. Even J.D. Salinger referenced the song in The Catcher in the Rye, when Holden Caulfield states that he likes the song and says that even the “stinking band” in the hotel lounge “couldn’t ruin it entirely.” It’s been recorded by a wide range of performers including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé, Bing Crosby, Sarah Vaughan and Doris Day.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Just One of Those Things” for his 1957 album The Beat of Heart and featured Art Blakey on drums. It was arranged by Bennett and Ralph Sharon. The Beat of My Heart was the first album that Bennett and Sharon did together.

http://open.spotify.com/track/3UNVYYeWBlAgQE8wm0LmzW
“Just One of Those Things,” as well as the album The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: It’s So Peaceful In The Country

The song of the day for Thursday, May 15, 2014 is “It’s So Peaceful In The Country.”

About This Song

Alec Wilder wrote “It’s So Peaceful in the Country” for the singer Mildred Bailey, who recorded it in 1941. Wilder was a great friend to singers Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. He was an admirer of jazz musicians for their ability to improvise.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “It’s So Peaceful In The Country” in 1957; it was released as a 45 RPM single in 1959 and also on the 1997 CD re-release of The Beat of My Heart. This album was Bennett’s second jazz album; for this album he brought in some of the world’s greatest percussionists to feature. This song features Chico Hamilton and was arranged by Ralph Sharon. Sharon’s piano introduction and Bennett’s entrance into the song is really delightful.

We’re having one of our first heat waves of the year in Portland right now. As the heat was coming up off of the road on the way home, I kept thinking how nice it would be to sit by a lake and dangle my feet in the water. By the time I got home, I knew what the song would be. It happens like that sometime.

http://open.spotify.com/track/5AgJDo5WDRs9F4axve1UHD
“It’s So Peaceful In The Country,” as well as the album The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Blues in the Night

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 14, 2014 is “Blues in the Night.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Blues in the Night,” was written by Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1941 film of the same name. I actually managed to catch this movie on Turner Classic Movies a few months ago; it’s not the world’s greatest film by any means, but the score was incredible, thanks mainly to this wonderful song. Harold Arlen wrote a perfect blues song and Mercer’s lyrics are legendary. The famous first lines of the lyric “My mama done tole me, when I was in knee pants” was just a scribble in a margin on one of the pages of Mercer’s notes while he was working on the lyric. Arlen saw this scribble and suggested that Mercer start with those lines. He said it was the few times he ever suggested any words to Mercer.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s third album The Beat of My Heart, released in 1957. In that same year, Tony Bennett auditioned an English jazz pianist named Ralph Sharon and hired him immediately. Sharon encouraged Bennett to continue to explore his interest and love of performing jazz. Tony Bennett came up with the idea of spotlighting rhythm songs and inviting the world’s great percussionists to join him. Sharon and Bennett worked out the songs and arc of the album while they were on the road. Upon returning to New York, the recordings began, with percussionists including Jo Jones, Chico Hamilton, Art Blakey, Candido, Sabu and Bennett’s regular drummer, Billy Exiner. With great arrangements by Sharon and great performances from all the artists, The Beat of My Heart, along with his first album Cloud 7, secured Tony Bennett’s reputation as a jazz singer. The album was not only a success with the listening public, but was all very well received by the jazz critics.

“Blues in the Night” features the great Jo Jones on drums.

http://open.spotify.com/track/06tHPbvXdBqsVLRKnDb7Sj
“Blues in the Night,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available from iTunes.

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