The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Just One Of Those Things

The song of the day for Sunday, April 21, 2024, is “Just One Of Those Things.”

About This Song

Cole Porter wrote “Just One of Those Things” for the 1935 musical Jubilee. It’s one of Porter’s most popular songs and has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra. In American Popular Song Alec Wilder spoke of the lyric as ‘a trip to the moon on gossamer wings’ and “that it seems impossible that it wasn’t sitting on his piano, waiting for Porter even before he wrote the lyric.” It has a certain literary fame as well: Holden Caulfield, in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye likes the song and notes that even the “stinking band” in the hotel lounge “couldn’t ruin it entirely.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Just One of Those Things” on October 14, 1957, for his third album, The Beat of My Heart, featuring an arrangement by Ralph Sharon. Bennett invited several percussionists to play on the album; Al Blakey was featured in this song.

“Just One Of Those Things,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available on Apple Music.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Lazy Afternoon

The song of the day for Sunday, March 31, 2024, is “Lazy Afternoon.”

About This Song

“Lazy Afternoon” was written by Jerome Moss and John Latouche for the 1954 musical The Golden Apple, which uses mythological Greek characters from Ulysses but is set in the state of Washington (at Mount Olympia, of course) in the United States. This song, as well as the entire score, is quite beautiful.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Lazy Afternoon” on June 27, 1957, for his third album, The Beat of My Heart. For this album, Bennett and Ralph Sharon (who wrote the arrangement) invited percussionists to play on the album. For “Lazy Afternoon,” Chico Hamilton played drums.

“Lazy Afternoon,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available on Apple Music.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: It’s So Peaceful in the Country

The song of the day for Friday, February 16, 2024, is “It’s So Peaceful in the Country.”

About Today

We are remembering Alec Wilder on the anniversary of his birth on February 16, 1907. Wilder was a composer of both popular and classical music. He also wrote the definitive book on American popular music, American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900–1950, one of my primary resources for this website and the Interactive Tony Bennett Discography.

About This Song

Alec Wilder wrote “It’s So Peaceful in the Country” in 1941 for the singer Mildred Bailey. Wilder was a great friend to singers Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra and admired jazz musicians for their improvisational skills.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “It’s So Peaceful in the Country” on June 27, 1957, which featured Chico Hamilton on drums. It was recorded for The Beat of My Heart but wasn’t used in the original album release. It was added for the 1996 CD re-release.

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

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Love For Sale

The song of the day for Saturday, February 3, 2024, is “Love For Sale.”

About This Song

“Love For Sale” was written by Cole Porter in 1930 for the Broadway musical The New Yorkers, sung by a prostitute advertising her services. The song was considered rather scandalous at the time. In fact, for the production of The New Yorkers, it was supposed to be sung by the white star Kathryn Crawford, but the song was assigned to an African-American singer instead. Despite being banned from playing on the radio, “Love For Sale” has had many fine recordings, including those by Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Miles Davis.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Love For Sale” on October 24, 1957, for his second jazz album, The Beat of My Heart, featuring an arrangement by Ralph Sharon. Bennett invited percussionists to play on the album; for this song he used Candico, Sabu, and his regular drummer, Billy Exiner.

” Love For Sale,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available on Apple Music.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Crazy Rhythm

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 16, 2024, is “Crazy Rhythm.”

About This Song

“Crazy Rhythm” was written by Joseph Meyer, Roger Wolfe Kahn, and Irving Ceasar for the 1929 musical Here’s How. t’s been a popular standard since it was written and has been heavily recorded, not just by jazz and popular artists, but in 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” on June 27, 1957, for his third LP album, The Beat of My Heart. featuring an arrangement by Ralph Sharon. For this album, Bennett invited several percussionists to play on the album. “Crazy Rhythm” features Chico Hamilton.

“Crazy Rhythm,” as well as The Beat of My Heart, is available on Apple Music.